Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
The company's founders and senior managers however feared this would make the company less agile and able to respond to market requirements (Grammenou, 2009).
Demographic Analysis
There have been many socioeconomic and demographic changes that have affected Avon's business model in the last two decades. The greatest socioeconomic force affecting them today is the need for many women to work full-time jobs to contribute to their household's income. This has drastically changed the company's distribution model as there are fewer women to work as part of their sales force. The shift in socioeconomic status is also one that has made competition with stores even more focused and aggressive, as retailers have the advantage of being more of a product aggregator than product developer. Their distribution model is shifting significantly as a result.
Increasing the urgency of the decision was the fact that demographic markets were changing rapidly, as were the preferences and wants of women for beauty care products. This pace of demographic change was occurring at varying levels within the nations Avon operates in, yet all of them combined sent a clear message that Gen X and baby Boomer product needs could far outpace any other category for the foreseeable future (Tarquinio,...
In addition, the fact that more women than ever before were going back to work was quickly changing the company's distribution model; many women simply did not have the time to be an Avon Lady anymore (Grammenou, 2009). What made all of the demographic and socio-economic changes so challenging to navigate was the fact that preferences for cosmetics were changing too. Younger, more educated Gen Y women wanted environmentally responsible or "green" cosmetics, as sustainability is very important to them as a value (Prior, 2010). The development requirements in this market of Gen Y consumers however is significantly different than the major cash source of the company today, which according to the case study are women from the Gen X and Baby Boomer generations (Grammenou, 2009). What Avon has had to do is concentrate on how to create effective marketing programs for each of these divergent markets while at the same time attempting to standardize on product components to streamline their supply chains (Tozzi, 2010). Of all factors that the case alludes to, this dynamics is what makes their supply chain operations the most difficult to manage over time. The company has created a very strong word-of-mouth campaign and has an exceptional level of trust in the industry for its products. Attempting to chase
references for cosmetics were changing too. Younger, more educated Gen Y women wanted environmentally responsible or "green" cosmetics, as sustainability is very important to them as a value (Prior, 2010). The development requirements in this market of Gen Y consumers however is significantly different than the major cash source of the company today, which according to the case study are women from the Gen X and Baby Boomer generations (Grammenou, 2009). What Avon has had to do is concentrate on how to create effective marketing programs for each of these divergent markets while at the same time attempting to standardize on product components to streamline their supply chains (Tozzi, 2010). Of all factors that the case alludes to, this dynamics is what makes their supply chain operations the most difficult to manage over time. The company has created a very strong word-of-mouth campaign and has an exceptional level of trust in the industry for its products. Attempting to chase
Avon Calls Foreign Markets." Question: Why Avon dependent foreign operations home (U.S.) operations? Please provide a couple reasons relate case. Avon Calls on Foreign Markets Avon is one of the oldest and largest cosmetics manufacturing and retailing organization. The company has penetrated the industry through a specific model of direct sales through Avon consultants and representatives. The Avon products are as such not available in traditional stores and can only be
AVON Calls on Foreign Markets Avon believed that having regionalized new product development centers, supply chain operations, marketing and sales divisions would make them more competitive in foreign markets. Ironically the exact opposite happened, as the case illustrates. Avon's performance was drastically reduced and the duplication of effort crippled the organization. Unfortunately the highly decentralized, market-driven organizational structure that Avon had such high expectations for failure to deliver the results needed
This strategy of investing face-time has continued to scale extremely well in the U.S., yet has faced many challenges in other nations that value data, hard numbers and strong methodologies to validate the claims of products. One nations' buyers of cosmetics in particular, the Japanese, are more focused on the specifics of the how a product is produced and want to know in great detail what the ingredients are
Avon has both word-of-mouth and trust on its side as a provider of cosmetics, beauty and health aids. Their distribution strategy is one of the aspects that make their unique value proposition all the more effective as well, as it reinforces trust with face-time between their representatives and customers. The Avon model and competitive strength is all predicated on buying from someone you know and trust. Supply Chain Implications for
AVON -- Foreign Markets The marketing strategies that the reading assignment offers include Avon's style of selling -- which is direct sales door-to-door -- and the women who sell door-to-door actually go back to the home where they sold and deliver the products. Another strategy is to sell using the Internet (personal web pages), and selling to friends, colleagues and family (Chapter 16, p. 622). Also, using universities in China, Japan,
International Business The international company to be featured in this paper is Avon International. Avon is a cosmetics company located in about seventy-five countries in five geographical locations: Latin America, North America, Central, Eastern and Western Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. In addition to cosmetics (fragrances, skin care, personal care and color cosmetics), Avon also produces fashion items (fashion jewelry, watches, apparel, footwear, accessories and children's products) and