Avon Products, Inc.

Avon Products, Inc., is one of the oldest direct selling companies in America. It traces its origins to 1886, when David H. McConnell (1856-1937) bought the Union Publishing Company of New York City and started manufacturing perfumes to give away with his books. McConnell discovered that his customers were more interested in the fragrances than the books, and he decided to concentrate on selling perfumes. The business was renamed the California Perfume Company (CPC) in an effort to associate its products with the perceived beauty and novelty of the Golden State. From the beginning, CPC sold directly to the consumer through a national network of sales representatives, primarily women, who were looking for economic opportunity and flexible part-time employment. The representatives were independent contractors and not company employees. They sold CPC products within their assigned territory and received a percentage of their sales. Representatives were supervised by general agents (later known as district supervisors and managers). These district managers were also primarily women who traveled from town to town.

McConnell established a manufacturing headquarters and research laboratory in Suffern, New York, in the 1890s. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, CPC expanded its line of products to include cosmetics, household cleaners, food flavorings, and toiletries. Representatives sold CPC products throughout the United States, and the company's rapid growth led to the establishment of regional branch offices and warehouses. The company entered the Canadian market in 1914.

During the 1920s, CPC sold several fragrance/cosmetic lines with various names, but the company lacked brand identification. In 1929, CPC introduced the Avon brand for its toiletries and cosmetics in an effort to modernize its image and rationalize its diverse product lines. According to promotional literature, the name Avon had been selected because the Suffern manufacturing site was thought by McConnell to resemble the English countryside around Stratford-on-Avon.

David H. McConnell, Sr., died in 1937 and was succeeded by his son, David H. McConnell, Jr. (1901-1944). McConnell, Jr., had joined the company in 1923 after his graduation from Princeton. He was elected a director in 1925 and was named executive vice president in 1932. During his tenure as company president, sales increased by more than 400 percent. CPC was officially renamed Avon Products, Inc., in 1939 to reflect the company's identification with its popular cosmetics and toiletry lines. It remained a subsidiary of the parent corporation, Allied Products, Inc.

In 1944, McConnell, Jr., died suddenly and John A. Ewald (1901-1984) became president. Ewald had started with CPC in 1920 and had been the company's general manager since 1929. He oversaw Avon's most successful and profitable period. The corporation was renamed Avon Allied Products in 1945, and in 1950 it assumed the name of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Avon Products, Inc.

Avon rapidly expanded into the international market during the 1950s. The International Division conducted non-domestic operations through wholly-owned subsidiary companies. For the most part, each subsidiary manufactured its own products. In 1953, a Latin American division was established and within the next 10 years, offices were opened in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, and Brazil. Avon entered Europe in 1957 with the formation of an English company, Avon Cosmetics, Limited. During the 1960s, subsidiary companies were established in Australia, Belgium, Spain, France, and Italy. By the early 1970s, Avon International operated in sixteen countries.

Avon diversified in the 1970s. Costume jewelry was introduced to the product line, and the company entered the mail order business in 1973. However, Avon's growth had stalled due to recession. With the increasing number of women in the workforce, door-to-door sales were becoming more difficult. The company continued to expand its product line and in 1977 introduced fine jewelry, new gift, and decorative items. By the end of the decade, Avon had rebounded: the company updated its product line to provide a more contemporary image and representatives began to sell products in the workplace, rather than exclusively in home sales.

The decade of the 1980s was a period of merger and acquisition for the company. Avon briefly entered the health care field, expanded its direct mail order business, and ventured into retail fragrance sales. By 1992, Avon had reduced its debt, sold its money-losing non-core businesses, streamlined operations, and refocused on beauty products and direct selling. In the 1990s, the company renewed its international expansion with a focus on developing and post-communist countries.

Avon emphasized its role as a woman's company in the 1990s and sponsored the Women of Enterprise awards, a breast cancer awareness program, and a women's international running circuit. By 1998, 86 percent of management positions at Avon were held by women, and Andrea Jung became Avon's first woman president and chief operating officer.