Essay on Mary Kay to Italy

Mary Kay Inc. is a company I have heard of and know some about but I am a guy who does not where makeup like a Frenchman. I knew Mary Kay was popular in the United States among the women population. I know some people who threw some Mary Kay parties. Other than that I did not know much about the company before watching this video. I was actually shocked when I found out Mary Kay is mostly sold by individuals who host parties. It is a company who values relationships between the seller and buyer.

Some opportunities that Francesca’s can take advantage of are global expansion, and adding a men’s collection to their company. Global expansion into flourishing European countries, such as France, Germany, or Sweden; can take the company into new markets in which they could be well received.

The definition of true beauty continues to evolve as generations pass and new ones emerge. Ulta Beauty, a popular cosmetic store, sells products with the aim to make women feel confident in their skin. Their use of advertisements helps spread the word about new, improved product lines and reach out to potential buyers. Selling makeup is the obvious goal of a cosmetic store, but the kind of consumers they attract and how varies between different franchises. When a company displays their products in one shot instead of in a commercial, the task of conveying the message becomes harder. Ulta Beauty persuades women to purchase their products by pointing out buyers’ insecurities while still appearing to promote empowering feminist values.

Mary Kay started her business in 1995 and invested US$20 million in its China operations. In, 1996, Mary Kay managed to opened branch in Shanghai where residential incomes are higher than average and cosmetics and skin care products are used most often. By the end of 1997, wholesales sales topped US$12 million in China, and a nearly 12,000 strong sales force was making inroads into China’s cosmetic market.

Currently Mary Kay offers more than 200 premium products. The product assortments are innovative skin care, tantalizing makeup and unforgettable fragrances.

For years, Louis Vuitton enjoyed high profit margins from the luxury market in Japan until other competitors such as Prada and Gucci entered the market. Counterfeiting also became a threat to the firm’s brand by satisfying consumer demand at lower prices. Other external global environmental problems included highly priced products, limited availability in stores only, and a heavy dependency on the Japanese market (Pearce & Robinson, 2013, p. 14-18). Moreover, “the after-shocks of the global recession were a threat to Louis Vuitton’s luxury business in Japan”, and Japanese women became less interested in the brand’s products (Pearce & Robinson, 2013, p. 14-18). Alternatively, Louis Vuitton could “reinvent itself and regain what used to be its well-attested

Before ULTA entered the beauty market in 1990, a woman would have to go to multiple stores to find cosmetic, fragrance, and salon products. ULTA has become a woman’s one-stop-beauty department store, they house everything from brands such as Revlon to Estée Lauder, products such as nail polish to specialty shampoos, and they even offer makeup and hair services. In this industry of beauty there are many competitors and companies must stay ahead of their competition, ULTA has done this and more. At the same time they have to foresee any future problems while they continue to grow and find ways to overcome the barriers. Being a lover of cosmetics investing in a company such as ULTA would seem a

The following case analysis will assess Coach Inc. and its strategy in the accessible luxury brand goods market. The coach strategy focuses on its luxury rivals in matching key quality styles while offering it at a cheaper price. The company offers most products at a 50% off discount price less than other brands which gives them a competitive advantage pertaining to its customer base. Coach marketed its products to middle –income consumers desiring taste of luxury, but also affluent and wealthy consumers with means to spend considerably more on a handbag (Gamble, 2012. P.C-73) .The Company also has several other strategies such as to increase global distribution, improve same store sales productivity and continue its multi-channel business model which includes indirect whole sales to third party retailers but also focuses on direct consumer sales. Coach has done well in the luxury goods industry but the companies profit margin is still below the levels achieved prior to the onset of a slowing economy in 2007 ( Gamble, 2012. P.C-73.The Company had experienced a decline in sales as they are unsure if the company recent growth could remain constant and maintain their competitive advantage with other successful luxury lines Michael Kors, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana.

Mary Kay, Inc. was founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash as Beauty by Mary Kay. Mary Kay is a direct sale type of company, with “independent beauty consultants” that sell and market Mary Kay products (2012 Corporate Fact Sheet). Mary Kay Ash operated with the mindset of “God First, Family Second, and Career Third,” and always adhered to the golden rule, do to others as you’d want them to do to you (Kerin, Et. Al). Mary Kay, Inc. first entered the global market in 1971 with its expansion into Australia. Today, Mary Kay is represented in over 35 global markets (2012 Corporate Fact Sheet). Mary Kay is challenged to ensure brand consistency across the world, despite differences in cultures from market to market. As such, Mary Kay would be considered a transnational firm. They tie the similarities between each market together while celebrating the differences in each market. This strategy allows them to offer Mary Kay’s core product lines globally where they’re most desired. In China, one of their most successful markets, Mary Kay applied their existing corporate message of women empowerment to attract Chinese women that otherwise wouldn’t be able to start their own business. Where China differs from the United States market is in product need. Chinese women don’t typically wear a lot of makeup, so

Doing business in Italy is very different than in the United States. “Set to move onto a slow, but steady, path of economic growth;” Italy, at first glance, seems to be a promising business environment with projected increases in GDP per capita in the coming years, according to Business Monitor International (“Italy Autos Report” 30). However, there are many cultural, administrative, geographic and economic differences that make the business environment much different than that in the US. Generally dominated by domestic carmakers, mainly Fiat S.p.A., the auto industry in Italy doesn’t look very appealing for new firms because of the high barriers to entry. However, foreign carmakers like Ford have managed to penetrate the Italian

Mary Kay products have been seen to sell in more than 35 markets expanding across 5 continents. Mary Kay’s sales force exceeds 2 million globally with potential markets such as the Indian and Asia- Pacific areas that represent extensive growth opportunities. Mary Kay is focused on expanding into the Indian Market, due to its large population and market size. With the large population of middle class growing to a total of 500 million individuals will give Mary Kay the opportunity to build their brand and attract this demographic of consumers. Amongst the population that is averaging at 26 years of age consists of a growing number of women seen as highly optimistic candidates who have contributed to an increase in consumption

Porter national diamond analysis Supporting Industries Superior in-store infrastructure Counseling counters Cosmetic R&D centre MDO, Max factor Strategy, Structure and Rivalry High number of domestic competitors with high innovation. Tough competition Presence of prestigious foreign brand Intense, established, well respected , high experience and famous competitors Limited competitors in high-cosmetic market which can lead to low innovation and learning improvement as well as an opportunity to easily reach a huge market for P&G

International Flavors and Fragrances have a long history before IFF’s name was established in 1958. In 1889 Joseph Polak and Leopold Schwarz from Zutphen, a Dutch town found their first factory. Their success leaded them to open a second factory in approximate 7 years. They continued to flourish throughout the upcoming years and for the first 60 years of the 19th century their fame was unbelievable. It was a period of flavor and fragrances discoveries that served as the mark of what IFF is today. Ameringen-Haebler formed a new partnership in 1929 and for the next 30 years they continued to operate with an emphasis in fragrances. In 1958 Polak and Schwarz together with Ameringen and Dr.HaebIer gave birth to International Flavors & Fragances Inc. The company becomes international at an incredible pace. Throughout the years, IFF has kept their word of producing

Avon, started its journey in the early 1886 is now the oldest and the largest marketers and manufactures of the beauty products. The advertisements from “Ding dong, Avon Calling” to “Hello Tomorrow” and from “You never looked so good” to the latest one “The Company For Women”, always helped Avon to improve its image and enhance the marketing strategies to serve the purpose. One of the amazing facts about Avon includes that it’s headquarter is situated in USA but major portion of its sales comes from outside North America. Avon has captured a huge market all over the world and its distributing the beauty solutions to almost all parts of the world. With Avon being a part of 112 countries, the company has

Running Head: Fashion Industry in Italy Fashion Industry in Italy [Writer's Name] [Institute's Name] Table of contents Executive summary……………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction to Italy………………………………………………………………………3 Geography of Italy………………………………………………………………………..