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A Global Team at Mary Kay Inc
Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, the company bearing her name, Mary Kay Inc., is an American
privately owned multilevel marketing company that sells cosmetic products in more than 35
countries. Mary Kay Ash’s son, Richard Rogers, is board chair, and David Holl is president and
CEO. The multilevel marketing model adopted by Mary Kay Inc. involves “beauty consultants”
(distributors) selling directly to customers in their local community. The direct selling approach and
local focus create a unique global workforce model for Mary Kay Inc.
The company’s global independent sales force exceeds 3.5 million distributors, with some $4 billion
in wholesale sales worldwide. Since opening its first international operations in Australia in 1971,
Mary Kay has expanded to more than 35 countries on five continents. Mary Kay also consistently
ranks as one of the top brands in the United States. The pink color has become associated with Mary
Kay—from its beginning as a “Mary Kay pink” color on the 1968 Cadillac Mary Kay bought herself
as a reward after five successful years of the company.
As part of the Mary Kay rewards program, in 1969 five pink Cadillacs were also rewarded to top
salespeople. From this start, recognition of people has been an integral part of the Mary Kay culture
and experience. The idea is that recognizing achievements heightens ambition among the workforce,
and success globally becomes a cultural value system. Pink Cadillacs to diamond bumblebees to
Mary Kay porcelain dolls to trips to exotic locations such as Australia, England, Greece, and China
motivate the Mary Kay beauty distributors.
This people focus is a staple of the Mary Kay global philosophy. “A company is only as good as its
people. . . . [I]n order to grow and progress in the sales force, you don’t move upward, you expand
outward. This gives the independent sales force a deep sense of personal worth.”* With these people
principles, today somewhere in the world, a Mary Kay sales party (independent beauty consultants
direct selling in their local communities) is held every hour. It is not sales per se; it is a “party.”
The similarities among Mary Kay operations globally outweigh any country-to-country differences.
And, importantly, just as the original reasoning was for founding the company in the United States,
Mary Kay is an important factor in the employment of women in the workforce in many countries,
particularly in developing nations. While the products may vary to meet the needs and preferences of
local consumers in the global marketplace, they are held to the same rigid quality-control standards
whether they are purchased in the United States, Brazil, China, or Russia. This quality backing gives
the independent beauty consultants assurances that they are part of a trustworthy Mary Kay Inc.
team.
*Mary Kay Ash, The Mary Kay Way: Timeless Principles from America’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2008).
Sources: G. Ostega, It’s Not Where You Start, It’s Where You Finish: The Success Secrets of a Top Member of the Mary Kay Independent Sales
Force (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2005); Mary Kay Global. www.marykay.com; “The Story of Mary Kay Inc.” www.marykaymuseum.com; Mary
Kay Ash, The Mary Kay Way: Timeless Principles from America’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2008).
Discussion Questions:
Q1: How does Mary Kay ensure consistent quality across its products in different countries, and
how does this commitment to quality impact the trust of its independent beauty consultants and
customers?
Q2: What distinguishes Mary Kay Inc.’s business model from traditional sales approaches?
Q3: What role does Mary Kay play in the employment landscape, particularly for women, across
different countries?
Q4: What incentives does Mary Kay offer to its top-performing salespeople?
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