Avon History: The Journey of a Cosmetics Pioneer

Avon Products, Inc. is a British multinational cosmetics, make-up, skincare, haircare, fragrance and personal care company headquartered in London.

The company was founded in 1886 by David H. McConnell and was originally known as The California Perfume Company. McConnell founded the company to sell perfume door-to-door, and it wasn’t long before Avon became a household name.

Today, Avon is one of the largest cosmetics companies in the world with over 6 million representatives selling beauty products in over 100 countries. And although Avon has undergone some changes over the years, it has remained true to its roots as a direct selling company.

Natura & Co is a Brazilian company that owns and operates several cosmetics brands, including Natura, The Body Shop and Aesop. In May 2019, Natura & Co announced its intention to acquire Avon.

It’s hard to believe, but even today it can be difficult for women to gain a foothold in the business world. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was not common for women to earn a living.

One of the first opportunities for women to earn a living in the United States is this: They could get a job at Avon. From the beginning, this was the most flexible job: Avon’s beauty and personal care products were sold by women who could work at their own pace and manage their own business. In many cases, they even earned a real income. Avon was not founded as a brand to empower women entrepreneurs. It was more accidental.

David H. McConnell Founder of Avon

David H. McConnell was the male founder of Avon. He began his career in sales in the 1880s as a door-to-door book salesman. McConnell used a popular trick to offer potential customers a gift or perfume samples for a minute of their time.

There were not many advertising opportunities back then. McConnell dealt with many housewives who were at home in the afternoons while their husbands were at work.

So McConnell came up with the idea of working with a local pharmacy to create a fragrance that he could give to anyone who wanted to listen to his book. This method had a problem: customers began to be more interested in McConnell’s scent than the books.

California Perfume Company

McConnell decided to accept his fate and quit the book business to sell perfume. He was based in New York in 1886 and launched The California Perfume Company, a line that included fragrances. (In 1928, the company was renamed Avon, after McConnell’s favourite playwright Shakespeare.

Ideal for the time was the formula of selling perfume door to door. McConnell sold the perfume line in small towns and neighboring states to customers who could not drive to the stores that carried the products. Ironically, McConnell’s success was based on his dependence on women. Persis Foster Eames Albee was his first female Avon representative. She was a wife, mother and co-founder of the company’s distribution system.

McConnell realized that the best way to sell his products to women was to hire women. Fifty-year-old Albee was hired to drive and train door-to-door in the Northeast. Albee quickly began training a group of saleswomen in the same way, and the Avon Lady was born.

What exactly is the “Avon Lady”? The company invented the term and became synonymous with its unique aspects. It allows employees to buy products and literature and then resell them on their terms. That’s exactly what McConnell did as a bookseller. Avon’s unique approach to selling cosmetics has made the brand distinctive for more than a century. Albee helped McConnell recruit 12 women to market his 18-piece perfume line in 1887, just one year after he started his perfume business model.

Avon Outlook Magazine

The company founded Outlook magazine in 1905 to give employees advice and inform them about company news. The following year, Avon published a sales catalog with sufficient products. This step contributed to an enormous increase in sales.

Avon’s first printed advertisement appeared in Good Housekeeping in 1906. It was also this magazine that published its seal of approval for 11 Avon products in 1931. This is a record number for a company.

Avon raised selling prices when the Great Depression hit in the mid-1930s. Avon’s sales increased by more than 70% and business was good. During World War II, Avon provided factory space to the U.S. military for the development of gas masks, pharmaceuticals and other products. Company sales representatives began selling war bonds, cosmetics and perfumes. Business was good, and it got even better.

” Ding Dong, Avon Calling ”

The iconic Avon advertising campaign ” Ding Dong, Avon Calling ” was launched in the 1950s. It was a long-lasting and successful advertising campaign from 1954 to 1967. In 1955, the Avon Foundation was established to promote humanitarian efforts for women. Today, it focuses primarily on fighting breast cancer and domestic violence. Avon has created employment opportunities to support women and some men. Avon has representatives around the world, on five continents and in more than 100 countries.

Over the past 135 years, its woman-centered character has stood the test of time. Now the company is led by a woman! David H. McConnell has grown from an accidental perfume manufacturer into a global beauty company. He did this by listening to his intuition and helping women to advance their careers.