Mary Kay
Mary Kay Cosmetics Mid-Term Assignment
1) In regards to Mary Kay Cosmetics (MKC) decision on whether to enter Japan, China, both, or neither I would like to recommend that MKC should first expand their business into the Chinese market using the majority of the resources. I would then recommend that entry into the Japanese market should be at first held off but then reconsidered based on the level of success found in the Chinese venture.
I feel as if MKC will find the most success within China if they brand themselves as a skin care expert that also sells make-up. I think that MKC should differentiate themselves within the market by continuing to focus on their party plan strategy. They would just need to make sure the proper resources were available to explain and communicate the concept to both potential consultants and consumers. In addition, they should include buying clubs, which have already proven successful by other companies in the market. The lower start-up costs and overhead in China will allow MKC to break even in much less time than in Japan. 2) When MKC decided to go international back in 1977, I do not think they were very well prepared for the business concerns that could arise. They put themselves into a foreign market without any real business plan, strategy, or guidelines. However, on the other hand, Avon was very well prepared for their international entry and had a strong strategy in place. This is a large reason why Avon had 55% of their revenue international sales and MKC only had 11% revenue from their international sales.
For Avon, each country subsidiary was run by a country manager who had considerable decision-making authority as long as performance objectives were met. Avon also adapted on average forty percent of their products to the local markets that they were being sold in. They also placed a heavy emphasis on merchandising and had extremely well planned marketing campaigns. Avon sales consultants had to deal with a
1) In regards to Mary Kay Cosmetics (MKC) decision on whether to enter Japan, China, both, or neither I would like to recommend that MKC should first expand their business into the Chinese market using the majority of the resources. I would then recommend that entry into the Japanese market should be at first held off but then reconsidered based on the level of success found in the Chinese venture.
I feel as if MKC will find the most success within China if they brand themselves as a skin care expert that also sells make-up. I think that MKC should differentiate themselves within the market by continuing to focus on their party plan strategy. They would just need to make sure the proper resources were available to explain and communicate the concept to both potential consultants and consumers. In addition, they should include buying clubs, which have already proven successful by other companies in the market. The lower start-up costs and overhead in China will allow MKC to break even in much less time than in Japan. 2) When MKC decided to go international back in 1977, I do not think they were very well prepared for the business concerns that could arise. They put themselves into a foreign market without any real business plan, strategy, or guidelines. However, on the other hand, Avon was very well prepared for their international entry and had a strong strategy in place. This is a large reason why Avon had 55% of their revenue international sales and MKC only had 11% revenue from their international sales.
For Avon, each country subsidiary was run by a country manager who had considerable decision-making authority as long as performance objectives were met. Avon also adapted on average forty percent of their products to the local markets that they were being sold in. They also placed a heavy emphasis on merchandising and had extremely well planned marketing campaigns. Avon sales consultants had to deal with a