As the global giant celebrates its 125th anniversary this week, Jane Gordon meets some of the entrepreneurial stars who are working hours that suit them − and making serious money in the process
As the company goes from strength to strength more than a century after its launch, 5,000 of its British and Irish reps assemble at Birmingham's LG Arena to celebrate
The noise inside the LG Arena in Birmingham is deafening. Members of the 5,000-strong
– almost entirely female – audience are whooping, clapping and banging pink batons to the beat of the music as they wait for the 2011 ‘Believe’ world tour to begin. Urged on by marshals in ‘Believe’ T-shirts emblazoned with the cities the tour will visit – from Atlanta and Los Angeles to Istanbul, Moscow, Shanghai and New Delhi – the women could be mistaken for the kind of fans who turn
up to see Justin Bieber or Take That. But today’s performance will be closer to a religious rally than a rock concert, and the 5,000 women are, in fact, faithful representatives of the world’s largest direct-selling company, Avon – supplier of jewellery, home and fashion products as well as its famous cosmetics.
Many of the women present, and some of the men (about five per cent of reps are male), have travelled long distances to be here. These chosen few (out of a total of about 16,000 UK reps) include a strong contingent from Northern Ireland and the Republic, and a sizeable group from Scotland. Jane Barker and Jeanette Adams from Worcestershire (who have worked 18 and 35 years respectively for the company) insist that Avon isn’t a corporation; it is a ‘family’. ‘I am Avon rock – if you cut me in half, I would have Avon written all the way through,’ says Jeanette.
As the lights dim, the show begins with the Avon anthem sung by Judith Hill (bizarrely announced as the ‘Michael Jackson This Is It global recording artist Judith Hill’). Against a backdrop of giant screens showing multicultural company images, Judith sings of how Avon reaches out to ‘women far and wide’ to make the ‘dream come true’, with a crescendo chorus of ‘We’ll see it through/you know that it’s true/we are the company for women, Avon’.
It would be easy to cynically dismiss this event as a display of global marketing. But, as cheesy as the words of the Avon anthem might be, they are in essence true. This is the ‘company for women’, and today’s celebration – the US corporation’s 125th anniversary – might be just a little too slick for British tastes, but there is no denying that Avon’s success has been built on the empowerment of women.
In 1886 – 34 years before women in the US won the vote, and at a time when women’s employment options were limited – David H McConnell, a bookseller-turned-entrepreneur from rural New York State, founded the California Perfume Company with one representative, Mrs
P F E Albee. He recognised not only a potential market in the door-to-door sales of perfume but also an untapped workforce, and within 13 years he had 5,000 representatives. Now, the company has over 6 million representatives in more than 100 countries and annual revenues of over $10 billion (£6 billion).
The LG Arena is packed with women who have – as the anthem echoes – made ‘the dream come true’. Take Vicky Pavitt, 34, from Colchester, who believes that becoming a rep played a pivotal part in her recovery from postnatal anxiety after the birth of her fourth child because ‘it fitted around my recovering illness and gave me a positive way to meet and talk to other women’. Or 21-year-old Ellysia Berktay from Somerset, pregnant with her second child, who has been a rep for a little over a year and hopes to grow her business alongside her family.
Then there is mother-of-three Rebekah Testar, 39, who started out as a rep in Leicestershire in 2002 at a time when her husband had resigned from his job due to ill health; she has built up a vast business by recruiting other reps. Rebekah is now one of Avon’s highest earners, with a ‘team’ of
1,900 across the country and an annual turnover of around £5 million, along with Debbie Davis, who last year became the first millionaire Avon Lady, earning £1.4 million with her partner between 2004 and 2010.
Few companies are able to inspire such loyalty in their workers, but this isn’t the usual kind of employment
‘I was a stay-at-home mum,’ says Rebekah. ‘I was really shy at first. I didn’t think I would be able to knock on a stranger’s door, but my confidence grew and I began to think, “If I become a sales leader and recruit my own team, I could earn a full-time wage from this.” And it just grew and grew. Avon has taken me beyond my dreams.’
Few companies are able to inspire such loyalty in their workers, but then this isn’t the usual kind of employment: reps are ‘independent’, earning commission on sales (20 per cent on orders over £78 and 25 per cent on orders over £148) and working the hours they want. (The ‘start-up’ fee to become a rep is £15.) Some of the women in the arena work only a few hours a week – not just to earn a little extra money, but because of what they perceive to be the social side of being a rep (many talk about how their customers have become their ‘friends’). One or two say that their ‘dream come true’ with the company has been the ability it has given them to ‘come off benefits’.
But the ultimate embodiment of the Avon dream is Andrea Jung, 52, who has been the CEO of the company for more than ten years and is present today to give a keynote speech to a rapturous audience. The theme of the anniversary celebration – belief – is one of the ‘five core values’ of the company (the others are trust, respect, humility and integrity) and Andrea, resplendent in a bright red Carolina Herrera dress, is on inspirational form.
‘Throughout human history, progress has been fuelled by belief: a belief in unlimited opportunity, a belief in personal fulfilment, a belief in the power of individuals to create their own destiny…’ she tells us.
The first part of today’s event continues with testimonials from British reps, awards for the highest achievers (the ‘Avon Alumni’) and prerecorded video messages from luminaries associated with the company. British-born but US-based singer Natasha Bedingfield congratulates the company on ‘125 years of pure perfection’, and actress Reese Witherspoon – honorary chair of the Avon Foundation, the company’s charitable arm – adds her good wishes to everyone here today, as does Fergie (not the Duchess, but the Black Eyed Pea).
But it is the message from Hillary Clinton that is the most impressive, and introduces the other way in which the company is empowering women. She thanks Avon for a donation of ‘$500,000 to the US Department of State Secretary’s Fund for Global Women’s Leadership to accelerate the global movement to end violence against women.’
Later, during a break in the day-long event, I get to sit with the dream-maker herself, Andrea Jung, who will speak in every city on the world tour (she speaks fluent Mandarin and ‘so-so’ Spanish, and will attempt a few words in Russian, Polish and Hindi, too). A divorced mother of two – 21-year-old Lauren, now studying English at university, from her first marriage, and 13-year-old James from her second – she is, she says, a ‘juggler like every other working mother’. She says the best
advice she has been given is that there are times when family comes first and times when work comes first and that it’s important to accept that and ‘not feel guilty’.
– almost entirely female – audience are whooping, clapping and banging pink batons to the beat of the music as they wait for the 2011 ‘Believe’ world tour to begin. Urged on by marshals in ‘Believe’ T-shirts emblazoned with the cities the tour will visit – from Atlanta and Los Angeles to Istanbul, Moscow, Shanghai and New Delhi – the women could be mistaken for the kind of fans who turn
up to see Justin Bieber or Take That. But today’s performance will be closer to a religious rally than a rock concert, and the 5,000 women are, in fact, faithful representatives of the world’s largest direct-selling company, Avon – supplier of jewellery, home and fashion products as well as its famous cosmetics.
Many of the women present, and some of the men (about five per cent of reps are male), have travelled long distances to be here. These chosen few (out of a total of about 16,000 UK reps) include a strong contingent from Northern Ireland and the Republic, and a sizeable group from Scotland. Jane Barker and Jeanette Adams from Worcestershire (who have worked 18 and 35 years respectively for the company) insist that Avon isn’t a corporation; it is a ‘family’. ‘I am Avon rock – if you cut me in half, I would have Avon written all the way through,’ says Jeanette.
As the lights dim, the show begins with the Avon anthem sung by Judith Hill (bizarrely announced as the ‘Michael Jackson This Is It global recording artist Judith Hill’). Against a backdrop of giant screens showing multicultural company images, Judith sings of how Avon reaches out to ‘women far and wide’ to make the ‘dream come true’, with a crescendo chorus of ‘We’ll see it through/you know that it’s true/we are the company for women, Avon’.
It would be easy to cynically dismiss this event as a display of global marketing. But, as cheesy as the words of the Avon anthem might be, they are in essence true. This is the ‘company for women’, and today’s celebration – the US corporation’s 125th anniversary – might be just a little too slick for British tastes, but there is no denying that Avon’s success has been built on the empowerment of women.
In 1886 – 34 years before women in the US won the vote, and at a time when women’s employment options were limited – David H McConnell, a bookseller-turned-entrepreneur from rural New York State, founded the California Perfume Company with one representative, Mrs
P F E Albee. He recognised not only a potential market in the door-to-door sales of perfume but also an untapped workforce, and within 13 years he had 5,000 representatives. Now, the company has over 6 million representatives in more than 100 countries and annual revenues of over $10 billion (£6 billion).
The LG Arena is packed with women who have – as the anthem echoes – made ‘the dream come true’. Take Vicky Pavitt, 34, from Colchester, who believes that becoming a rep played a pivotal part in her recovery from postnatal anxiety after the birth of her fourth child because ‘it fitted around my recovering illness and gave me a positive way to meet and talk to other women’. Or 21-year-old Ellysia Berktay from Somerset, pregnant with her second child, who has been a rep for a little over a year and hopes to grow her business alongside her family.
Then there is mother-of-three Rebekah Testar, 39, who started out as a rep in Leicestershire in 2002 at a time when her husband had resigned from his job due to ill health; she has built up a vast business by recruiting other reps. Rebekah is now one of Avon’s highest earners, with a ‘team’ of
1,900 across the country and an annual turnover of around £5 million, along with Debbie Davis, who last year became the first millionaire Avon Lady, earning £1.4 million with her partner between 2004 and 2010.
Few companies are able to inspire such loyalty in their workers, but this isn’t the usual kind of employment
‘I was a stay-at-home mum,’ says Rebekah. ‘I was really shy at first. I didn’t think I would be able to knock on a stranger’s door, but my confidence grew and I began to think, “If I become a sales leader and recruit my own team, I could earn a full-time wage from this.” And it just grew and grew. Avon has taken me beyond my dreams.’
Few companies are able to inspire such loyalty in their workers, but then this isn’t the usual kind of employment: reps are ‘independent’, earning commission on sales (20 per cent on orders over £78 and 25 per cent on orders over £148) and working the hours they want. (The ‘start-up’ fee to become a rep is £15.) Some of the women in the arena work only a few hours a week – not just to earn a little extra money, but because of what they perceive to be the social side of being a rep (many talk about how their customers have become their ‘friends’). One or two say that their ‘dream come true’ with the company has been the ability it has given them to ‘come off benefits’.
But the ultimate embodiment of the Avon dream is Andrea Jung, 52, who has been the CEO of the company for more than ten years and is present today to give a keynote speech to a rapturous audience. The theme of the anniversary celebration – belief – is one of the ‘five core values’ of the company (the others are trust, respect, humility and integrity) and Andrea, resplendent in a bright red Carolina Herrera dress, is on inspirational form.
‘Throughout human history, progress has been fuelled by belief: a belief in unlimited opportunity, a belief in personal fulfilment, a belief in the power of individuals to create their own destiny…’ she tells us.
The first part of today’s event continues with testimonials from British reps, awards for the highest achievers (the ‘Avon Alumni’) and prerecorded video messages from luminaries associated with the company. British-born but US-based singer Natasha Bedingfield congratulates the company on ‘125 years of pure perfection’, and actress Reese Witherspoon – honorary chair of the Avon Foundation, the company’s charitable arm – adds her good wishes to everyone here today, as does Fergie (not the Duchess, but the Black Eyed Pea).
But it is the message from Hillary Clinton that is the most impressive, and introduces the other way in which the company is empowering women. She thanks Avon for a donation of ‘$500,000 to the US Department of State Secretary’s Fund for Global Women’s Leadership to accelerate the global movement to end violence against women.’
Later, during a break in the day-long event, I get to sit with the dream-maker herself, Andrea Jung, who will speak in every city on the world tour (she speaks fluent Mandarin and ‘so-so’ Spanish, and will attempt a few words in Russian, Polish and Hindi, too). A divorced mother of two – 21-year-old Lauren, now studying English at university, from her first marriage, and 13-year-old James from her second – she is, she says, a ‘juggler like every other working mother’. She says the best
advice she has been given is that there are times when family comes first and times when work comes first and that it’s important to accept that and ‘not feel guilty’.
Andrea is passionate about Avon’s products, and eager to stress that the cosmetics company is in the top five when it comes to investment in research. Virtually recession-proof (Avon launched its first cosmetics line during the Great Depression of the 1930s), it has no shortage of potential reps needing to earn extra cash and, as Andrea says, ‘when money is tight cosmetics are an affordable luxury’.
But it isn’t the company’s commercial success that prompts the most pride – it is the philanthropic work carried out through the Avon Foundation. To date, it has raised $800 million (£486 million) for women’s causes, supporting breast-cancer charities and speaking out against domestic violence. Andrea sees her company as a force for empowering women on two levels – as a business model and through its benevolent work. ‘Two-thirds of the world’s impoverished are female and, in most of the developing world, women still don’t have access to an income and independence, so I think that what we are doing is even more relevant now than it was in 1886. In the Middle East and Africa, there are vast numbers of women affected by issues about women’s rights.’
Back in the arena, the noise level has risen by several decibels, as the women go wild for a special performance by Olly Murs (who looks more nervous here than he did in the X Factor final). The age range of the reps makes this a different audience for the singer (who had tried to keep his appearance here today secret), but even the oldest of the Avon Ladies give him a warm welcome. Ethel Collins, a rep for 48 years (Avon UK launched in 1959), is out of her seat, dancing alongside others half her age. By the time the ever-young – but actually 46 – Yasmin Le Bon comes on stage, even I am beginning to worship at the Avon altar (one of the Avon management team admits to being so ‘passionate’ about the company that she sometimes feels as if she’s been ‘brainwashed’). Yasmin, another of Avon’s ambassadors, is possibly even more fervent about the company than the CEO. ‘Avon runs so deep with me. It’s always been a part of my life – my mum was an Avon Lady. She loved it and gave me the love for it. And now I feel I am in the right place. I’ve got the wrinkles and you guys have got the cream and the technology to sort it out…’ she enthuses, her flawless face the perfect ad for the products.
At the end of a long day, as the reps file out of the arena with ‘Believe’ goody bags, I too am a believer. The presentation may have been a brash display of global consumerism, but the audience was an inspiring group of women for whom ‘Avon Calling’ really is about empowerment.
But it isn’t the company’s commercial success that prompts the most pride – it is the philanthropic work carried out through the Avon Foundation. To date, it has raised $800 million (£486 million) for women’s causes, supporting breast-cancer charities and speaking out against domestic violence. Andrea sees her company as a force for empowering women on two levels – as a business model and through its benevolent work. ‘Two-thirds of the world’s impoverished are female and, in most of the developing world, women still don’t have access to an income and independence, so I think that what we are doing is even more relevant now than it was in 1886. In the Middle East and Africa, there are vast numbers of women affected by issues about women’s rights.’
Back in the arena, the noise level has risen by several decibels, as the women go wild for a special performance by Olly Murs (who looks more nervous here than he did in the X Factor final). The age range of the reps makes this a different audience for the singer (who had tried to keep his appearance here today secret), but even the oldest of the Avon Ladies give him a warm welcome. Ethel Collins, a rep for 48 years (Avon UK launched in 1959), is out of her seat, dancing alongside others half her age. By the time the ever-young – but actually 46 – Yasmin Le Bon comes on stage, even I am beginning to worship at the Avon altar (one of the Avon management team admits to being so ‘passionate’ about the company that she sometimes feels as if she’s been ‘brainwashed’). Yasmin, another of Avon’s ambassadors, is possibly even more fervent about the company than the CEO. ‘Avon runs so deep with me. It’s always been a part of my life – my mum was an Avon Lady. She loved it and gave me the love for it. And now I feel I am in the right place. I’ve got the wrinkles and you guys have got the cream and the technology to sort it out…’ she enthuses, her flawless face the perfect ad for the products.
At the end of a long day, as the reps file out of the arena with ‘Believe’ goody bags, I too am a believer. The presentation may have been a brash display of global consumerism, but the audience was an inspiring group of women for whom ‘Avon Calling’ really is about empowerment.
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