Happy 45th Anniversary Mary Kay! Saturday, Sept. 13, marks the 45th anniversary of Mary Kay. The Company was founded by Mary Kay Ash, with her life savings of $5,000, the help of her 20-year-old son, Richard Rogers, and a dream - a dream based on the Golden Rule and the principles of God first, family second and business third. More than four decades later, Mary Kay® products are sold in more than 35 markets worldwide, and the Company's global independent sales force exceeds 1.8 million. The Company's success, however, can best be summed up by these words of wisdom from our Founder, "The success of Mary Kay Inc. is much, much deeper than just dollars and cents and buildings and assets. The real success of our Company is measured to me in the lives that have been touched and given hope." We extend our heartfelt thanks to you for helping to continue Mary Kay's legacy and perpetuating her dream of enriching women's lives worldwide. For a glimpse into Mary Kay - then and now - be sure to see the September issue of Applause® magazine.
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I thought it might be fun to add some mile markers over the years. I posted this one because it does site the source.
ReplyDeleteIn 2006:
This was a fact:
In the U.S. in 2006, Mary Kay was again the best-selling brand in the combined categories of facial skin care and color cosmetics, as well as the best-selling brand in the individual categories of facial skin care; lip color, which includes lipstick, lip gloss and lip liner; and eye makeup remover. Based on the most recent industry sales data according to the Kline & Company, Inc.'s "Cosmetics & Toiletries USA 2006" study.
Also a fact, MK was the best selling brand of a FEW brands, not ALL brands. They do not state which brands were included or left out.
ReplyDeleteThe study is listed, I am sure if you wanted to show that only a "few" participated, go find the study and back up your statement.
ReplyDeleteImho, if any other Company felt they would have claimed the title, they would have bothered to participate.
Definition of a few:
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
few /fyu/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[fyoo] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, -er, -est, noun, pronoun
–adjective 1. not many but more than one: Few artists live luxuriously.
–noun 2. (used with a plural verb) a small number or amount: Send me a few.
3. the few, a special, limited number; the minority: That music appeals to the few.
–pronoun 4. (used with a plural verb) a small number of persons or things: A dozen people volunteered, but few have shown up.
—Idioms5. few and far between, at widely separated intervals; infrequent: In Nevada the towns are few and far between.
6. quite a few, a fairly large number; many: There were quite a few interesting things to do.
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[Origin: bef. 900; ME fewe, OE féawe; c. Goth fawai; akin to L paucus few, paulus little, pauper poor, Gk paûros little, few]
So arabella, is it a FACT that only a "few" companies participated or is a "fact" that not all Companies participated?
In the anti MK world is going to analyze and dissect every signle word that a MK consultant uses than it is only fair if the same goes the other way because once again imho, many anti-mkers lack any common sense when interpreting what someone is saying and want to twist a statement to make it a lie.
Just clarifing, MK4ME, that MK is not the best selling brand of all brands, only some. Any company could make this assertion. And MK sells to consultants who may or may not sell to customers. As stupid as it is to buy huge quantities of product without selling it, it does happen. So MKs numbers are not accurate.
ReplyDeleteI just heard a commercial on TV that said that Artisan was the best selling brand of cosmetics in the country. I have never heard of them, but they are the same people who make herbalife. How can they and MK be the best? Each had a study done, independantly. And each study can be fixed to look good for each.
Please don't think I am attacking you, MK4ME. I love your posts and usually agree with them. You are a treasure for MKC. You give this company a good name. If there were more consultants like you MKC would not have the reputation it does in some parts.
arabella, didn't mean to sound harsh, will explain a tad more when I get back from clam bake :)
ReplyDeleteI think you are a valuable voice on this site. And I always appreciate your opinion of me, it truly does mean alot!
Chat soon!
My belief is this is a statement we can make and here is my reasoning, first any Company that wants to participate in the survery may, the Company that does the survey is an independent (3rd party), it would never stay in business if it were biased because they would never get anyone to participate if they weren't legit.
ReplyDeleteIf other Companies felt like disputing it, I am sure there would have been plenty of lawsuits.
Now as far as the idea that not all Companies participate, may very well be true, but they did have the opportunity to and choose not to.
But... to use an analogy, I have used the concept of a 5K race alot.
When I ran my third 5k I placed 1st for my age group.
I received a gold medal and the right and priviledge to say that I was the best in my age group. make sense? now when I ran my second race I placed second, the girl that beat me did so by over a minute, I know she is faster than I am. Had she run in the third race that I ran in, I am sure I would have placed second and she would have been first (BEST).
But I don't have to go around clarying that I won first place in the race I won because I know I wouldn't have if the other runner had shown up.
I ran the race and won.
If someone chooses not to participate in the race, it doesn't take away from the ones that do.
hope my example helps.
Now, if a consultant wants to use the "Best Selling Brand Claim" now, I do feel they should clarify, in years..2006, etc..
To say it now, is incorrect because MK decided not to participate this year.
Artistry/Quixtar must have opted to participate and this a Amway.
and on the other issue that the sales aren't accurate because it only counts sales to consultants, well, with the MK model, the consultants are the "stores" thru which their products are sold.
Likewise, the numbers any other cosmetic companies count, Estee, Clinique, etc... count the sales from their warehouses to the stores they sell them to, ie: Macy's, Dilliars, etc... when the Companies report their sales they do not go and ask each store how much inventory they have in their store unsold and then deduct that from the figures they report. And my guess, is any of those stores hold a make larger inventory than any consultant.
so comparing the sales on what is shipped from the Company is the same in all cases.
Consultants once they feel they have sufficient inventory simply shouldn't buy any more until they need it.
I can only speak for myself and my unit, but I can tell you we move alot of product. We have alot of happy clients and we love our products. So there are many woman that do buy Mary Kay products, love Mary Kay products, and I have many clients seek me out because they want MK and have lost a consultant - so there must be some that really want the product.
Third party industry surveys by reputable firms are considered the benchmark for companies all over the world.
ReplyDeleteA little about the study off of the Kline & Company website:
This comprehensive annual survey is considered the authoritative source of information on the cosmetics and toiletries industry. It contains information on market size, retail sales, channel breakdowns, trends, and forecasts for 34 major product categories; detailed profiles of about 30 leading marketers; an analysis of media spending; and timely bulletins covering new products and corporate developments.
A little about the Kline & Company:
Kline provides clients with facts, forecasts, and recommended solutions based solidly on the realities of the market as well as modern strategic principles.
Kline is recognized for its industry-specific expertise and experience in monitoring a wide range of interrelated fields. Numerous industry segments comprise our five principal practice areas:
Chemicals and Minerals
Consumer and Institutional Products
Life Sciences
Petroleum and Energy
Polymers and Materials
I couldn't download the actual research report because it costs $27,000.
Anyway, my point is that these research studies are meant specifically to compare apples-to-apples. It's not a commissioned study by Mary Kay, it is an Industry study. Very different thing.
I heard that commercial from Amway/Quixtar and in that commercial, they're adding something else to "Best selling beauty..." (I believe health products -- don't quote me I can't remember).That's like if Mary Kay also sold clothing and lumped in beauty and clothing and said we're the best company that sells "clothing and beauty together". In other words, their claim might be true with the two industries combined, but it is not apples to apples unless they were to just claim beauty.
And another thing about inventory. If you think a consultant's unsold inventory of a measly few thousand dollars is inflating the "best selling brand claim" think about the hundreds of thousands of dollars of retail product that can go unsold at a mega-retailer like Macys or Lord and Taylor! Those stores can't send their product back like you can in MK, so they move it along to their lower-end chains like Marshall's and then if that doesn't work they donate it in the hopes of off-setting their losses with a tax write-off.
I am not saying that the study is inaccurate. It's accurate. But to say someone is the best selling brand without clarifying that it is not amoung all brands . . . That is misleading in my book.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think you can compare consultants ordering stock to a store ordering stock. A store is going to have some way of knowing what their customers want and have used in the past. That determines what they will order in the future. A consultant just starting out has no idea what will sell. She has no customers so she doesn't know what to order ahead of time. It's a guess, really. How can you compare a consultant who in most cases doesn't have ordering experience to someone who has been in business for years like Walmart or Dillards, etc. You can't compare the two.
The reason why this statement is such a thorn in my side is because at one of my first SCCs I stated it and a woman asked me what we were comparing ourselves to? Best selling in comparison to who? I had never thought of that. She was persistant. We called MKC right then and they told me it was a study done with some cosmetic companies, not all of them. Avon was not in it. Nor was Olay. Two HUGE companies. After all the discussion I felt like I had tried to run around my customers with that statement. I never made it again.
According to the industry, Mary Kay is a "Prestige" Brand not a "Mass Market" Brand. Once again, the study is apples to apples. Therefore, Mary Kay is not going to be compared to Avon or Oil of Olay. It is compared to Estee Lauder, Mac, Prescriptives, etc. I'm surprised that wasn't clarified for you.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would LOVE to see a report on MK over inventory vs. retail over-inventory. Retail over inventory ordering created the market for stores such as TJ Maxx and Marshalls...overstock.com, etc. etc.
And I know that my director pointed me in a very good direction in my first inventory selection, because everything went in a matter of months. It's not like we have thousands of products to keep track of. I've rotated out inventory over and over again and I figured out fairly quickly what I felt necessary to keep in stock.
The only people I hear refer to MK as a prestige brand is MKers.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I called corporate about who was included in the study, Estee Lauder was not, nor was Mac. Or Clinique. I do not recall if Presicriptives was in there.
Does anyone have a list as to who all was in the study??
There were 30 companies in the study, and I can't afford it because it's $27,000 to purchase the report. I'm sure it was reported in a trade publication if you want to look that up.
ReplyDelete"Prestige Brand" is a standard beauty industry term defining a segment of the market. If you google it you'll see that other industry professionals besides MKers use that term.
Arabella,
ReplyDeleteIf you watch the Amway commercial again, listen closely. The claim that I heard was combining their Artisty cosmetics line with their health/nutritional supplements, making them the #1 retailer in THAT combined category.
Everyone please watch it closely and let's get a script that is absolutely accurate about what the commercial says.
I found the commercial online and listened closely twice and wrote down the exact verbage...
ReplyDeletespeaking about Artisty "...one of the world's best selling beauty brands."
and when combining Artisty and the supplements together they are "...the #1 online health and beauty retailer in America."
Why does this matter? Because it goes to show how easily something is "misheard" or "misinterpreted" or just plain mixed up when repeated. I am sure that Arabella didn't mean to misquote the commercial, the point is how easy it is. While I believe that Mary Kay consultants should be accurate in truthful in their comments and claims, it is easy to misquote or misunderstand some of these statements. So, first of all, we should be careful in repeating info., and secondly, don't be so hard on all consultants who might innocently mis-speak. Most truly mean no harm and certainly do not mean to be untruthful.
I never intend to misquote. Not that it matters. I think I got my point across. MK is the best selling brand of 30 brands, which are not disclosed. Once I learned that I have been trying to figure out why anyone finds this worth mentioning in their sales pitch.
ReplyDeleteArabella,
ReplyDeleteI know that you didn't mean to misquote, but my point is that you see how easy it is to do so.
As to the study, if it were 30 brands in the same category as Mary Kay, and you are comparing apples to apples, then I think it is a valid study. Also, how do you know that they did not pre-research to find out which 30 even had a chance at being the #1 in sales? Lastly, if this is a valid research company, and from all reports that I have seen it is, then I am confident that they make fair comparisons as to "sold" product. If another brand "sells" the product to Walgreen's, I am confident that they count that as sales, or do you believe that Walgreen's reports back every individual sale to the company? It's possible, but I think unlikely. I suspect that many retailers work just like Mary Kay, when the wholesaler sales it to a store, it is considered sold, unless they just "place" stock there to sell.