Mary Kay Ash founded her own company, Mary Kay Cosmetics (Dallas, Texas), in 1963 to give other women the opportunities she felt she had been denied during a career in a male-dominated business world. The success of the company Ash founded was ensured by the innovative principles she brought to party-plan selling, including: 1. Structure parties to teach rather than to sell. 2. Limit the product line. 3. Limit party attendance. 4. Deliver products immediately. 5. Do not limit sales territories. 6. Recognize individual effort. These innovations have brought Mary Kay Cosmetics from $30,000 in annual sales in 1963 to more than $304 million in 1983. More than 4,100 “sales directors” earn an average income that exceeds $25,000 a year. Ash seems to have been years ahead of the times, both in her dedication to the advancement of women and in her direct marketing savvy.
Keywords: Cosmetics, Direct Selling, Innovations, Profiles, Sales, Studies