I got my first ever Avon catalog a couple of days ago. I have never used anything from Avon before and I am not sure what I should be looking for. I really think this is more or less what the general public in the UK are feeling toward the brand.
The reason for me to order a catalog (which is easier to browse than the website) is that I wanted to know more about Avon products after I watched a program about Avon on BBC a few weeks ago. It looked into the recent expansion of Avon in the UK and what difficulties it had been experiencing.
It mentioned several key difficulties. One is the dated image of the brand. Another is the lack of A-list celebrity endorsement. Still another is the lack of a clear target consumer group.
But I personally think there is another problem. It lacks a major “cult” product to attract attention to the whole brand. When everybody around you or on an Internet forum has been saying something is good, it is quite likely that you will be interested in finding out what the fuss is about.
I’d like to use the example of DHC’s cleansing oil. In Japan, shopping for DHC products is not totally a glamorous affair. DHC mainly uses mail and telephone orders for their sales. They don’t do heavy celebrity endorsement campaigns. Their packaging is plain and far from trendy.
Overall, it is similar to Avon in the UK. But the DHC cleansing oil has been so popular in Japan that it has the ability to propel sales of other DHC products. I believe a usual pattern is for someone to start using and falling in love with the cleansing oil and then trying other DHC products as a natural progression.
Unfortunately, it is not enough to have wonderfully formulated products. Some level of hype has to be generated to grab people’s attention and for the products to fly off the shelves.
YSL has Touche Elat, Lancome has the mascaras, and Clinique has the 3-step system, but Avon is not famous for anything (at least in the UK). Sometimes it only takes one product to get the customers closer to the whole brand.
Another thing I think Avon should do in the UK is to make samples more readily available. Since we don’t have the traditional Avon ladies here (do correct me if I am wrong) and it does not have a counter, it is very hard for people to sample Avon products first before they think about whether they want to make a purchase. Even though Avon has a great money back guarantee policy (even when the product has been used), it is still a chore to pack an unsuitable product up and send it back.
What happened to me is that, after asking around, I found that many people seemed to like Avon Glazewear lipglosses. But I still don’t think I’ll make any purchase because I’d really like to try the colors first, at least on the back of my hand, just to see the pigmentation and the level of shimmer. So, even though I am quite keen to experiment in general, I am still a bit hesitant to make a purchase at the moment.
One of the things that DHC does is offering travel-size sample kits at a very low price so that people can easily afford to try a variety of products and see what they can incorporate into their existing skincare routine. That’s the way to go!
I think Avon still has a long way to go before it can make it big in the UK. Unless they get the marketing (which includes customer sampling) spot on, it will be a very long journey…
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting to hear about Avon launching in the UK. No Avon ladies or celebrity endorsers? We have all that here in the US. I can’t believe they wouldn’t do that in the UK. The brand is not a high-end one here (It’s equivalent to drugstore brands), so I don’t think you should expect it to be high-end there either.
Thanks for the comment! :-)
I think I was not being totally clear. Avon has been in the UK for quite a while, but it has been trying to expand its existing market.
To add to my post, Avon has once used British TV presenter and stage actress Denise van Outen, but I wouldn’t say she is an A-lister here. As for Avon Ladies, I guess even if there are some of them in the UK, they don’t have nearly as much presence as in the US.
Avon has been around for soooo long in the States and in other parts of the world. They must be doing something right. I think that depending on the country they approach thier advertising and marketing differently. For example I have a friend from Taiwan who told me that Avon is available to purchase at chemists in her country.
Here in Australia and in the States Avon recently employed Salma Hayek to promote thier products. They advertise on television heaps and encourage people to seek out an Avon lady for samples. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of finding a rep so I simply became on myself and just ordered products and samples for myself. You can sample nearly all of the products with the exceptions of nail polish, glazewear lip glosses and some other things.
I think that Avon is like Tupperware (hopefully you know what I’m talking about here!!). It’s one of those things that some ladies and even some gents get together and do as a group activity and sell it to family members and co-workers. They also do have thier cult products that they are known for such as Skin So Soft bath oil.
I have to tell you that I think that you are not missing out on much by not being able to sample thier cosmetics. Alot of them are cheap and just plain nasty. I discovered the wonderful world of MAC cosmetics last year and no longer purchase Avons cosmetics or skincare. However, Avon did launch a new brand a while back for a younger market called MARK which is getting great reviews!
http://www.meetmark.com/PRSuite/
home/home.jsp
Thank you for the comment and all the information!
Yes, I have heard about MARK and heard about the good reviews. Unfortunately, we don’t have it in the UK at the moment.
I can see that Avon is definitely a household name in the US, no matter whether people like it or not. I think Avon is trying to be more of a household name here as well but it can take a long time. After all, Avon has a long history in the US…
Well, what I can say here is that Avon is one of the leading brand in my country, Malaysia. But I used to live in the UK a few years ago and I know what PJ means when she wrote about the condition of Avon in UK. I think the Avon representatives in the UK have to work really hard to capture the market.
Thanks for the comment, Aidee. They do have to work very hard indeed, especially to establish an identity and a fresh image here…