Description
In the 20 years since Avon Products, Inc., deposited its records at Hagley Library they have become one of our most popular research collections.
A virtual event on May 7 will bring attention to their contribution to history.
Avon Products, Inc., is one of the oldest direct selling companies in America. It traces its origins to 1886, when David H. McConnell bought the Union Publishing Company and started manufacturing perfumes to give away with his books. McConnell discovered that his customers were more interested in the fragrances than the books, so he decided to concentrate on selling perfumes. The business was renamed the California Perfume Company (CPC) in an effort to associate its products with the perceived beauty of the Golden State.
From the beginning, CPC sold directly to the consumer through a national network of sales representatives, primarily women, who were looking for economic opportunity and flexible part-time employment. In 1929, CPC introduced the Avon brand in an effort to modernize its image. The corporation was renamed Avon Products, Inc. in 1950. Avon rapidly expanded into the international market during the 1950s and 1960s, principally Latin America and Europe. By the early 1970s, Avon International operated in sixteen countries.
Speakers at the event will come from around the USA and Europe and discuss Avonโs activities in the United States, Brazil, and Italy, as well as its efforts to reach out to African American women and diversity its American salesforce. The eventโs keynote will be offered by Katina Manko, who helped bring the Avon Collection to Hagley. Mankoโs book, Ding Dong! Avon Calling!: The Women and Men of Avon Products, Incorporated will be published in June.