Mary Kay, Inc.: Building a Brand in India - Case Study

The Mary Kay Way

Sheryl Adkins-Green couldn't ask for a better assignment. As the newly appointed vice president of brand development at Mary Kay, Inc., she is 
responsible for development of the product portfolio around the world, including global initiatives and products specifically formulated for global markets. She is enthusiastic about her position, noting that, “There is tremendous opportunity for growth. Even in these economic times, women still want to pamper themselves, and to look good is to feel good.” Getting up to speed on her new company and her new position topped her short term agenda. She was specifically interested in the company's efforts to date to build the Mary Kay brand in India.

Mary Kay Ash founded Mary Kay Cosmetics in 1963 with her life savings of $5,000 and the support of her 20-year-old son, Richard Rogers, who currently serves as executive chairman of Mary Kay, Inc. Mary Kay, Inc., is one of the largest direct sellers of skin care and color cosmetics in the world with more than $2.5 billion in annual sales. Mary Kay brand products are sold in more than 35 markets on five continents. The United States, China, Russia, and Mexico are the top four markets served by the company. The company's global independent sales force exceeds 2 million. About 65 percent of the company's independent sales representatives reside outside the United States.

Asia-Pacific markets represent major growth opportunities for Mary Kay, Inc. These markets for Mary Kay, Inc., include Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan.China accounts for the largest sales revenue outside the United States, representing about 25 percent of annual Mary Kay, Inc., worldwide sales. The company entered China in 1995 and currently has some 200,000 independent sales representatives or “beauty consultants” in that country.

Mary Kay, Inc., executives believed that brand building in India needed to involve media advertising; literature describing the Mary Kay culture, the Mary Kay story, the company's image; and educational material for Mary Kay independent sales representatives. In addition, Mary Kay, Inc., became the cosmetics partner of the Miss India Worldwide Pageant 2008. At this event, Mary Kay Miss Beautiful Skin 2008 was crowned.

Brand building in India also involved product mix and pricing. Four guidelines were followed:

1 Keep the offering simple and skin care focused for the new Indian salesforce and for a new operation.

2. Open with accessibly priced basic skin care products in relation to the competition in order to establish Mary Kay product quality and value.

3. Avoid opening with products that would phase out shortly after launch.

4. Address the key product categories of skin care, body care, and color based on current market information.

Brand pricing focused on offering accessibly priced basic skin care to the average middle-class Indian consumer between the ages of 25 and 54.

This strategy, called “masstige pricing,” resulted in product price points that were above mass but below prestige competitive product prices. Following an initial emphasis on offering high-quality, high-value products, Mary Kay introduced more technologically advanced products that commanded higher price points. For example, the company introduced the Mary Kay MelaCEP Whitening System, consisting of seven products, which was specifically formulated for Asian skin in March 2009. This system was“ priced on the lower price end of the prestige category with a great value for money equation,” said Hina Nagarajan, country manager for Mary Kay, India.