Mary Kay raises estimate of expansion

Mary Kay, American company of direct sales of cosmetics, expects to grow 70% in Brazil in 2013 compared to last year-above the 50% target stipulated previously. "2013 has been something awesome for us," says the Director-General of the society in the country, the Peruvian Alvaro Polanco, despite the cooling of consumption this year.
According to Polanco, the company reaps the fruits of investment in career of consultants and product launches. As still has a medium-sized, the company also has more room to grow organically than their main competitors, with the expansion in the State of São Paulo and in the expansion of its borders to the North and northeast regions.
There are 15 years in Brazil, Mary Kay has 200 thousand consultants, four times more than in 2009, when Polanco took office. His army is now comparable to that of Jequiti, Silvio Santos group, but is still far behind the market leaders Avon, with 1.5 million dealerships, and Natura, with 1.2 million. For the next five years, Mary Kay plans to multiply the number of dealerships for four.
Mary Kay is the sixth largest direct selling company in the world, with 3 million consultants in 35 countries and net sales of $ 3.1 billion. The Brazil is the fifth largest market in the group, behind China, United States, Russia and Mexico.
To accommodate the growth in Brazil, the company plans to open a second distribution center in the country until next year. Polanco also claims that Mary Kay is going to take the paper factory own announced two years ago by the global command. "Our volume is growing so much that we can't wait much longer," he says. According to him, in the first half of 2014 will set the location and schedule the installation. The company's Office in Barueri, in greater São Paulo, had 40 people in 2009 and now has 230. Another hundred people should join the team within the next 12 months, says Polanco.
Before the factory's address, Polanco put into action his plan to decrease imports. When he arrived at Brazil, practically all products came from the company's units in the United States and China. Today, 45% of the portfolio is made by two manufacturers, sub-contractors, and the idea is to increase this index to 70% until the end of next year.
Polanco considers the high-dollar and inflationary pressure a challenge for operation in Brazil, but he says he wouldn't consider re-price now. "Our cost is going to increase, but let's see how the market reacts." Earlier this year, some products were adjusted around 4%, to keep the price positioning of the company, whose catalogues offer a lipstick for $ 35 and a mascara for $ 50.
How not to invest in advertising, the main expense of Mary Kay in the country is in the sales channel. The company will allocate $ 180 million this year-incentives like bonuses, travel expenses and 400 cars pink-3.2 thousand Sales Directors, responsible for disseminating information about the career and motivate resellers. At the top of his career are 42 national directors, and that number continues to grow, according to Polanco.
In connection with the products, the flagship of Mary Kay, who turns 50 years old this month, has always been skin care and makeup. In recent months, the company launched lines of makeup for teenagers and anti-ageing creams. But Polanco plans to strengthen the portfolio today with about 300 items, with the development of other categories, such as fragrances. The Executive sees a great potential for growth in this segment, which has in Brazil its largest world market. Most Mary Kay products are developed in Dallas, in the United States, but the company has own fragrances for the Latin America and the colonies like Brazil. The idea is to pass from the current 16 perfumes to 50 in five years. The company also is studying have items for hair treatment.
Polanco, of 56 years, Mary Kay's 23. He was an engineer of an airline in the United States, when he was lured by an ad for the cosmetics company. The Executive came to work at the company's headquarters in Dallas, with the founder Mary Kay Ash, who died in 2001. He was Director of sales for the Americas and participated including the opening of the Brazilian operation.