Sheryl Adkins-Green cannot imagine a better position. As the chief marketing officer at Mary Kay, Inc., she leads the company’s global marketing strategy, global product strategy and new-product development, advertising, digital marketing, social media, and customer insights initiatives.
To appreciate the scope of her responsibilities, consider the following: Mary Kay, Inc., is ranked among the top three global direct-selling companies. The company markets more than 700 premium products. Mary Kay brand products are sold in more than 40 countries, and the company is ranked among the top five skin care brands in the world.
Of utmost importance in Mary Kay’s global marketing is the assurance that Mary Kay is a “global cohesive brand that is regionally relevant,” notes Stephen Webster, vice president, brand and design at Mary Kay, Inc. Being regionally relevant is reflected in Mary Kay’s successful efforts in its Asia-Pacific markets and its brand-building initiatives in China.

THE MARY KAY WAY: 

Mary Kay Ash founded Mary Kay cosmetics in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, with her life savings of $5,000. “Mary Kay is a company that was built by a woman for women and the origins of the company are really a story of empowerment,”
says Adkins-Green.
Mary Kay Ash’s founding principles were simple, time-tested, and remain a fundamental company business philosophy. She adopted the Golden Rule as her guiding principle; determining the best course of action in virtually any situation could be easily discerned by “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Her work ethic, approach to business, and success resulted in numerous awards and recognitions including, but not limited to, the Horatio Alger American Citizen Award, “America’s 25 Most Influential Women,”
and the National Business Hall of Fame.
Mary Kay, Inc., engages in the development, manufacture, packaging, and marketing of skin care, cosmetic, spa and body, and fragrance products for men and women. It offers anti-aging, cleanser, moisturizer, lid and eye care, body care, and sun care products. In today’s world the company approaches the direct-selling experience in multiple ways, from the tried-and-true “party plan” originated by Mary Kay Ash, to fully online experiences and mini-classes developed to be sensitive to the time limits of the modern consumer. The company’s independent salesforce, called Independent Beauty Consultants, averages 3 million women. The majority of the company’s Independent Beauty Consultants reside outside the United States.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES IN ASIA-PACIFIC MARKETS:

 Asia-Pacific markets represent major growth opportunities for Mary Kay, Inc. In fact, Mary Kay’s first venture outside the United States was to Australia in 1971. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 51 percent of the world’s skin care sales and 39 percent of the world’s cosmetics sales—second only to Europe. Sales of skin care products and cosmetics in the Asia-Pacific region were estimated to be $190 billion in 2020.

Mary Kay’s Presence in Asia-Pacific Markets:

 Asia-Pacific markets for Mary Kay, Inc., include Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. Part of Mary Kay’s success in Asia-Pacific markets has been attributed to the company’s message of female empowerment and entrepreneurship. Speaking about the corporate philosophy at Mary Kay, Inc., KK Chua, president, Asia-Pacific, says, “Mary Kay’s corporate objective is not only to create a market, selling skin care and cosmetics; it’s all about enriching women’s lives by helping women reach their full potential, find their inner beauty and discover how truly great they are.” This view is echoed by Adkins-Green, who notes that the Mary Kay brand has “transformational and aspirational” associations for users and beauty consultants alike.
Mary Kay, Inc., also makes adjustments to its product line in Asia-Pacific markets. According to Adkins-Green:
As a global beauty brand, it’s important that we understand the preferences in every market in Asia Pacific. The trends there move exceptionally fast and it’s important that we rely on the Mary Kay business partners in the region to help us stay in touch with what women want. One of the things we’ve always understood is the importance of skin care in that market. More recently we’re seeing that the trends are moving very quickly as fashion is changing for the category.

Deanna Fell, vice president of engineering and project management, notes, “We have found that our customers in Asia have very different requirements for skin care than our customers in Latin America or the United States.” Fell continues, “As part of our innovation strategy, we tailor products for different regions, and that has helped us meet market demands.”
The company’s commitment to Asia-Pacific markets is reflected in the many accolades it has received. From 2018 to 2019, alone, Mary Kay, Inc., received nearly 30 awards for product innovation, corporate stewardship, and workplace excellence in its Asia-Pacific markets.
Mary Kay China:

 China is the largest skin care and cosmetics market in the Asia-Pacific region. Mary Kay, Inc., entered China in 1995 through its subsidiary, Mary Kay Cosmetics Company Ltd. Company headquarters is located in Shanghai as is the Mary Kay Science and Technology Center. The center’s main focus is on developing products that have potential for the Chinese market. The company also operates its Asia-Pacific Production Center in Hangzhou.
The company hosts a website, www.marykay.com.cn, that emphasizes female empowerment and entrepreneurship, displays products, and describes beauty tips. It also offers an online ordering channel that enables consumers to use apps such as WeChat to place orders with the company’s independent beauty consultants. WeChat is a Chinese multipurpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app with over 1 billion active users.

INTRODUCING PINK YOUNG TO CHINA:

 Mary Kay, Inc., debuted its Pink Young cosmetics brand in mid-2019. The launch followed extensive consumer research, intensive product development, and comprehensive marketing strategy planning.
Origins of the Pink Young Brand:

 The origins of the Pink Young brand emerged from consumer research showing that Chinese women were becoming more mature in their understanding of skin care and cosmetics. Beauty consumers in China were also becoming younger. According to Katherine Weng, general manager for Mary Kay China: “In China, beauty consumers’ demand for products and services [is] constantly increasing. The current consumer trend of skin rejuvenation in China is strengthening, and the purchasing power of the 18–24 group is rising.”

These consumer insights prompted the Mary Kay Design Studio, comprised of the global creative team at Mary Kay, Inc., to develop a new product line. Its charge was to create a unique product line for the younger and more affluent beauty consumer with three adjectives in mind: professional, fashionable, and international. According to Adkins-Green:
One of the things that we wanted to do is quickly tap the growing interest in color cosmetics but do it in a way that would stand out in a very competitive marketplace. The concept for Pink Young really was the combination of wanting to leverage the power of pink (a signature brand color for Mary Kay) and at the same time recognize that there really is a new generation of beauty consumers that are looking for new ways to express themselves. So, the combination of pink, our signature color, and the attitude of being young, fresh, experimental and expressive came together with the concept of Pink Young. It was definitely a combination of collaboration as well as co-creation, which today is what a successful brand needs to be able to do.
The result was Pink Young, a Mary Kay sub-brand featuring “a rich product line that offers a new generation of bold and beautiful makeup solutions through classic essentials and seasonal and trendy styles,” said Weng. The Pink Young Launch in China The Pink Young brand cosmetic line was unveiled in China during the Shanghai Fashion Week—the most influential and renowned fashion event in China. Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants served as makeup artists for this event.
Adkins-Green highlighted the collaborative effort underlying the Pink Young launch:
We worked very closely with the Mary Kay China team to understand what key influencers would be looking for in a brand-new product launch. So, creating the launch plan was the best of both worlds, leveraging the global resources that we have here based in Dallas, but at the same time tapping into some very local trends and key opinion leaders in the local market. Pink Young proved to be a major success by breaking the sales record for color cosmetics sold by Mary Kay in China. In addition, the Pink Young launch had a secondary effect: The launch attracted more than 45,000 new followers to Mary Kay’s WeChat account. According to CoCo Zhang, vice president corporate communications and brand Mary Kay China, “These new followers had a more positive impression of the Mary Kay brand than the previous followers.” She adds:
And most importantly, the numbers told us that the concept of being “bold” is well accepted among women of all ages. The new Pink Young line is helping to generate new young, fun and bold brand image for Mary Kay in China.³⁷

Questions
1. Is Mary Kay, Inc., an international firm, a multinational firm, or a transnational firm based on its marketing strategy?
2. Why is Mary Kay a global brand?
3. What global market-entry strategy did Mary Kay use in China?
4. What product and promotion strategies does Mary Kay employ in China?