A night out for the ladies
The evening at the Workout Express premises on Hillcrest was very much a women's night out, writes Brian Byrne. There was lots of pink about, soft drinks and nibbles, catalogues and samples.
It was 'Avon Lady' Elaine Burke's latest Avon Party. And there was great buzz around the place. An escape from recession, maybe? And also the prospect of a few drinks and music in The Hideout afterwards, because that well-known pub had donated a €5 voucher for every customer who bought something from Avon, to be spent later that evening at the pub's Customer Appreciation Night.
This is the 125th anniversary of the Avon Lady. The business was actually started by an Irishman, David McConnell from Co Cavan, so it has a strong Irish heritage.
Area Manager Josephine Lee has been working around this region for the last 13 years, but since September the official Kilcullen Avon Lady has been Elaine Burke.
Formerly a kitchen designer, Elaine's job was one of the casulaties of the construction recession. "I needed to do something to keep me sane," she says. "I saw Josephine's phone number on her van and decided to take the plunge."
There was a certain family history in the move, as Elaine's grandmother used to be an Avon Lady. "And I always liked the products myself. I always bought them, but I hadn't seen a rep for a long time. I wanted to buy Avon products and I ended up becoming a rep."
Avon is possibly best known for cosmetics, but Elaine says it is much more than that. "We do makeup, fragrances, jewellery, lingerie, gifts for men and children, seasonal products for times like Christmas. And we have a huge range of clothes as well."
There must be a good demand in Kilcullen, because after a very short few months Elaine is already in line to make it into Avon's 'President's Cllub' for high-achievers.
Avon says its products are at the top of the league in quality, developed by their own dedicated research laboratories in New York. Indeed, they suggest that many high-end brand names license their products to market as their own. But the competitive prices means that Avon does well in recessionary times.
"Women will not give up their lipsticks in a recession," Elaine says. "In fact, the sale of lipsticks go up in a recession."
The Avon sales system is very much based on networking. Elaine began by selling to friends, the friends told other friends, and the message spreads. The Avon Parties are a key element, especially at the latter end of the year.
"I enjoy the selling one to one, and that's how Avon has operated since 1886. We don't do shops, we don't have high overheads, and we can pass on those savings in value to our individual customers. The personal contact is what makes Avon."
A significant number of Avon customers are in the elderly age group, and the regular visit of the Avon Lady can be an important social contact for them. "They might not be able to get out to the shops very much, and they like the one-on-one contact, even if it is just a 5-minute chat at the door. And they are also aware of the endorsements of our creams by celebrities from their own age group. Jacqueline Bisset is a good example, she's 68 now and a great ambassador for Avon."
There are currently about 10,000 Avon representatives in Ireland.
Pictured above at the event are Nora Burke, Catherine Enright, Elaine Burke, Josephine Lee, Helen Lee, Claire Brunkard, Natalie Dunne, and Norah Skehan.
This story was published in last week's Kildare Nationalist.
