Beauty pays…literally!
Women across South Africa are benefiting from Avon's earning opportunity.
One of the largest direct selling and beauty companies in the world, Avon, is proving that beauty pays with an earning opportunity from which women across South Africa are benefitting. The direct selling industry locally provides an income for 1,3 million people who in the last financial year, shared earnings of R3,3 billion from sales of over R7,8 million products. 87% of these people are women.
Maggy More from Soweto decided to try the beauty industry several years ago as she was struggling to take care of her children. She had been retrenched from her job at a large shoe manufacturing company and selling fat cakes in the streets was not making her enough money for the family to survive on. A single mother, More entered the beauty industry hoping for the best and has never looked back. Now an independent Avon Representative, she was able to renovate her home, making it bigger and more comfortable for herself and her two daughters. “Women will always need and want beauty products so my business continues to flourish,” she says. This at a time when the economy was on a downward spiral.
Coincidentally, a research study suggests that the “lipstick effect” may explain the rise of businesses, like More’s, that sell beauty products. The research authors assert that during a recession or challenging economic times, women’s desire to have products that make them more attractive increases. The research, which is aptly titled ‘Boosting Beauty in an Economic Decline: Mating, Spending, and the Lipstick Effect’ gives insight into the psychological response of women to harsh economic times.
Whilst several independent Avon Representatives agree with the research’s assertion, the representatives also concede that there are other reasons for their success despite the harsh economic times. Liz Fisher, who left her job as a theatre nurse to focus on her Avon business, believes that the minimal cost of only R85 is a contributing factor together with the dedication and hard work one must invest in their business. “It’s easy to sign up and start your own Avon business and your earnings are dependent on how much work you’re putting into the business.” Nontombi Mthwetwa another independent seller of beauty products agrees. Mthwetwa decided to sell beauty products while she was looking for a job after completing her studies at university. “I didn’t have money to begin with so this was an attractive opportunity for me,” she says. “In the beginning it helped me pay the bills and support my sister who was the sole breadwinner, but soon my business grew and now I am able to obtain most of the things I dreamt about when I graduated in 2010.”
Success stories like that of Maggy More, Liz Fisher and Nontombi Mthetwa highlight the role entrepreneurship plays in helping to alleviate poverty in our communities as well as the potential of the beauty industry for profitable self-starter businesses.
