And we made it! Here are all the mark. interns in front of the building.
And here are all the interns--Avon and mark.
We were welcomed to Suffern by Russel Wyborski, Manager of New Technology. He introduced us to the building, the company, and Avon's strategy regarding R&D. He had a witty sense of humor, so it was easy to listen to him as he shared the facts about Avon. Here are a few of the highlights:
Avon's competitive advantage is 1. their level of strategic thinking, and 2. their scientific excellence.
Avon's total R&D spending in the previous year was $71.8 million. Compared to Estee Lauder's $74.4 million, Avon seems to be on the right track.
Avon was the first company to decide and promise not to test their products on animals. (I didn’t know this and am so proud to share it!)
On average, Avon introduces 1,700 new products a year and 2,300 new shades!
Avon's satellites of R&D include, Mexico, China, Japan, South Africa, Poland, Argentina, and it's largest in Brazil.
After this presentation, we were divided up into groups and given a tour of the Center. Our tour guide was one of the scientists who formulated a new lip balm (Totally Balmed) for mark.! So cool!! We got to see the labs where the chemists work, the production and packaging rooms, the testing and focus group areas, the color library, and the Avon nail and hair salon (just to name a few!).
The best part of this field trip however, was after the presentation and the tour—it was being in the mark. lab itself! It was crazy to see how small this lab was, and to think that is where all the mark. products are created! We were all given lab coats and safety goggles and invited to see what goes on behind these closed doors. At each table, we got to meet someone on the mark. team and they shared with us their specialty. We got to press our own eye shadows, help color the newest mark. body wash, learn how the body creams are made, hear about mascara and where the trends are taking it, and see the new lip product and help piece some of them together. It was so cool to press my own shadow! I made “Picadilly”--a rich and deep purple! I can't leak out too much information on here, but I can say that there are TONS of AWESOME products coming out in 2011. We are all shrieking when we saw where mark. is planning on going with their trend line. It's going to be a great year for mark.! Can’t wait for 2011 products.
And some pictures:
Here is our tour guide showing us Avon's color library. Every shade of every product that Avon has created is in this room!
Here are some pictures of the wallpaper in the center:
Avon also had a Marilyn Monroe inspired lip couch. Here I am with Sadie and Kristin:
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