Avon

Avon Products Inc. began as The California Perfume Company in 1886, when the Union Publishing House changed both its name and the focus of its business from publishing to perfumes and cosmetics. The direct sales model still used by the Avon company today began with the California Perfume Company's earliest representative, Mrs. P.F.E. Albee. The company's first sales brochure was published in 1896. By 1902, the company had 10,000 sales representatives and was a pioneer in creating career opportunities for women at a time when most women did not work outside the home or were limited to clerical