Avon Beauty Supplies - Sales, Holiday Specials, and Free Shipping

David H. McConnell didn't originally intend to create a beauty company. A traveling book salesman, he founded Avon in 1886.

From "Little Dot" to Dot-Coms: the Evolution of Direct Selling at Avon Ever since Avon unveiled its first product more than 125 years ago - the Little Dot Perfume Set - the company has found ways to make direct selling relevant to women. Time and again, the company has innovated this ancient form of selling, tweaking its direct-selling model to fit seamlessly into Representatives' and customers' lives. Empowerment and Social Networking ... Long Before Facebook In 1886, direct selling at Avon represented a means for women to earn their own money at a time when not many women worked outside the home. It connected women, who were otherwise isolated and immersed in domestic life, in what the company calls "the original social network."