Makeup MogulThe keys to success: How Mary Kay's company became the Cadillac of cosmetics
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Most companies wouldn't consider Friday the 13th anauspicious day. Yet Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc. opened its doors onFriday, September 13, 1963. Today, more than 30 years later, MaryKay Cosmetics has shown that Friday the 13th can be a lucky day tostart a business, by becoming the largest direct selling skin carecompany in the nation, boasting more than 400,000 representativesworldwide, who generate annual retail sales in excess of $2billion.
Mary Kay Ash, founder and chairman emeritus, never intended tostart a cosmetics business. When she retired in 1963, after a25-year career in the direct selling industry, her goal was tocombine her experiences into a guidebook for career women.
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