Jafra Expands International Presence

Jafra Cosmetics International, Inc. is expanding its international presence with plans to open many new markets over the next five years starting with India, its first country in Asia, which was launched in September.

“With growth from our existing markets and new business generated from future markets in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, Jafra is poised to reach its goal of becoming a billion dollar company by 2014,” said Dr. Friedrich Kroos, Jafra president and chief executive officer.

The global expansion strategy is being carefully planned and developed by the Jafra management board along with the company’s new business development team. Heading this team is Mark Warburton, Jafra senior vice president, business development. Warburton, a veteran of the multi-level marketing industry, has extensive experience opening and operating many international markets for multi-national companies.

The new business development team carefully evaluates each market individually, taking into account the culture, economics, language, beliefs, history and local customs using a comprehensive methodology. India, for example, is a highly diverse country with a huge population, many diverse internal cultures and over 1,400 spoken dialects.

Entering a new market, such as India, can take anywhere from 6 to 24 months in the planning stages. The dedicated new business development team works in close cooperation with critical corporate support functions and local market leadership. Working together, the parties leverage deep insight into local market trends and the motivations of local prospective entrepreneurs and consumers to ensure delivery of a compelling business opportunity, highly coveted beauty products and world-class customer service entirely tailored to local needs.

“During our planning process, we carefully evaluate the competitive environment,” said Warburton. “Jafra can benefit from knowing our competitors challenges, successes and disappointments—and learn from that experience.”