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New wheels in Mary Kay's lineup: Annual convention to see debut of entire Cadillac line in signature shade(Dallas Morning News, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jul. 16--The first thing to behold is the pink, which is more like the shade of a bubble gum bubble than a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. It shines differently from different angles, and, upon close inspection, it sparkles. But close inspection isn't needed to see the chrome Mary Kay emblem attached just above another ostentatiously shiny name -- Escalade. This is not your mother's pink Cadillac. For the first time, all six models of Cadillacs are being offered in signature Mary Kay pink to the upper echelon of Mary Kay consultants. The highest level, the national sales directors, can choose from the two priciest Cadillacs: the sporty XLR and the humongous Escalade. When their annual seminars start Thursday at the Dallas Convention Center, about 40,000 Mary Kay beauty consultants and directors will descend on Dallas over three weeks, and 4,864 will walk away with career cars. But only 716 sales directors and national directors will be behind the wheels of the trademark pink Cadillacs. Jill Moore, the recipient of the first Escalade and a national sales director from Plano, has been driving the Cadillacs for 16 years, and she lobbied the company to offer models that would accommodate families. "When people see it, they immediately see success," she said of the Cadillacs. Ms. Moore has been with Mary Kay Inc. for 19 years, starting out as an independent beauty consultant, but her history with the company goes much further back. Her mother has been with the company for 34 years. "I was raised in a pink Cadillac," she said. "I took my very first driving test in Clinton, Okla., in a pink Cadillac." Sean Key, vice president of sales development and administration for Mary Kay, said that among the new cars, the SRX is in high demand. The SRX, which is a smaller SUV than the Escalade, is offered to sales directors and national directors. The other new pink Cadillac is the CTS, a more compact model. The DTS, CTS and SRX are offered to the sales directors. The STS is still available to the national directors. Other General Motors Co. cars are offered to top saleswomen, but they are not pink. According to Mary Kay, there are 245 career cars on the road in North Texas, and 79 of them are the pink Cadillacs. Since the first cars were given out in 1969, GM has made more than 100,000 pink Cadillacs, said Rob Minton, communications manager for GM fleet and commercial operations. He also said that the pink Cadillac is only available as an award given out by Mary Kay. "You can't buy one; you can't ask a dealer to paint one for you," he said. Each director gets to keep the car for two years, except for the Escalades and XLRs, which are on three-year leases. After the lease is up, the old ones are painted a different color and auctioned off. The Escalades are produced in Arlington, and Mr. Minton said it adds to the strong relationship between GM and Mary Kay, which is based in Addison. "We think there's a real benefit to being connected to one of the best-known corporate award programs in the world, and that's Mary Kay," he said. The annual seminar is split into five three-day sessions. The career car awards are announced at the end of each session, and the seminar ends Aug. 4. The event has become an institution in Dallas, bringing thousands of "pink ladies" to the area's hotels, restaurants and shopping centers. It is an institution that is held in high regard by Phillip Jones, chief executive of the Dallas Convention and Visitors' Bureau. "I cannot tell you how honored we are to be the home of Mary Kay's annual meeting in July," he said. "We're very fortunate that Mary Kay has such a strong commitment to the city of Dallas." Mr. Jones said that the economic impact on Dallas is roughly $80 million to $100 million, and the filled hotels push visitors to outlying areas as well. Ms. Moore gave a more personal example of economic impact. "These are girls with cash; we can always have a good time," she said. Right now, Ms. Moore's Escalade is on display in the entrance hall of the convention center, and she can't wait to bring it home. "I'll be the first one to tear up North Texas in that beautiful pink Cadillac," she said. But in three years when the lease is up, will she have a problem giving it up? No, she says; she'll just "let them deliver me another one." To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |