Automotive Fleet, October 2018

MARY KAY ADDS TWO NEW CHOICES TO ITS FLEET OPTIONS AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I OCTOBER 2018 44 Global beauty brand Mary Kay has added the MINI Hardtop 4 Door and the Chevrolet Traverse 1LT to its U S fleet vehicle options BY ERIC GANDARILLA M ary Kay has revealed two new additions to its company fleet vehicle options the MINI Hardtop 4 Door and the Chevrolet Traverse 1LT The addition of these two new vehicles marks the first time in four years since the company has added a new vehicle to its company fleet offerings The two new vehicles will join Mary Kays other vehicle offerings such as the Cadillac CTS Chevrolet Cruze Ford Fusion Chevrolet Equinox and BMW 320i The MINI Hardtop 4 Door and Chevrolet Traverse were unveiled during the companys annual U S Seminar in Dallas The annual event took place at the Dallas Convention Center and consisted of four back to back conferences where the company announced new initiatives and products The company also uses this annual event to award its independent sales consultants who qualified for one of the companys fleet vehicles Mary Kays Fleet The companys current fleet stands at approximately 4100 vehicles throughout the U S The most iconic brand in this fleet and the one most associated with the Mary Kay name is Cadillac This close association between Cadillac and Mary Kay is tied to the companys roots In 1968 a few years after the company was founded the companys founder Mary Kay Ash purchased a Cadillac from a local Dallas dealership and had it painted pink to match one of her products and to serve as a form of mobile advertising The following year Ash awarded the companys top five sales consultants with similar pink Cadillac Coupe de Villes Since then a Cadillac vehicle has been the symbol of highest achievement within the company only available to the highest earning sales consultants Mary Kay career vehicles are offered to the companys top independent sales consultants who meet certain sales criteria Reaching or breaking thresholds qualify independent sales consultants for different vehicles Lower thresholds offer more economic vehicles while higher thresholds offer higherend vehicles The vehicles are awarded on a two year lease As long as the independent sales consultants maintain their sales at the qualifying thresholds the vehicles lease payments and a bulk of their insurance cost is covered by Mary Kay The most recent Cadillac model available to top sales consultants has been the Cadillac CTS in pink The Chevrolet Traverse 1LT top left will be available in a midnight black metallic color The MINI Hardtop 4 Door will also be available in midnight black but will feature pink accents Mary Kay noted that the MINI selection was inspired by the companys Compact Mini beauty product Of the companys total U S fleet approximately 1000 of the vehicles are Cadillac CTS models according to the most recent figures available Brand image is a key factor in determining the vehicles that the company will offer and as such both the model and paint job of the vehicle are important The MINI Hardtop 4 Door will be available in a midnight black metallic color with Mary Kays signature pink accents The company noted that this vehicle selection was inspired by its Mary Kay Compact Mini beauty product The Chevrolet Traverse 1LT will be available in midnight black metallic and will be the second SUV offered to the companys top independent sales consultants In January 2014 the company announced that independent sales consultants would be able to drive a BMW 320i sedan At the end of that year the company announced that it would be adding the Chevrolet Cruze compact car to its fleet lineup In its announcement the company noted that it selected the Cruze because it was an affordable stylish fuel efficient and safe vehicle AF PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARY KAY