Avon Products
Headquarters:
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
Employees: 42,000
CEO: Andrea Jung
Website: http://www.avoncompany.com
Stock Symbol:
AVP
Career Page
Avon is a leading maker of beauty products for women. As the world's largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in over 100 countries through 5.4 million independent Avon Sales Representatives.
Avon's product line includes beauty products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques, Avon Naturals, and Mark. The company began offering products for men in 2004.
The company operates a $100 million state-of-the-art
research and development center in Suffern, NY.
In 2008, Avon reported sales of $10.69 billion and net income of $875.3 million. More than 60% of revenues come from international sales.
Avon announced plans to restructure and eliminate 1,300 jobs by 2013.
In North America, the company said that it will close its facility in Springdale, Ohio by mid-2012. The company said that production will shift to its manufacturing sites in Morton Grove, IL, and Celaya, Mexico, and to contract manufacturers. In line with this, the Springdale-based return goods operation will also close, with the function being relocated to another Avon U.S. facility or outsourced in the U.S. The existing customer service call center will continue to operate and will relocate in Springdale or the greater Cincinnati, Ohio vicinity.
In Western Europe, Avon said that it is planning to close its manufacturing facility in Neufahrn, Germany and that it has entered into the required formal information and consultation processes with the economic committee and works council in Germany. The company said that it expects to phase-out operations by mid-2011 and plans to transfer production volume to other Avon manufacturing facilities, including Garwolin, Poland and to contract manufacturers.
History
Avon started out in 1886 as the California
Perfume Company when founder, Mr. David McConnell, 28 of New
York, NY, USA discovered that the rose oil perfumes he was giving
away were the reason people were buying his books. The first
Avon Sales Representative was Mrs. P.F.E. Albe. The first product
produced was called the Little Dot Perfume Set and included five
fragrances: Violet, White Rose, Heliotrope, Lily-of-the-Valley,
and Hyacinth
The company was named Avon in 1939, after
the river that runs through Stratford-On-Avon in the English
Midlands. The name is a tribute to McConnell's favorite playwright,
William Shakespeare, who hailed from the town.
Avon would be listed on the New York Stock
Exchange in 1964.
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