Avon Products Inc. is #14 on this year's list of Top Global Beauty Companies.

Below is a look at the company's 2019 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands and latest innovations.

Corporate Sales

$5.5 billion

Beauty Sales

$3.7 billion

Key Personnel

• Jan Zijderveld, chief executive officer
• Jonathan Myers, executive vice president and chief operating officer
• James Thompson, chief beauty & brand officer
• Anna Chokina, vice president, global brand marketing, skincare and personal care
• Tatiana Piccolo, vice president global fragrance
• Jorge Leonardo Palomera Ruiz, general manager, Central America and Dominican Republic
• Bill Rahn, group vice president, Asia Pacific

Major Products

Makeup, Skincare, Fragrance Body Care Hair Care, including:

• mark, ANEW, ANEW Clinical
• ANEW Perfect Skin, ANEW Reversalist, ANEW Ultimate
• ANEW Platinum, Avon True Nutra Effects, Avon Eve series
• Musk Marine, Full Speed Max Turbo, Far Away
• Black Suede, Today, Tomorrow
• Always, Avon Care, Avon Naturals
• Skin So Soft, Advance Techniques

New Products

• True 5-in-1 Lash Genius Mascara
• K-beauty collection
• ANEW Essential Vitamin C Radiance Maximizing Serum

Comments

After years of uncertainty and restructuring, this year marks Avon’s final appearance in Beauty Packaging’s Top 20 list. In May, a stock swap officially transferred ownership of the beleaguered beauty company to Natura & Co, essentially creating the fourth largest beauty company in the world. Already a powerhouse in the Brazilian cosmetics market, Natura now holds 76% of Avon’s combined business.

Jan Zijderveld, who was appointed CEO in February 2018, acknowledged that the company’s business model was in dire need of modernization and in September 2018, hailed Avon’s next chapter, “Open Up Avon,” as a core strategy of accelerating the company’s pace of change.

The company’s 2018 fiscal year was also marked by a flurry of additional personnel appointments designed to help boost Avon’s technology infrastructure and digital access and ultimately improve the company’s ability to grow digital sales. Earlier this year, Kay Nemoto was appointed to senior vice president chief enablement officer and chief human resources officer, a key role designed to “lead the change management and cultural overhaul underpinning Avon’s transformation.”

In a similar tech vein, in October 2018 the company launched a Personalized Beauty mobile app that enables Avon representatives to take the guesswork out of finding the right shades to complement customer skin tones and types. The app relies on a phone camera and a unique calibration card exclusively available to Avon representatives. The app also helps representatives manage their business easier and faster, while harnessing the power of their own networks through enhanced social sharing capabilities. Key features include latest product and promotion notifications, order placing, easy access to support features including FAQs and Avon contact centers, a sharable link to the instant messaging brochure and a social media hub.

News of Note in 2019

The powerhouse team of Natura and Avon has created a multi-brand and multi-channel beauty group to be reckoned with. The group can connect directly with its estimated 200 million consumers across the world through Avon´s and Natura’s combined 6.3 million consultants and representatives, not to mention 3,200 stores and an expanded digital presence. The combined Group is expected to have annual gross revenues of over $10 billion, over 40,000 associates and be present in 100 countries. And by adding Avon to a portfolio that already includes Natura, The Body Shop and Aesop, Natura & Co enhances its ability to reach and serve different consumer profiles and distribution channels as it expands into new geographies. Natura &Co expects the combination to result in “target synergies” in the range of $150 million to $250 million annually, some of which will be reinvested to further enhance capabilities in digital and social selling, research & development and brand initiatives and to continue to grow the group’s geographic footprint.

After a rough Q1 characterized by missed revenue estimates and a 19% sales decrease in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Q2 saw segment revenue decrease 12%. Average representative sales from reportable segments increased 5%, driven by increases in all segments, and active representatives from reportable segments declined 10%, with decreases reported in all segments, and declined 3% compared to first-quarter 2019. 

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