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In Japan the Avon Lady looks more like an investment banker. Here's the story...

Leading beauty company Avon Products Inc. (AVP - Analyst Report) announced the sale of its 74.67% stake in Avon Japan to a subsidiary of TPG Capital, a private investment firm. The deal has been finalized for a total cash payment of 7.3 billion yen, or approximately $90 million.

TPG Capital is also offering 74 yen per share to shareholders under the terms of the tender offer launched for the remaining 25.33% of Avon Japan. This happens to be the same price at which Avon agreed to sell its shares.

This move forms a part of Avon Products’ strategy of exiting from low profit generating arenas and concentrating on high growth potential avenues.

Avon Japan, which was publicly traded on the JASDAQ market of the Osaka Securities Exchange, was unsuccessful in contributing much to the revenues of the parent company and accounted for less than 2% of the total company sales figure.

Source: Zacks

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This just from CNN:

Shares of Avon Products dropped as much as 11% Thursday after the company reported third-quarter results that missed analysts' expectations.

The beauty products company, famous for its door-to-door sales network, said sales were "softer" than expected in the quarter as consumer spending remains weak.

Avon has been struggling to transform itself over the last few years by expanding its overseas operations and acquiring smaller rivals. But the global economic slowdown has weighed on demand for beauty products and Avon itself has become the subject of takeover talk.

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Andrea Jung, chief executive of Avon Products and the only woman on Apple's seven-person board of directors, will serve as the co-lead director at Thursday's shareholder meeting.

Jung was quietly named co-lead director in December, when Apple listed her new designation on page 8 of its December proxy statement. The change was highlighted Wednesday by Bloomberg, which said that the nomination of a company "outsider" will quell complaints from some that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had "too much sway over a group of hand-picked directors."

Jung replaces Bill Campbell, who was a former Apple executive and is one of the company's longest-serving board members. Apple would not say why Campbell would no longer serve as its board's co-lead director.

"(Jung) is a strong CEO and marketer and her insights and experience have been a great addition to Apple's board," company spokesman Steve Dowling told Bloomberg.

The 51-year-old was elected to Apple's board in 2008. She also serves on the board of directors for the General Electric Company, and is also a member of the New York Presbyterian Hospital Board of Trustees and the Catalyst Board of Directors. She has served as head of Avon, the women's beauty products company, since 1999.
 

Source: Apple Insider

File this one under strange but true. I guess they let just anyone become an Avon Distributor these days...

This from WREG in Mempis:

Police found one dead dog, a gun, drugs, and pirated DVD's all at the same house across from an elementary school, but family says the only things being sold there were Avon products.

The home is near Knight Arnold and Perkins in southeast Memphis on the 46-hundred block of Knight Cove. After raiding the place, Organized Crime Unit detectives arrested three people who have all been charged with animal cruelty, drug and weapons charges, and criminal simulation.

"...No, there weren't no dead dogs here. There were good, healthy dogs and people that care for dogs here," says Dedrick Sanders who pulled up to the home when we were there. Sanders says his little brother was one of the 23 year-old's arrested.

"No, there was not anything going on like that. Just a misunderstanding. That's all that's going on, Avon," says Sanders. "Nothing. Just Avon and two healthy dogs they took away."

 There's an interesting article in the New York Times about how Avon (and their little sister brand Mark) are using Web 2.0 marketing methods.

Here's an excerpt:

"We've taken the same DNA of direct selling that has always been a part of Avon's history and applied it to the digital world for our Mark reps to reach their customers," said Claudia Poccia, president of Mark at Avon, which introduced the brand in 2003. "Now, we're offering our Mark reps the opportunity to sell products not just door to door, but on Facebook, wall to wall."

Read the whole story in the New York Times.
 

Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) today announced that it has committed $1 million to support relief efforts in Haiti in response to the devastating earthquake in that country. The company said that the money will be donated through the Avon Foundation for Women, and will be distributed to the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, two organizations that are deeply involved in efforts to aid victims of the January 12 earthquake.

The company said that the Foundation plans to distribute the $1 million as follows:

$500,000 to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, the humanitarian organization that provides relief to victims of disasters; the agency is working closely with Haitian Red Cross to assist those affected by this disaster.
$500,000 to Doctors Without Borders, the international medical humanitarian organization that has already assisted more than 1,000 people on the ground in Haiti and has committed to continuing to provide critically-needed medical services.
Andrea Jung, Avon’s chairman and chief executive officer, said: “We are deeply saddened by the devastation caused to our neighbors in Haiti by the recent earthquake. Disaster relief has long been a critical component of Avon’s philanthropy. I believe it is our responsibility as a global corporate citizen to lend our support to the relief efforts aiding the people of Haiti.”

Source: Avon

You may not have recognized her as the 10-foot, bright-blue warrior princess Na'vi in James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar," but statuesque Hollywood starlet Zoe Saldana is otherwise hard to miss.

And come April, she'll be even more visible -- as the face of Avon's newest fragrance, Eternal Magic, which, according to the company press release, “takes inspiration from the rare Princess Monaco Rose.”

The 31-year-old actress, who's been floating around Hollywood for a decade starring in endearing movies such as "Center Stage" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Star Trek," also will be featured in Avon's brochure as a face of the company's cosmetics collections.

Source: LA Times

Here's a story about an Avon rep with a big heart!

For the next three weeks, Avon representative Florence Richmond of Sebring will be donating 50 percent of her retail sales to abused children in Highlands County.

"If someone would like to make a donation, instead of buying Avon, the entire amount will go the Children's Advocacy Center," she said.

Richmond is not a victim of abuse, but she has gained a new passion for child abuse awareness and prevention. In a flyer promoting her donation, she used a photo of Kaedyn Short, an Avon Park baby who may have died from mistreatment by her parents.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will go directly to the Advocacy Center, a child-friendly facility where victims may be interviewed, undergo medical examinations, receive therapy and other services needed for the child and family to begin healing from physical, mental and emotional abuse.

Source: Tampa Bay Online

Source: Wall Street Journal

Avon Products Inc. (AVP) posted a 30% drop in third-quarter profit amid foreign-exchange effects and restructuring-related costs.

But volume slid 19% in China, which has been a strong point for the company, and 5% in North America as earnings topped analysts' expectations.

She’s always up for a swanky evening out, and last night (October 27) Reese Witherspoon was spotted at the Avon Foundation for Women Gala.

The “Sweet Home Alabama” actress was all smiles as she arrived at New York City’s Cipriani 42nd Street, sporting a black and white strapless dress with black heels.

Miss Witherspoon has a history of working with Avon to promote women’s issues and improve the self-esteem of her fellow ladies.

She told press, “The initiatives of the Avon Foundation raise critical funds and awareness to combat breast cancer around the world. As a woman, a mother and the Honorary Chair of the Avon Foundation, I am proud to lend my support to this cause.”

Source: Celebrity-Gossip.net