Multibillion-dollar cosmetics brand Avon is exiting Australia: Did it fail to shake the “housewife” vibe?

Global cosmetics selling giant Avon will exit the Australia and New Zealand markets by the end of 2018, with the $5.7 billion company highlighting in its fourth-quarter sales report yesterday that there is no “long term path to profitability” Down Under.

The direct-selling makeup company, which has long relied on representatives to facilitate orders for consumers through door-to-door sales, has been in operation since 1886 and came to Australia in 1963.

However, yesterday to company confirmed the “very sad” news that it was exiting operations here.

Avon’s statement on fourth-quarter earnings revealed a 3% drop in revenue for the Asia Pacific region, to $US139.3 million ($175 million).

“Following a review and determination that there is no path to long-term profitability in these markets, the Company chose to close operations,” Avon said in a statement.

Avon has more than 200 staff and 21,000 representatives in Australia and New Zealand, reports news.com.au.

While the company has not made specific comments about what the decision means for local Avon representatives, a number of those representatives have said they only found out about the decision from a company post on Facebook. Read more

Emma Koehn - Smart Company - 16 Feb 2018