The cosmetic company Avon Products traces its roots to the horse and buggy days of the late 19th century, when sales representatives sold perfume door-to-door, often to women who lived far from big department stores. This American frontier model has translated well to countries like Brazil and China, where large populations are dispersed across a vast countryside. Today, more than two-thirds of Avon’s sales are outside the United States.
The direct-selling model — where independent sales representatives do not work directly for Avon — makes it easier to break into new markets, says Avon’s chairwoman and chief executive, Andrea Jung. About 5.5 million sales representatives now sell Avon products, be it lip gloss in Shanghai or face powder in Rio de Janeiro.
The company, reporting its third-quarter earnings Thursday, said the only region where sales fell was North America, which it defines as the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. By contrast, revenue rose 25 percent in both Latin America and China and 8 percent in Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Ms. Jung, who was born the daughter of Chinese immigrants in Toronto and moved to a suburb of Boston when she was 10, recently discussed how she thinks the company’s direct-selling model can improve the lives of women in developing countries and where the next big growth opportunities are for Avon.
Logo from Avon.