Reviving An Old School Brand

For 15 years María Obregón, who lives in Northern Chile, has been selling Avon beauty products, turning her work into a family business in which she has been joined by her husband and even the youngest of her children.  "Avon for me means freedom," she says with unconcealed delight. "It means independence. It means fulfilling myself as a woman, as a person."

Recent months have been difficult for Avon and its Brazilian owners, Natura & Co. The conglomerate, which sold its luxury brand Aesop to the French firm L'Oréal for over $2.5 billion, may soon take the same route with another brand, The Body Shop. Natura acquired The Body Shop in 2017 to exploit growing demand for ecological beauty products. But today its priority is to return to maximum profits and spending discipline, prompting a consolidation of assets and interests, reports Reuters.

Avon's challenge as a traditional brand is to be relevant to younger women.  Read on to learn more.