Avon Products Inc., the world’s leading direct seller of beauty products, is rewriting its 115-year-old rules of doing business. The $5.7 billion company, which has built its business on direct sales, is preparing to launch its first retail brand.
“We want to shake things up,” Andrea Jung, chief executive officer at Avon said in a news report. “We can’t be staid. It’s scary, risky, but fun.”
The brand, BeComing is slated for debut this fall in 200 J.C. Penney Co. and Sears, Roebuck & Co. stores, the report said. The new line will compete for wallet share in the $35 billion cosmetic industry.
Next year, the line–ranging from spa creams and candles to lipstick and cooling foot spray for mothers-to-be–is expected to be in more than 500 stores.
BeComing’s prices are up to double that of the Avon brand, and will be aimed at a younger, more educated consumer. The average age range for Avon is 35 to 55, the report said.
Last year, the company spent $100 million on its core direct marketing business, including advertising and revamping its e-commerce site. It’s investing another $40 million this year.
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