Avon quits Australia

THOUSANDS of Avon representatives across Australia will be without a product to sell to family and friends after a decision by head office to bring to an end local operations.

The iconic cosmetics company will shut up shop in Australia and New Zealand by the end of the year, leaving 21,000 Australian direct sellers without a business.

In a statement, the US retail giant said the closure formed part of the company’s strategy to “return Avon to long-term sustainable profitable growth”, focusing on other markets with more potential.

Avon arrived in Australia in 1963, offering its network of direct sellers an opportunity to be their own boss by spruiking the company’s cosmetics and beauty products, and recruiting others to do the same.

Avon parties became commonplace across Australian living rooms in the decades thereafter, where representatives would trial and sell the cosmetics to friends, family and other customers.

In a statement announcing the company’s decision to pull out of Australia, Avon Australia and New Zealand (Avon ANZ) managing director Sharon Plant said it was a “very sad day for our employees and representatives”.

“As a management team our commitment and focus over the coming days, weeks and months is to support our people and the wider Avon community who are impacted by this decision,” she said.

Avon’s founder David H McConnell established the beauty company in New York in 1886. Over the decades, the company spread to every corner of the world, offering its products through representatives in more than 70 countries. The company’s exit from Australia will affect 220 direct employees based in Sydney.