Editing Avon Products (section)

==History==
Avon's founder, [[David H. McConnell]], initially sold books as a door-to-door salesman to [[New York (state)|New York]] homes. In September 1886, he decided to sell perfumes rather than books.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2006-09-10-avon-strategy_x.htm|title=Avon updates its look, strategy|work= [[USA Today|USATODAY.com]]|date=September 10, 2006|access-date=March 29, 2016}}</ref> He started the new business in a small office at 126 Chambers Street, Manhattan, New York. McConnell changed the company name in 1892. His business partner suggested calling it the "California Perfume Company." His business partner was living in [[California]] at the time and suggested the name because of the abundance of flowers in California.<ref name="Oak">{{cite web
|title=Great Oak
|url=https://digital.hagley.org/CPCHist_20101119_1976?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=fa27adaccb49ac901e93&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0#page/10/mode/2up
|date=1976
|website= [[Hagley Digital Archives]]
|publisher=Avon Products, Inc.
|access-date=June 28, 2020}}</ref><ref>Quote from an interview with David McConnell Sr., April 15, 1936. Avon Achieves, IE7, 1936.</ref>

{{multiple image
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| total_width = 250
| header      = Early emblems
| image1      = Avon 1886 logo.png
| caption1    = First logo of the company (1886)
| image2      = Avon cpclogo 1911.png
| caption2    = "California Perfume Company" logo (1911)
| footer      =
}}
In May 1894, Alexander D. Henderson joined the company, became vice-president and treasurer, and helped shape its policies and assist in its growth.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=The Outlook
|url=https://digital.hagley.org/CPCHist_20101119_1976
|date=November 1, 1922
|website= [[Hagley Digital Archives]]
|publisher=California Perfume Company
|access-date=June 28, 2020}}</ref> In 1897 they built a laboratory in [[Suffern, New York]].<ref name="Oak"/> On May 3, 1909, the California Perfume Company corporate office moved to 31 Park Place, New York.<ref name="perfumecompany">{{cite web
|url=http://www.californiaperfumecompany.com/company/cal_historical_timeline.html
|title=CP Historical Timeline
|website=www.californiaperfumecompany.com
|access-date=June 28, 2020}}</ref> On June 16, 1909, McConnell and Henderson signed an agreement of Incorporation for the California Perfume Company in the state of New Jersey.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://digital.hagley.org/islandora/object/islandora:2226135#page/1/mode/2up
|title= Agreement of Incorporation for California Perfume Company
|website= [[Hagley Digital Archives]]
|date=1909
|access-date=December 17, 2012}}</ref> On January 28, 1916, the California Perfume Company was incorporated in the state of New York. McConnell, Henderson, and William Scheele were listed as company officials.<ref>
{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vz0uw9kEAegC&q=Weekly+Drug+markets%2C+New+Incorporations%2C+California+Perfume+Company&pg=RA21-PA26
|title=Weekly Drug markets, New Incorporations
|page=Volume 2, Page 26
|publisher=Google eBooks
|date=1916
|access-date=February 3, 2020}}</ref> In 1939, the California Perfume Company changed its name to Avon.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cochran |first1=Sara L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-MzEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT34 |title=Direct Selling: A Global and Social Business Model |last2=Coughlan |first2=Anne T. |last3=Crittenden |first3=Victoria L. |last4=Crittenden |first4=William F. |last5=Ferrell |first5=Linda K. |last6=Ferrell |first6=O. C. |last7=Luce |first7=W. Alan |last8=Peterson |first8=Robert A. |date=September 14, 2021 |publisher=Business Expert Press |isbn=978-1-63742-114-7 |language=en}}</ref>

===International expansion===
[[File:The Story of Perfumery and the CPC.pdf|thumb|130px|''The Story of Perfumery and the CPC'' by William Scheele, published in 1924, tells the history of Avon.]]
Avon sells products in over 100 countries. [[Brazil]] is the company's largest market, passing the United States in 2010. Avon entered the Chinese market in 1990.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/avon/timeline-key-dates-in-avons-history-idUSL2E8E5CGB20120316|title=TIMELINE-Key dates in Avon's history|date=2012|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=September 20, 2017}}</ref> [[Direct selling]] was outlawed in China in 1998,<ref name="crain's" /> which forced Avon to sell only through physical stores called Beauty Boutiques. The ban was lifted in 2001, and the company received a license for direct selling in 2006.<ref name=fortune20120430/>

88% of Avon's 2013 revenue (around $10 billion) came from overseas markets.<ref name="crain's" />

===Mergers and acquisitions===
Avon purchased Silpada, a direct seller of silver jewelry, in 2010 for $650 million.<ref name=fortune20120430/> In May 2012, perfume company [[Coty]] offered $24.75 a share for Avon, which was nearly 20 percent above Avon's stock price at the time. While [[Fox Business Network]] reported that Avon delayed the process and Coty withdrew its offer,<ref>{{cite news|last=McIntyre|first=Douglas A.|title=10 Brands That Will Disappear in 2013|url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/06/21/ten-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2013/|newspaper=Fox Business}}</ref> earlier reports said that Avon rejected the bid, stating "At the time, the board concluded, and it still believes, that Coty's indication of interest is opportunistic and not in the best interest of Avon's shareholders."<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith |first=Aaron |url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/04/02/news/companies/avon-coty/index.htm |title=Avon rejects $10 billion offer from Coty - Apr. 2, 2012 |publisher=Money.cnn.com |date=April 2, 2012 |access-date=September 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Dominic Rushe in New York |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/02/avon-coty-cosmetics-fragrance-takeover |title=Avon rejects $10bn takeover bid from celebrity-fragrance company Coty &#124; World news &#124; guardian.co.uk |newspaper=Guardian |date=April 2, 2012 |access-date=September 3, 2012 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 2, 2012 |author=Tiffany Hsu |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-apr-02-la-fi-mo-avon-coty-20120402-story.html |title=Avon rejects Rimmel owner Coty's $10-billion bid - Los Angeles Times |publisher=Articles.latimes.com |access-date=April 16, 2013}}</ref>

In March 2016, [[Cerberus Capital Management]] paid $435 million in cash for preferred stock in Avon Products. This move was the conclusion of a deal initiated in December 2015, when Avon sold 80.1 percent of its North American Business to Cerberus for $170 million. The total value of the deal was $605 million. The investment resulted in Cerberus having an almost 17 percent stake in Avon Products.<ref name="Avon Concludes Deal With Cerberus">{{cite web|last1=Ausick|first1=Paul|title=Avon Concludes Deal With Cerberus|url=http://247wallst.com/consumer-products/2016/03/08/avon-concludes-deal-with-cerberus/|website=24/7 Wall Street|access-date=March 13, 2016|date=March 8, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Cerberus Strikes Deal to Buy into Avon">{{cite news|last1=Becker|first1=Nathan|last2=Mattioli|first2=Dana|title=Cerberus Strikes Deal to Buy into Avon|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/cerberus-strikes-deal-to-buy-into-avon-1450359684|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=March 13, 2016|date=December 17, 2015}}</ref>

In January 2020, Natura & Co closed the acquisition of Avon Products, Inc. The Natura & Co<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://naturaeco.com/|title=Natura &Co|last=Natura &Co|website=naturaeco.com|language=en|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> group also includes Natura, [[Aesop (brand)|Aesop]], and [[The Body Shop]], and with the acquisition of Avon has created the world's fourth-largest pure-play beauty company.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.avonworldwide.com/news/natura-co-to-close-acquisition-of-avon|title=Natura &Co to close acquisition of Avon|website=Avon Worldwide|language=en|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref>

===Recent history===
[[File: Avon company logo.svg|thumb|right|Former logo between 2019 and 2020]]
In 2014, Avon's global sales had fallen for five straight years, and its North American revenues fell 18% that year.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wahba|first1=Phil|title=Avon's in a ding-dong battle to stay in business|url=http://fortune.com/2015/04/14/avon-battle-for-future/|access-date=April 15, 2015|work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|date=April 14, 2015}}</ref>

In 2016, Avon completed the separation of its United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico business as ''New Avon LLC'', which also trades with the "Avon" name. As part of a three-year plan, the global Avon Products relocated its headquarters to London in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-35808678|title=Avon to move headquarters to UK|work=[[BBC]] |date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> In August 2019, New Avon LLC, the privately held North American company that split from Avon Products, Inc. (Avon Worldwide) in 2016 entered into a definitive agreement with South Korean consumer goods giant [[LG Household & Health Care]], Ltd., which purchased the direct-selling cosmetics business for $125 million in cash.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 31, 2019|title=LG Household & Health Care To Acquire New Avon, LLC|url=https://about.avon.com/us-about/news/lg-household--health-care-to-acquire-new-avon-llc|url-status=live|access-date=January 19, 2020|website=The Avon Company|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419090637/https://about.avon.com/us-about/news/lg-household--health-care-to-acquire-new-avon-llc |archive-date=April 19, 2021 }}</ref> 

Jan Zijderveld was appointed the company's CEO in February 2018.<ref name="8-K FEB 3 2018" /> The former CEO, [[Sherilyn S. McCoy]], stayed on as an adviser to the Board and to Zijderveld through March 31, 2018.<ref name="8-K FEB 3 2018" />

In January 2021, New Avon Company announced its corporate name change to The Avon Company.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Avon Company Announces Corporate Name Change to The Avon Company|url=https://about.avon.com/us-about/news/New-Avon-Company-Announces-Corporate-Name-Change-to-The-Avon-Company|url-status=live|access-date=August 12, 2021|website=about.avon.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419091719/https://about.avon.com/us-about/news/New-Avon-Company-Announces-Corporate-Name-Change-to-The-Avon-Company |archive-date=April 19, 2021 }}</ref>

In 2019, the Brazilian beauty company Natura agreed to buy Avon Products for more than $2bn via a share swap,<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 14, 2019|title=Avon Secures Shareholder Approval for Takeover by Natura|url=https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/avon-secures-shareholder-approval-for-takeover-by-natura-2019-11-14|access-date=December 11, 2020|website=[[Nasdaq]]}}</ref> creating the world's fourth-largest beauty company.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Fontanella-Khan|first1=James|last2=Schipani|first2=Andres|date=May 22, 2019|title=Brazil's Natura confirms $2bn deal to buy Avon|url=https://www.ft.com/content/604dfb16-7cd8-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/604dfb16-7cd8-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560 |archive-date=December 10, 2022|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 16, 2019|website=[[Financial Times]]|language=en-GB}}</ref> Under the deal's terms, Natura will hold 76% of the combined business with over $10 billion in annual revenue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Natura & Co acquires Avon in all-stock $2 billion deal |url=https://cosmeticsbusiness.com/natura-co-acquires-avon-in-all-stock-2-billion-deal--154835 |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=cosmeticsbusiness.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-05-22 |title=Body Shop owner Natura to buy Avon for £1.6bn |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48375130 |access-date=2024-10-21 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Min |first=Sarah |date=2019-05-22 |title=Avon Products sold to Brazilian beauty retailer Natura & Co. - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/avon-products-sold-to-brazilian-beauty-retailer-natura-co/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In November 2023, Avon announced it would open stores in the United Kingdom for the first time in the company's history, augmenting its already existing network of 63 stores in Turkey.<ref><nowiki>{{Cite web|date=November 13, 2023|title=Avon to open physical shop in the UK for the first time |url=</nowiki>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67406434</ref> However, in August 2024, Avon Products filed for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] protection in an effort to settle its talc-based lawsuits.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/beauty/avon-products-files-for-bankruptcy-to-wrangle-talc-lawsuits/|title= Avon Products Files for Bankruptcy to Wrangle Talc Lawsuits|date=August 13, 2024|access-date=August 13, 2024|website=Business of Fashion|language=en}}</ref>