avon products type public traded as nyse avp s & p 500 component industry personal founded 1886 founder david h. mcconnell headquarters new york city united states key people douglas r. conant chairman sherilyn s. mccoy ceo products cosmetics perfume clothing toys revenue us 9.955 billion 2013 1 operating income us 427.2 million 2013 1 net income us 51.9 million 2013 1 total assets us 6.4923 billion 2013 2 us 7.3825 billion 2012 2 total equity us 1.127 billion 2013 1 number of employees 36 700 dec 2013 1 website www.avoncompany.com avon products inc known as avon is an american international manufacturer and direct selling company in beauty household and personal care categories . avon had annual sales of 10.0 billion worldwide in 2013 . 1 it is the fifth largest beauty company and second largest direct selling enterprise in the world with 6.4 million representatives . 3 avon products is a multi level marketing company . 4 the company s ceo is sherilyn s. mccoy who was appointed to the position in april 2012 . 5 the former ceo andrea jung became the executive chairman of the board . recently avon has struggled with the global sales falling for 5 straight years and north american revenues falling 18 % in 2014 . 6 in 2016 avon completed the sale of the remainder of its american business meaning that all of its operations are now outside the united states . as part of a three year plan avon will also move its headquarters to the united kingdom . 7 contents 1 history 1.1 david h. mcconnell 1.2 early avon trademark 1.3 international expansion 1.4 mergers and acquisitions 2 business model 3 avon foundation 3.1 breast cancer 4 restatements 5 controversy 5.1 chinese corruption charges 5.2 animal testing 5.3 labour harassement in turkey 6 avon france the french operations 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit david h. mcconnell edit david h. mcconnell was first a struggling door to door salesman who used to sell books to new york homes . in september 1886 8 he decided to sell perfumes rather than books and he then started the business in a small office at 126 chambers street in lower manhattan new york city . in 1892 mcconnell changed the company name when his business partner who was living in california suggested that he call the business the california perfume company because of the great abundance of flowers in california . 9 in 1894 alexander d. henderson vice president and treasurer joined the company and helped to shape its policies and assist in its growth . 10 on june 16 1909 mcconnell and henderson signed an agreement of corporation for the california perfume company in the state of new jersey . 11 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 . 12 early avon trademark edit the drawing stylized word avon mark is an expired trademark at the uspto and owned by avon products inc. the california perfume company inc. of new york filed their first trademark application for avon on june 3 1932 with the uspto . part of the description for goods and services provided to the uspto included perfumes toilet waters powder and rouge compacts lipsticks and other toiletry products . first use and commercial use for avon by the california perfume company was on september 1 1929 . registration was granted on august 30 1932 . the trademark is owned by avon products inc. of new york . the status of the original stylized word mark for avon is expired . citation needed international expansion edit 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 . direct selling was outlawed in china in 1998 13 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 . 3 88 % of avon s 2013 revenue around 10 billion came from overseas markets . 13 mergers and acquisitions edit avon purchased silpada a direct seller of silver jewelry in 2010 for 650 million . 3 in may 2012 perfume company coty inc. 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 14 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 . 15 16 17 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 it 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 . 18 19 business model edit an avon training center in the bronx avon uses both door to door sales people avon ladies primarily and as well as some men and brochures to advertise its products . 20 avon operates training centers for potential representatives . some avon training centers have a small retail section with skin care products such as creams serums makeup and washes . avon uses multi level marketing 21 to recruit sales representatives who sell beauty products jewelry accessories and clothing . each avon representative is considered an independent sales representative running her or his own business . some of the brand names used by the company include avon avon naturals skin so soft and mark . citation needed according to the u.s. government avon has 5 million to 6 million sales representatives operating in over 100 countries as of 2014 . avon and its subsidiaries have 40 000 to 50 000 employees 6 000 of which are in the united states . 13 avon was an early member of the u.s. direct selling association which was founded in 1910 . the company left the association in 2014 saying that the trade group was not paying enough attention to the industry as a whole . 21 avon foundation edit in addition to its corporate pursuits the avon corporation is involved in philanthropic causes . the avon foundation for women describes itself as the largest corporate philanthropy dedicated to women s causes globally . 22 the avon foundation awards scholarships for avon representatives and family members . avon founded the avon foundation for women with its first grant a 400 scholarship in 1955 . additionally the company s speak out against domestic violence program aims to reduce domestic violence . 23 through 2012 avon global philanthropy led by the avon foundation reports having donated more than 910 million in more than 50 countries . 24 breast cancer edit the avon walk for breast cancer beginning in the early 1990s avon also began donating towards breast cancer research and care through the avon breast cancer crusade and the avon walk for breast cancer a series of u.s. based charity walks . 25 before 2003 the walk was a function of pallotta teamworks with avon being the beneficiary . since 2003 the charity reports that more than 180 000 walk participants have raised 472 million for the cause . 26 27 restatements edit in sep 14 2000 avon restated its financial statements to reflect the additional write off as of march 31 1999 of all capitalized costs associated with the first project as of that date and a reversal of the charge recorded in the third quarter of 2001 . in 2001 avon adopted new provisions and as a result all prior periods were restated to reflect shipping and handling fees . 28 controversy edit chinese corruption charges edit since at least 2008 the conduct of various employees and executives of avon has been investigated for possible violations of the law including possible bribery and violations of the foreign corrupt practices act . 29 avon began a probe of its china division after allegations of bribery in june 2008 . 30 at least four executives both in asia and in the united states were suspended in 2010 30 and later fired for their roles in the activities being investigated . 31 according to the new york times avon has spent over 170 million on legal fees and costs related to the investigation 59 million in 2009 and 95 million in 2010 and 22.5 million for the first quarter of 2011 . 32 the times reported that the final tally may be close to 250 million after which avon would report the findings to the united states department of justice and the securities and exchange commission sec and try to negotiate the penalties that those entities may impose . 32 on february 24 2011 avon filed a report with the securities and exchange commission highlighting the investigation as a corporate risk factor that could cause investor loss . 33 in 2014 avon settled the bribery charges for a total of 135 million ; 68 million in criminal penalties with the remainder in interest disgorgement and fines from a civil case brought by the sec . 13 34 animal testing edit in 2011 peta delisted avon and other high profile cosmetic brands from its list of companies who do not test their products on animals . chinese policy requires cosmetic companies to pay for animal testing in order to do business in the country . 35 avon had previously abandoned animal testing in 1989 after peta launched its avon killing campaign . 36 labour harassement in turkey edit in 2016 avon s branch in turkey gebze industrial zone near istanbul has been alleged of discrimination against women and union workers . 37 avon france the french operations edit on 14 october 2013 avon announced the closure of its branch in paris france at the end of that month . its french representatives accused it of keeping the workers in the dark for months and not acting in line with the companies publicly stated values of being a socially responsible company that upholds values of trust respect and integrity and a culture of open and candid communication . 38 as of january 2014 avon france has begun receivership . 39 see also edit ir3535 the repellent found in avon skin so soft . mary kay references edit a b c d e f avon products inc. form 10 k securities and exchange commission february 26 2014 a b avon products inc 2013 annual report form 10 k xbrl . united states securities and exchange commission . february 26 2014 . a b c kowitt beth april 30 2012 . avon the rise and fall of a beauty icon . fortune . 165 6 106 114 . retrieved april 29 2012 . lubove seth 2008 05 28 . aegon in missouri provokes regulators finding sales deceptions . bloomberg . retrieved 2011 01 05 . lublin joann s. ; glazer emily april 10 2012 . avon names j & j s mccoy as ceo . the wall street journal . p. b1 . retrieved april 9 2012 . wahba phil 14 april 2015 . avon s in a ding dong battle to stay in business . fortune magazine . retrieved 15 april 2015 . http www.bbc.co.uk news business 35808678 usatoday.com avon updates its look strategy . usa today . 2006 09 10 . retrieved 2016 03 29 . quote from an interview with david mcconnell sr. april 15 1936 . avon achieves ie7 1936 . the story of the c p c a