Avon plans global teen assault

Cosmetics business announces teen strategy to update its image and target world youth market

Cosmetics company Avon is to launch a teenage beauty business, in a bid to modernise its image and attract a younger market. The new teenage business, yet to be named, will be launched globally in early 2003.

A new line of beauty products will be sold through direct selling, “exclusively for teens” catalogues and the Internet. It is understood that the company will employ teenagers as its new army of “Avon ladies” to sell and promote the range to other teenagers.

Avon has appointed Deborah Fine, vice-president and publisher of Condé Nast’s Glamour magazine in the US, as president of the teen business. Fine will start early next month.

A US spokesman for the company says: “The marketing and advertising plans for the new teen business have yet to be finalised.”

In May, Avon teamed up with Roche Consumer Health to launch a line of multivitamins and nutritional supplements called Avon-Roche VitAdvance. The deal marked the first time Avon products have been sold under another brand name (MW May 3).

Avon claims to be the world’s leading direct seller of beauty and beauty-related goods, with an annual turnover of $5.3bn (&£3.7bn), and sales exceeding &£200m in the UK. This year it reported second-quarter earnings of $137.7m (&£96.4m), up from $124.9m (&£87.4m) the year before. Sales rose five per cent to $1.46bn (&£1bn).