Avon direct sales in China
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Beauty marketer is granted direct selling license from Chinese government, allowing firm to resume its door-to-door sales strategy in the region, according to Avon. Company has sold its products through retailers in China after the government instituted a direct sales ban in 1998, but in 2004 was granted permission to roll out direct-sell test program in select regions (1"The Rose Sheet" Aug. 2, 2004, In Brief). Reflecting China's long term growth potential and strategic importance to the direct-seller, Avon decided to manage the country as a standalone business late last year (2"The Rose Sheet" Dec. 12, 2005, In Brief). Anticipation of approval to resume direct sales in China has triggered a drop in retail orders, contributing to 22% revenue decline in the region in Q4...