Avon ladies may seem like the dying breed in today's competitive beauty market, but it looks like the
entire Avon brand may become extinct within the year, according to
24/7 Wall St.'s stats.
The financial news company predicts which important American brands will disappear within a year, and this time Avon's card was drawn -- again. Avon was the first cosmetic giant to make it onto the hit list, taking the number 10 slot back in 2012 ... and things clearly haven't improved for the company. According to 24/7 analysts, "It would be hard to find another large American company as bad off as Avon Products." Ouch.
So what's been going so terribly? All you have to do is look back at Avon's last two years. In January 2012, the company fired its vice chairman following on-going investigations into bribery and overseas operations. October marked the end of an era, when Andrea Jung stepped down as executive chairman and board member. Not long after, Avon was in trouble with the Food and Drug Administration, after products in the ANEW line were found to carry claims prohibited in FDA guidelines. And in December, the company announced it's plan to cut 1,500 jobs worldwide and pull out of South Korean and Vietnam markets. Factor in a decline in profits every year since 2008 and it's hard not to buy this sad prediction about the brand's fate.
Of course, companies that have made the dreaded list fight to live another day. Can Avon make a comeback or is it time to say goodbye?