Avon’s UK boss has admitted that door-to-door selling is ‘not for everybody’ as the group moves to sell its cosmetics in stores and through TikTok.
For almost a century, the London-based company’s ‘Avon Ladies’ have sold its beauty products through what managing director for Western Europe, Kristof Neirynck, calls ‘pure ding-dong selling’.
Its representatives typically go door to door with a paper catalogue or host their own ‘Avon parties’ to showcase its wares.
But in the wake of the Covid pandemic and the rise of social media, the company has had to rethink.
Last week it announced that it will sell products in 100 Superdrug stores. The link-up with the retailer is its first bricks-and-mortar partnership, through which it hopes to reach younger shoppers.
For almost a century, ‘Avon Ladies’ have sold Avon beauty products by going door-to-door
‘Not everybody wants to shop with representatives, and we need to recognise that,’ Neirynck told the Mail. ‘It has definitely shifted.
‘Everyone thought off the back of the pandemic that nobody would ever go into stores but that shifted once lockdown was over. It is the same with direct selling but it is not for everybody.’
He said a High Street presence was ‘the final piece of the puzzle’. Avon – founded in 1886 – started selling a limited range of products on Amazon earlier this year. Its younger representatives are also using TikTok to entice customers.
Before the pandemic, just 10pc of sales contacts were made online. Now it is more than 30pc.
Neirynck said social media is ‘an opportunity we hadn’t necessarily leveraged until now’, adding: ‘We have all these reps who are really passionate about the brand.
Last week Avon announced that it will sell products in 100 Superdrug stores. The link-up is its first bricks-and-mortar partnership
‘We were running the micro-influencer model way back when in an analogue way.’
But Neirynck said the Avon party was not over and there would ‘always be a place’ for face-to-face marketing.
‘In beauty, it is about being able to play with the product and talk about how to get the right look,’ he said.
Avon is owned by Brazil’s Natura & Co, which also operates The Body Shop.
‘In developing countries, for quite a few people, Avon is their main source of income,’ said Neirynck. ‘In the UK, it is more of a side hustle – extra income as part of the gig economy.
