Avon brings in Asson Chang to turn things around in China

By Michelle Yeomans

- Last updated on GMT

Avon brings in Asson Chang to turn things around in China

Related tags Share prices Stock market Avon

The appointment of Asson Chang as general manager of Avon's China division will be the fourth in five years for the firm. She is reported to be experienced in 'turning businesses around'.

Chang's experience in the cosmetics industry includes stints at L’Oréal and Unilever and joins Avon from a Thai retailer, 'Central Marketing Group', where she was the country manager for China.

The announcement of this appointment comes just weeks after Avon was forced to publicly quash rumours that it was pulling its products from China's shelves.

Despite various beauty players experiencing a challenging year in the volatile market, the international giant publicly stated that it was making 'good progress' in China and that it was confident it has the 'right strategy to make the business profitable'.

The speculation had followed several resignations of Avon's top officials and a drop in the company’s Asia Pacific sales by 22 per cent. 

"China has been an important market for us in the past 25 years and we will continue to leverage on our strong network of beauty boutiques and wide range of products for sustained growth," ​reps reiterated in the document.

Back in 2014, Avon had announced it was shaking-up its Thailand approach amid suggestions that it was seeking new avenues for boosting sales in Asia after pulling out of South Korea and Vietnam.

Never-ending challenges?

Then, in September of 2015 it reported its US share prices to have plummeted more than 37%, leading experts to question the possibility of outside investment.

It seems like a never ending road of challenges for Avon as it continues to fight against continual obstacles that have battered the company’s stock market performance. 

That decline came in a year when share prices had fallen by a total of 55% to reach and all-time low of $3.20 on September 28th​.

Although share prices lifted slightly, peaking at $4.33 on the 8th​ of October, the situation still looks extremely challenging for Avon in terms of much-needed outside investment as we venture into 2016.

“Because Avon is struggling, striking such a deal with outside investors could mean selling a stake at a significant discount to Avon's current trading price,”​ wrote Steve Symington, a contributor to online investment resource Motley Fool, in a blog post.

Speculation remains as Avon continues its quest to attract much needed investment in the business, with a number of news sources reporting that the company is in advanced negotiations with private equity companies.

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