BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : SEPTEMBER 18, 2000 ISSUE
COVER STORY From Ding-Dong to Dot-Com: 114 Years of Avon Ladies Started in the 19th century, Avon has seen it all, from failed acquisitions and hostile takeover attempts to moves into retail and the Internet 1886 California Perfume Company founded in New York by salesman David Hall McConnell. Its first product: the Little Dot Perfume Set. First Avon lady, Mrs. P.F.E. Albee, launches direct-selling in Winchester, N.H. 1914 With nearly $1 million in sales, Avon opens its first international office in Montreal. 1928 First products sold under the ''Avon'' name, which founder McConnell adopted after visiting Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. 1954 ''Ding-Dong, Avon Calling'' TV commercial debuts. Company begins selling in Latin America. 1960s Heavy advertising in magazines and television helps make the Avon Lady an American icon. 1970s Stock, which first traded publicly in 1946, is named to the ''Nifty Fifty'' by Morgan Guaranty Trust. 1979 Launches disastrous diversification binge, buying upscale jeweler Tiffany & Co. Later adds a chemical maker and a health-products company. 1988 Takes the second of two write-offs totaling $520 million for dismantling its health-care investment. Debt reaches $1.2 billion, and Avon stock hits a low of $5 per share after splits. 1989 Avon becomes target of the first of a series of hostile bids, including one from Amway Corp. with Minneapolis-based corporate raider Irwin L. Jacobs (below) and another from Texas billionaire Robert M. Bass. Company successfully fends them off. 1997 Avon.com Web site launched, selling directly to customers for the first time and creating tension with many of Avon's 500,000 U.S. sales reps. Results have been uninspiring. 1998 Sets up mall kiosks around the country, its first U.S. retail stores, marking a major strategic shift. 1999 Andrea Jung named Avon's first female CEO. 2000 Relaunching Web site with emphasis on making Avon reps available online. Separately negotiating with big retailers for a new product line to be sold only in stores. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Avon's New Calling COVER IMAGE: The New Avon Lady TABLE: From Ding-Dong to Dot-Com: 114 Years of Avon Ladies RESUME: Andrea Jung CHART: Avon Profits Are Rebounding...But Sales Have Barely Climbed...Making Investors Wary The Man behind Avon's Web Site Panning for Global Gold in Local Markets (int'l edition) INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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