Avon, America's door-to-door beauty pioneer, filed Chapter 11 in 2024

Avon Products was founded in 1886 by David H. McConnell, who started selling perfume door-to-door. Over a century it became the world's largest direct-selling beauty company, with millions of Avon Ladies across dozens of countries. At its peak in the 2000s, Avon had annual revenue of over $10 billion.

The trouble began in 2008, when a whistleblower alleged bribery in Avon's China division. The ensuing investigation consumed management attention and cost approximately $500 million in legal fees alone. Avon ultimately settled with US authorities in 2014 for $135 million. Meanwhile, the door-to-door model that had sustained the company for a century was being destroyed by e-commerce and changing consumer habits.

In 2012, Avon rejected a $10 billion takeover offer from Coty — nearly 20% above its stock price — a decision shareholders later called one of the worst in corporate history. By 2016, Avon had negative equity and had to spin off its North American operations. In 2020, Brazil's Natura &Co acquired Avon for over $2 billion, but the combined company struggled. In 2024, Avon Products filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to talc-related lawsuits. Its international operations were sold to Regent LP for £1 — a symbolic sum for a once-legendary brand.