How Avon grows in the middle of the tough competition with retail giants

Avon Cosmetics Romania, the most important direct sales company domestically, with over 110m-euro turnover, has realised that without promotions and offerings there is no way for it to grow, in the context where clients, with a lower budget for purchases, are switching to cheaper products, are attracted by promotions and prefer paying less for services as good as possible. “There was a decline in retail in H1, and a large part of clients shifted to direct sales owing to offers,” quotes Răzvan Dirațian, the commercial manager of Avon Cosmetics Romania & Moldova, one of the factors that can boost turnover in a year when most companies expect businesses to post further declines. The company’s management admits the money “saved” from cutting internal expenses and giving up receipts and orders on paper, expenses of several hundred thousand dollars, was directed to promotions, advertising and improving the product catalogue. The company did not raise prices in the wake of the VAT hike in a bid to support the “one-digit increase” in the number of clients targeted for this year. Starting this year, the company will also introduce the possibility of clients paying by phone, beside payments through postal offices, banks and the Internet.