Avon CEO Jan Zijderveld has stepped down, the 130-year-old U.S. cosmetics company revealed upon closing its sale to Brazilian personal care cosmetics group Natura & Co Holding SA. Natura & Co CEO and Executive Chairman Roberto Marques appointed Angela Cretu to take over for Zijderveld. Cretu will be responsible for the Avon business outside of Latin America and for oversight of the Avon brand globally.
Cretu has more than 20 years of experience at Avon in various senior executive roles, most recently as Group VP and General Manager, Central Europe, responsible for 18 countries. Before that she held roles leading the Eastern Europe and Africa/Middle East clusters and Global roles.
Joining a group that includes Natura, The Body Shop and Aesop, Avon will become part of the world’s fourth-largest beauty company. With Avon, which traditionally operated via a multilevel marketing model and has since grown its e-Commerce business, Natura & Co has increased its third-party “consultants” to 6.3 million globally from 1.7 million. The 50-year-old company also has expanded its footprint to reach approximately 200 million consumers in 100 countries, compared with 73 countries before.
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Avon’s commercial structure and brand management will remain separate from the remaining brands, though some of its industrial and distribution facilities might be used for other brands, according to Marques.
After the acquisition, Natura & Co will operate more than 3,000 stores and expects to generate $10 billion in combined annual revenues. Additionally, the company anticipates savings of $200 million to $300 million per year within the next 36 months, more than the $150 million to $250 million estimated in May when it agreed to buy Avon through a share swap that valued the company at $2 billion.
Marques joined the Natura & Co board four years ago and spearheaded a global expansion that included the acquisition of The Body Shop in 2017.
