Avon Cosmetics - Filing Bankruptcy - Chapter 11

JoyFilled Warrior · ‎09-02-2022

"Don't Go Mourning Avon Just Yet"

"Avon, the cosmetics and body care brand founded in 1886, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware in an attempt to settle hundreds of talc-related lawsuits. But don't go mourning its iconic products or door-to-door sales approach just yet; this filing does not impact the United States-based business of the Avon brand.

Avon Products, Inc., the holding company of Avon's non-US operations, has had cashflow trouble for more than a decade stemming from lawsuits alleging that its products containing talc, a naturally occurring mineral often used in cosmetic products such as powders and blush, caused cancer. As noted by The Wall Street Journal, Avon Products, Inc. received its first talc-related lawsuit in 2010 and is now facing nearly 400 similar lawsuits.

WSJ reports that the brand has spent over $225 million to defend itself from said lawsuits; its overall debts tally up to $1.29 billion. In one 2022 lawsuit trial, a jury “found Avon liable for $36 million in compensatory damages and roughly $10 million in punitive damages," the publication reports. In another verdict from July 2024, plaintiffs “were awarded a total of $24.5 million in damages.

However, the Avon brand in the United States is separate from these filings; the US-based brand is owned by LG Household & Health Care Ltd. and is not part of the chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, despite the filing being made in the US. In 2020, Avon Products, Inc. was acquired by the Brazil-based company Natura&Co. According to WSJ, Natura has “agreed to provide up to $43 million in proposed financing during the bankruptcy."

(Refer: allure com story avon-chapter-11-bankruptcy )

(Looks like I'd better grab some of my backups on Avon GlimmerStix Eyebrow Pencil & GlimmerStix Lip Liners.. before I cant find them any more & have to spend $$$$$ going thru all $orts of variou$ brand$, looking for replacement$! grrr)

"Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!" TLB

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

@JoyFilled Warrior

If you wanna hear something "funny" (or maybe sad)...a friend of mine told me she inherited MILLIONS in diamond rings. She showed me a shoe box full. Ummm....they were all Avon.

♥Surface of the Sun♥

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

First I heard about any of that. I'm happy to hear that Avon in the US is solid. Occasionally when I buy one of the scented skin softeners.

We rescue cats · ‎01-25-2023

I sure hope Avon USA perseveres, I know a lot of folks that made it thru rough times due to their help. . . me included.

Meowingkitty · ‎06-19-2010

@Desertdi wrote:
@JoyFilled Warrior

If you wanna hear something "funny" (or maybe sad)...a friend of mine told me she inherited MILLIONS in diamond rings. She showed me a shoe box full. Ummm....they were all Avon.

I used to work in a building in downtown Phoenix. There was a jewelry store on the lower level that sold mostly used jewelry but they claimed was real antiques and real gemstones. They also had Avon diamond rings going for a pretty penny.

Effie54 · ‎09-08-2010

I'm surprised but not surprised to hear that. Avon was sold to LG a few years back. They revamped the company (and not for the better). They use a lot of talc in their products and the prices have gone way up. There are still a few things order from them on occasion.

JoyFilled Warrior · ‎09-02-2022

@Desertdi wrote:
@JoyFilled Warrior

If you wanna hear something "funny" (or maybe sad)...a friend of mine told me she inherited MILLIONS in diamond rings. She showed me a shoe box full. Ummm....they were all Avon.

~~~~~~~~

Ha! @Desertdi

I hear ya. That is a hoot!! Funny surprise!

I have some Avon watches in my healthy jewelry stash. I think they werent set to active yet, so dont know their status now. I'd wear a different color, different watch, coordinating with that day's business suits, when I was employed.

Y'know! In fact!! I have numerous QVC Diamonique rings from when QVC was setting those absolutely gorgeous, super sparkly Diamonique's back then, in real 10K gold!! Then, they were virtually, indiscernible from the Real Thing! Still have 'em - Still Love 'em

@Desertdi Im wondering if that Avon jewelry will be worth $omething, $ome day, maybe now even. If for no other reason, sentimentality? How many generations of our woman, Moms, GrandMoms, Aunts bought, sold Avon, door to door. "Avon thru the generations?"

"Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!" TLB

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

@JoyFilled Warrior

Some "older" Avon jewelry already has a "collector" value. di

♥Surface of the Sun♥

JoyFilled Warrior · ‎09-02-2022

@Desertdi wrote:
@JoyFilled Warrior

Some "older" Avon jewelry already has a "collector" value. di

~~~~~~~~~

@Desertdi How kewl!! I saw the Avon Reps Seller Awards items at what seemed like high premium Seller prices. Not sure if Id have my heart set on an item that another person was Awarded.

I do have/had a really cute Red Heart Shaped Porcelain Coffee Cup that sits perfectly on it's matching Red heart shaped porcelein coaster. This might have been Avon, but I dont remember buying it. Maybe a gift?

Another item is a Red porcelain, Red small bag with handles looking item, that I keep my pens in. That I think has Avon on it, but honestly, I dont remember where I got this either.

I've never sold Avon, but it was one of my "No Makeup Wearing Mother's" ventures, Door to Door. Heck, I didnt complain. Imagine having a *No* Makeup Wearing Mother selling Make Up.

I loved digging into all that makeup that didnt sell, or she didnt want? yow zah!! And all those little samples. It was this Cosmetic Junkie's heaven!

I remember big boxed kits of all those little lipsticks. LOTS of little lipsticks!

"Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!" TLB

Lucky Charm · ‎03-09-2010

@JoyFilled Warrior wrote:
I've never sold Avon, but it was one of my "No Makeup Wearing Mother's" ventures, Door to Door. Heck, I didnt complain. Imagine having a *No* Makeup Wearing Mother selling Make Up.

Was probably a good part time job for you mom to make a little money on the side. Or a lot.

A woman in our office (big company) sold Avon, she didn't wear a lick of makeup. She was a top earner, but after a while our company didn't want her selling in the office, so she did during breaks, lunch, before and after work. You had to meet her at her car. The bags smelled like cigarette smoke, that I remember.

As an aside, my dad bought out his step brother, who mis-managed a huge Harley Davidson dealership. My dad did well, however, he never rode a motorcycle.