As Avon continues its mission to modernise, Retail Week spoke to its chief marketing officer, Ozlem Citci, to find out how she is driving an improved omnichannel strategy, getting the word out and the continued importance of empowering women.
In just 18 months, Avon has embarked on a retail partnership with Superdrug, opened its first representative-led store in the UK, and now plans to expand its physical presence to an additional 200 global stores.
Citci has been with Avon for five years and admits it was tough for the first couple of years due to Covid-19. The beauty brand knew it was time to change strategies and began its franchise model where sales reps run their own stores, alongside direct selling and a revamped omnichannel strategy.
The revamp started in the Turkish market, and between 2021 and 2024 the business grew by substantially while also gaining more market share.
Citci talks to Retail Week about the challenges Avon has faced along the way to evolving the brand, as well as the steps it is taking to ensure it remains a key player in beauty.
What have the challenges been around modernising Avon?
“One point is the relevance of the brand as it is considered a little outdated. At the same time, there’s a lot of affinity for Avon among the young consumers, as it’s sometimes the first beauty brand they’ve tried. Direct selling has amazing benefits and it’s about personalised recommendations, catering to your needs and bringing products to you.
However, especially among younger consumers, the channel preferences are changing, and access has been one of the key drivers for Avon overall. We recently set the strategy for revitalising direct selling globally, increasing access to retail and ecommerce, and reigniting the brands.
“Avon has always been very much about empowering women and this is still the cornerstone of everything that we have been doing. We’ve broadened the reach of our purpose and vision to unleash feminine powers to make the world a better place for all, which we feel very passionate and excited about.”
How are you spearheading Avon’s omnichannel strategy?
“One part is to reignite the brand, but the other part is to be available wherever and whenever our customers want to shop. Within that strategy, modernising direct selling is an essential part, as well as expanding our omnichannel presence. We have been available digitally for a long time through digital brochures, our representatives, our Avon direct-to-consumer website, TikTok and through marketplaces, but one taboo for us was retail. We were apprehensive of retail because of the fear of cannibalising our direct selling channels, but we realised we need to fish where the fish are.
“In 2023, we partnered with AS Watson group for the first time and later launched in Superdrug with a selection of around 150 bestselling makeup, fragrance, and skincare products. We were initially in 100 stores, and the trial was a success which showed how significant retail is for giving consumers an opportunity to try our products.
“By the end of 2025 our goal is to be in 2500 stores with our retail partners.”
“We need to fish where the fish are.”
What role does customer insight play in improving products and experiences?
“Our ‘Ultra’ products are a cult collection for us, but we wanted to know how we could make it better. We asked 3,000 women about what they want from lipstick in terms of colour, and found they want the colour they see in the tube to be the same they wear on their lips.
“Based on this insight, we renovated the product with more pigmentation to deliver an amazing colour. From our consumer research, 70% of women said it is the most pigmented lipstick they’ve ever tried.
What about the role of social media and advertising?
“We relaunched our ‘Far Away’ brand recently by modernising the bottles through design and making it recyclable. It was a major relaunch supported by social media, advertising events, activations and influencer activities.
“We also recently came up with a global activation where we had people lip-syncing to a song we created, and this gained a lot of attention on social media through influencers. We launched this a month ago, and our engagement rate on social media tripled compared to our best-ever post in the past.”
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