Sherilyn McCoy hasn’t even been the CEO of Avon Products for a full week and she’s already right in the middle of a potential takeover of the company by fellow beauty-product manufacturer Coty, Inc., an offer that had shareholders excited before Avon nixed the bid. 

Coty sent another letter over to Avon on Wednesday that said that it would love to end the stalemate between the two companies and it's more keen than ever to buy the company, according to a press release issued by Avon.

McCoy, a former Johnson & Johnson exec, is hardly getting a chance to ease into her new role. The previous CEO of the company, Andrea Jung, had been in that spot for a dozen years, apparently asked to be replaced, CNN reports. It’s no wonder. Even with Reese Witherspoon as a brand ambassador, the wobbly company’s stock has plummeted 27% since the start of 2010.Continue reading...

The Google homepage today, you may have noted, features a "Google Doodle" logo in honor of International Women's Day. Click on it to connect to Google's special website marking IWD's centenary of raising awareness about the state of women's rights.

Google and IWD organizers are backing International Women for Women's Join Women on the Bridge campaign, supported by actress Geena Davis (see her PSA, above). Other brands are also doing their part.Continue reading...

Tuesday, March 8th, marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. On behalf of the Avon Foundation, the brand's global ambassador since 2007, actress Reese Witherspoon, is being featured in a new PSA campaign that speaks out against domestic violence.Continue reading...

Avon ambassador Fergie yesterday kicked off Avon Voices, Avon's first-ever global online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition (for men and women) in celebration of its 125th anniversary.

The launch also got a hand from Reese Witherspoon, and Fergie's fellow judges including Russian pop star Valeriya, singer/producer David Pack, and songwriter Diane Warren.

Check out avonvoices.com, where users can participate in one of three ways: upload a videotaped singing audition, compete in the songwriting track or vote on others' entries.

Here is a test for those who consider themselves branding types (without doing an online search): Which three of the following celebrities do not have their own brand of perfume?

• Avril Lavigne
• Jimi Hendrix
• Carlos Santana
• Gwen Stefani
• Kobe Bryant
• Tim McGraw
• Charlize Theron
• Jade Goody
• Reese Witherspoon
• Ellen DeGeneres
• Derek Jeter

So you have your guesses? Here are the ones above with personally-branded scents:Continue reading...

Though the Avon Products brand has some challenges ahead, the chief Avon lady, CEO Andrea Jung, is singing a happy tune: despite sales declines in North America and China, the company’s third-quarter earnings beat estimates.

Avon came out on top by staying in tune with the makeup of the marketplace. It’s been focusing its appeal to the cash-strapped by promoting lower-priced products, and will be heavily targeting Latin America, where, the company says, people spend a high proportion of their income on beauty products.

Avon plans to lower its advertising budget, a strategy unlike the very expensive one undertaken by a well-known search-engine brand, but will hire more sales reps (while cutting 1,200 other jobs by 2013). It sounds like a plan that puts the focus on one-on-one customer interaction, which was what build the brand, rather than a broader blanketing of media messages. Reese Witherspoon remains the celebrity face of the brand.Continue reading...