Stellar 35-Year Career with the Company
NEW YORK, March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avon Products, Inc.
(NYSE: AVP) today announced that Susan J. Kropf, president and chief operating
officer, has decided to retire following a 35-year career during which she
advanced to become the company's number two executive and one of the most
prominent executives in the beauty and direct-selling industries.
Avon said that Ms. Kropf, age 57, will step down from her duties as
president and chief operating officer effective July 1st and will retire from
the company at the end of 2006. A successor to Ms. Kropf will not be named, in
line with the company's new global operating structure announced in December
2005, and all business units and support functions will report directly to
Andrea Jung, Avon's chairman and chief executive officer.
Avon also noted that Ms. Kropf will not stand for reelection as a member
of Avon's Board of Directors at the company's annual meeting of shareholders
on May 4th.
Reflecting on her decision to retire, Ms. Kropf said, "With a new
operating structure in place and progress being made on our business
turnaround plan, I am confident that Avon is now well-positioned to resume
sustainable growth, and that the time is now right for me to act on this
personal decision that I've been considering for some time.
"Looking back, I am very proud of Avon's extraordinary business growth
over the years, as we have evolved from a smaller, more entrepreneurial
company to a true global business of scale. I am honored to have been a part
of the Avon success story for so many years, and I know I leave the business
in good hands with a talented new generation of leaders who are committed to
Avon's continuing success."
Andrea Jung, Avon's chairman of the board and chief executive officer,
said, "Susan has made countless important contributions during her remarkable
35-year career at Avon, which has spanned virtually every area of the
business. For me, Susan has been a trusted business partner and valued friend,
but all who have been privileged to work with her closely have benefited
equally from her strong leadership skills and broad business perspective."
Ms. Kropf has held her current position of president and chief operating
officer since January 2001, where she has had day-to-day oversight of Avon's
worldwide operations. Before that, she was executive vice president and chief
operating officer, Avon North America and Global Business Operations, with
responsibility for the company's North American operating business unit as
well as global marketing, R&D, supply chain operations and information
technology.
In addition to serving on Avon's Board of Directors, Ms. Kropf also serves
on the Boards of MeadWestvaco Corp., Sherwin Williams Co., and the Wallace
Foundation. She is a member of Cosmetic Executive Women and this year will be
honored with CEW's lifetime achievement award. Ms. Kropf has also been
honored by many other organizations, including the March of Dimes, the YWCA
Academy of Women Achievers and the National Council for Research on Women.
Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with over
$8 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller, Avon
markets to women in well over 100 countries through over five million
independent Avon Sales Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty
products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized brand
names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Avon Solutions, Advance Techniques,
Avon Naturals, Mark, and Avon Wellness. Learn more about Avon and its
products at http://www.avoncompany.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR PURPOSES OF THE "SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE
PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
Statements in this release that are not historical facts or information
are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "estimate," "project," "plan,"
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "planned," "potential" and
similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-
looking statements are based on management's reasonable current assumptions
and expectations. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties
and other factors, which may cause the actual results, levels of activity,
performance or achievement of Avon to be materially different from any future
results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and there can
be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from
management's expectations. Such factors include, among others, the following:
general economic and business conditions in our markets, including social,
economic, political and competitive uncertainties in Latin America, Asia
Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East; our ability to
implement our business, cash management and tax strategies and our multi-year
restructuring initiatives and our ability to achieve anticipated benefits from
such initiatives; the possibility of business disruption in connection with
our multi-year restructuring initiatives; our ability to achieve anticipated
cost savings and our profitability and growth targets, particularly in our
largest markets; our ability to implement appropriate product mix and pricing
strategies; the impact of changes in consumer spending patterns and
preferences, particularly given the global nature of our business; our ability
to replace lost sales attributable to the repositioning of the U.S. Beyond
Beauty business; the impact of substantial currency fluctuations on the
results of our foreign operations and the cost of sourcing foreign products
and the success of our foreign currency hedging and risk management
strategies; our ability to implement our Sales Leadership program globally, to
increase Representative productivity and recruit Representatives; our ability
to implement our enterprise resource planning project; the impact of possible
pension funding obligations and increased pension expense on our cash flow and
results of operations; the impact of stock option expense pursuant to
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(R); our ability to
successfully transition our business in China in connection with the
anticipated resumption of direct selling in that market; the effect of legal,
regulatory and tax proceedings, as well as restrictions imposed on us, our
operations or our Representatives by foreign governments; the risk of an
adverse outcome in our material pending litigations; our ability to
successfully identify new business opportunities; our access to financing; and
our ability to attract and retain key personnel and executives. Additional
information identifying such factors is contained in our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update any such forward-
looking statements.
SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.avon.com
http://www.avoncompany.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/079575.html
CONTACT:
Media, Victor Beaudet, +1-212-282-5344, or
Sharon Samuel, +1-212-282-5322, or Investor, Renee Johansen or
Rob Foresti, +1-212-282-5320, all of Avon Products, Inc.
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