AVON CALLS FOR MAJOR CHANGES FIRM TO EXPAND TO RETAIL CENTERS.

Byline: Virginia McCrum Staff Writer

Avon Products Inc. is giving itself a makeover.

The world's leading direct seller of beauty and care products has invested $100 million to develop new ideas that will expand its market share while not disrupting its battalion of ``Avon ladies.''

``What we realized a few years ago, as we researched this, is the way people shop today is very different than it was 10 to 15 years ago, but the Avon representative has always been the heartbeat of our business,'' said John Fleming, regional vice president of Avon West.

New York-based Avon, which markets to women in 137 countries, generated $5.3 billion in gross revenue in 1999 and has 40,500 full-time employees in the United States. The company's regional headquarters in Pasadena is the smallest of four U.S. regions and generates 20 percent of sales for the United States.

Company officials said they were not about to give up 90 percent of their business, a reference to the company's traditional direct-selling platform that competes with the likes of L'Oreal, Mary Kay and Revlon.

Perhaps Avon's boldest move is to open information and retail centers this year in Sears, Roebuck and Co. and J.C. Penney department stores, just as those companies are closing stores across the country. Sears is closing four full-service department stores, and Penney is dissolving 50.

Andrea Jung, Avon's chief executive, said she expects the new avenues of sales for the company to generate upward of $15 million in 2001, and nearly $80 million by next year.

``Over the past several years we've reaffirmed our commitment to our Avon representatives with many new programs to enhance their earnings and professional development,'' said Brian Connelly, Avon's U.S. sales president.

In the company's multilevel leadership program, representatives can create multimillion-dollar businesses by building levels of representatives, often referred to as downlines.

``Representatives also can become certified beauty advisers, run Web- based Internet businesses or even open a licensed Avon beauty center in the mall,'' Connelly said. ``All of these provide new and exciting ways to earn and grow with Avon.''

Darlene Hankinson is the owner of a licensed Avon beauty center that opened in Whittier's Whittwood Mall in September. She also has been in the company's leadership program for five years and became a beauty adviser five months ago.

``Business is a little bit slow right now, since the holidays are over,'' she said of her mall kiosk. ``But the holidays were good for us to get exposure to people who didn't know that Avon is in the retail environment.''

Hankinson said the $10,000 in sales she made this season is triple what she normally makes during the season in personal sales.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) John T. Fleming regional vice president of Avon West, tours the Avon headquarters in Pasadena.

(2 -- color) Gladys Galang hand-picks Avon Products at the Pasadena headquarters. The firm's new plan will add retail centers to its staple of catalog sales.

(3 -- color) Selling products in malls such as Sears and J.C. Penny, Avon hopes to generate additional revenue with its latest venture.

Keith Birmingham/Staff Photographer