Avon to open first UK high street stores in 137-year history

The group is planning to open its first stores in the UK within the next two months.

The announcement comes after it revealed the beauty brand would also be appearing in Superdrug stores across the country, the first time its products have been sold in high street shops in the UK.

The group’s foray into bricks and mortar retailing marks a major shift in its business model and the latest step to grow the number of ways for shoppers to buy its products.

Avon launching first UK stores in its 137-year history (Image: Avon/PA Wire)

Avon was founded in 1886 and started out selling products direct into the home through a network of door-to-door representatives, offering women a way to earn independent income.

It still has an army of Avon reps selling door to door but has increasingly shifted towards online and social media in recent years and through the pandemic.

The UK store plans are part of a wider global move into physical retailing, with the group launching representative-run franchise retail stores in key international markets including Brazil and South Africa.

It first launched the franchise store model in Turkey almost three years ago, where it now has 63 outlets, and Avon said it has seen sales growth double in the region.

Angela Cretu, global chief executive of Avon International, told the PA new agency: “We are on the cusp of new frontiers for Avon.

“It’s an exciting new chapter.”

She said the expansion into physical stores was being made in response to the fact that the majority – 80% – of beauty purchases are made through retail.

“Women like to touch and experience the product and have that joy of seeing all the colours available,” she said.

But she added it also reflects the changes seen among its customer base since Avon was launched 137 years ago.

Ms Cretu said: “Women stayed at home in the past, but now they are going out to work and we have to follow them wherever they spend their time and make the service as convenient as possible.”

It is starting with a handful of UK retail stores initially, with aims for them to be “mini beauty boutiques”, according to Ms Cretu.

While it has yet to confirm the locations of the stores, it said that rather than targeting traditional high streets, they would be based in “neighbourhood communities”.