Sheri McCoy was hired as chief executive of Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) in 2012 to fix the mess made by her predecessor, Andrea Jung. In many ways, McCoy has made Avon’s situation worse. It faces greater and greater losses as a public company, and a continued sell-off of its shares, or a buyout at an extremely low price, based on where shares traded two-years ago. The Avon board has a problem. Wall Street is more than disappointed with McCoy’s performance and the growing belief she has no chance to make Avon’s troubles better.
A rumor, reported by The Wall Street Journal, is that one or more private equity firms have considered an investment in Avon. None, according to the account, has the stomach to take all of Avon private. Avon trades just above $4, a two-year low, down 80% over that period.
At about the time McCoy joined, Coty offered $23.25 a share. Avon’s board promptly rejected the advance. A decision to pass on the offer has done a huge disservice to investors.
One could argue that McCoy has been wrapped up trying to settle legal issues that predate her appointment as CEO. For instance, a probe about bribes paid to Chinese interests, which involves activities that go back as far as 2006.
However, the primary effort by McCoy always has been to improve Avon’s fortunes. The most recently reported quarter continued a long string of disappointments. Revenue fell 16% to $1.8 billion. McCoy commented that:
Our overall second-quarter performance was in line with our expectations in an environment of extraordinary currency pressure. Market by market, our local teams are operating effectively as they address consumer demands, improve Representative engagement and manage cost. … In addition, given that we anticipate the challenging environment to continue, we have taken steps to improve our financial flexibility.
The comments avoided issues of Avon’s future entirely.
It is unlikely, but if a private equity firm buys into Avon, McCoy may be pushed out immediately. If not, the board needs to find a new CEO anyway. Avon is quickly dying.
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