The second half of 2024 sees retail in an unusual place, with most brick-and-mortar establishments taking advantage of a particularly hectic and warm summer to present the best side of themselves with the help of retail maintenance.

The past 15 years have seen some interesting challenges in the physical retail space, but there has always been a place and an appeal for it. However, a rather unusual situation has emerged where opening a brick-and-mortar store is attempting to save a business famous for decades for not having a physical location.

Arguably the British brand most famous for not having a physical retail location, Avon had planned to open physical locations in the UK for the first time in 137 years, following a successful scheme in Turkey.

The logic behind it is somewhat robust; most makeup sales are made in physical locations and beauty products are one of the key benefactors of the rise in experience retail, where shopping becomes an event and a multi-sensory experience.

The problem with Avon inherent to its multi-level marketing model is that the shopper experience is inherently inconsistent and dependent on the people trading in a particular territory.

The idea behind the Avon retail location was to meet in the middle; a limited selection of products are available in the physical store but everything else will be found by getting in touch with a local Avon rep.

However, the entire business model of home visits and very personal marketing was upended in 2020, a period which had ironically led to a boom for other companies following the MLM model.

One complicating element is that Avon’s parent company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which in practice works similarly to administration in the UK.

This is an attempt to manage a series of expensive lawsuits related to talcum powder found in some products, and is likely to lead to the sale of Avon’s operations outside of North America, 

Natura, said parent company, were also owners of The Body Shop during a difficult financial period for them which led to administration in 2024.