Avon is still very active in Russia

Avon, the international beauty business that has been UK-headquartered since 2016, continues to recruit new sales agents and manufacture in Russia, a new report has said.

The BBC said it has “discovered” the ongoing Russian links of the Natura &Co-owned business with the firm still operating “a huge plant” in the Moscow region. However, it also said that products previously manufactured there for Eastern Europe markets excluding Russia are now made in Poland.

Avon has been in Russia for 30 years and it’s a very successful market for the firm. It told the BBC that it provides “critical support” for women there whose livelihoods depend on the business.

The company, which operates online and through physical stores as well as through its traditional independent sales rep channel, had joined the horde of Western companies rethinking its Russia business at the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

It said it was halting investment and suspending exports of its products from Russia to other markets, including Ukraine. That wasn’t actually an exit from Russia though and Natura &Co had said its focus was supporting its sales agents. “We believe restricting their access to products would have an outsize impact on women and children there,” it said.

Yet the BBC found that it’s “still possible to register as a new sales agent for the firm in Russia, with recruits offered prizes, cash bonuses and even holidays for hitting targets”.

It tested the process by registering online, and “received a welcome email with the chance to begin an ‘Easy Start’ sales programme and contact details for a local co-ordinator”.

Natura has previously said there’s “no financial advantage” to the company being in Russia.