Avon Senses comprises three products, shower gel, body lotion and liquid soap, in four different flavours of algae, tangerine, lavender and native-grasses. The company plans to add bath foams to the range in the coming months.
Earlier this month CosmeticsDesign reported how Avon's second quarter results had received a significant boost from fast-growing emerging markets.
The company said that the markets of central and eastern Europe again posted outstanding results, with sales and operating profit advancing significantly, including Russia, Avon's fastest growing market, where sales grew more than 80 per cent. Avon's sales in Russia in 2003 were $241 million.
Another driving force was China, where sales rose more than 60 per cent in the quarter. Avon considers China as its largest long-term growth opportunity; last year Avon's sales in China were $157 million, but the company said it expected to reach $400 million by 2007.
Overall, Avon's net sales in the second quarter increased by 13 per cent to $1.6 billion, driven by a 17 per cent increase in cosmetics, which account for about two thirds of the sales, with all major categories delivering double-digit gains.
Operating profit rose 16 per cent to $325.5 million, prompting the company to predict a further increase in earnings for the full year, to $1.72 per share, $.02 per share ahead of earlier guidance.
Avon is the world's largest direct seller of beauty products, marketing them to women in over 100 countries through 4.4 million independent sales representatives. The number of active reps increased 11 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same period. In Europe and Asia Pacific, sales representative numbers rose 13 per cent.