Avon calling

THE Avon lady is synonymous with lipstick and mascara, but now you may also be able to get insurance and a credit card on top of beauty products.

Avon UK is planning to recruit 20,000 of its eponymous ladies to help its launch into the financial services market.

Among the products the firm will look to sell alongside its traditional beauty range are life and car insurance, telecoms services and credit cards. The company is negotiating with potential clients, with trial marketing expected to start next year.

The company would almost certainly tailor its financial products towards its female customer base. According to its own figures, nearly one third of women in the UK shop with Avon.

Despite dwindling demand for direct sales methods, Avon is second only to Boots in cosmetic sales. It make profits of £18.6m in the UK during 2003 on a turnover of £278m. Avon's distribution and customer service centre processes more than 10,000 orders daily.

In the UK, the company employs 160,000 'independent Sales Representatives' as its famous ladies are now known.

The Financial Times quoted Avon UK president Jerry McDonald as describing the business as a 'sleeping giant' and said it needed to fight back against the supermarket giants.

The sale of door-to-door financial products has declined in popularity over recent years as cheaper marketing tools, such as direct mail, widespread telephone access and the internet, have developed.

The UK's appetite for door-to-door salesman has also waned. Doorstep lender Provident Financial has said its core UK market is shrinking and has been forced to move into Eastern Europe to find new business.