Avon Launches Personalised Beauty App

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Oct 29, 2018, 08:00 ET

Beauty industry first - digital tool enabling Avon Representatives to deliver tailored personalised advice backed by scientific & digital innovations

Only beauty app offering true scientific skin tone and colour match for all ethnicities and skin tones

70% of women choose the wrong foundation shade* for their skin tone

LONDON, Oct. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) a globally recognized leader in direct selling of beauty and related products, today announced the launch of its Personalised Beauty App – a revolutionary beauty industry digital tool that will allow Representatives to deliver a whole new level of personalised service to customers quickly, conveniently and with confidence.

Avon's Personalised Beauty App – a beauty industry first – will deliver diagnostics that promise more accuracy than ever, regardless of ethnicity, skin tone and type using just a phone camera and a unique calibration card exclusively available to Avon Representatives. By taking the guesswork out of finding the right shade to perfectly complement the diversity of our customer's colouring, Avon's Personalised Beauty App will provide the Company's network of approximately six million Representatives access to digital technology designed specifically to enhance the effectiveness of her business, and ultimately Avon's millions of customers worldwide.

The Personalised Beauty App was built in partnership with Techkon, an innovative industry leader in colour measurement solutions. Avon conducted research into how mathematical-based colour theory could be used to predict an individual's make-up shade and skincare needs, and worked with Techkon to develop the technology behind this custom app.

The app poses a small number of questions, designed to identify skincare needs, and uses a calibration card to precisely measure skin tone. The information is processed through a unique algorithm that generates personalised product recommendations.

"We're passionate about making high quality, high-tech innovation accessible to all of our Beauty Entrepreneurs and their customers," said Louise Scott, Avon's Chief Scientific Officer. "Digital tools like these help make the personalised, trusted service of our Representatives even more meaningful. At Avon, we are putting an end to the one-size fits all approach and recognising that women don't just want the latest product, they want real beauty insight tailored to their individual needs – not just for foundation, but for their whole beauty colour regime. Early results indicate that this technology provides a benefit that really resonates. We're providing a solution women want."

70% of women choose the wrong foundation shade* for their skin tone, and 44% of women believe their skincare regime doesn't meet their needs**. Conventionally, beauty apps have used selfies to evaluate skin tone, but limitations in screen technology have sometimes produced unpredictable results. Avon is the first beauty company to address these issues with skin tone analysis and true scientific colour match. The Avon Beauty App in the UK and South Africa, two of Avon's top 10 markets, revealed overwhelmingly positive responses.

In addition to the programme underway in the UK and South Africa, further versions of the app are in development to work across a broader range of mobile platforms. This programme marks the latest milestone in the transformation of Avon's digital strategy, fuelling the business' growth through enhanced interactions with Representatives and with customers.

*Skin tones technically measured with a Skin Tone Meter. Source: Diversity Study #12-185 20152
** Global Skincare A&U 2015

About Avon Products, Inc.

Avon is the Company that for 130 years has proudly stood for beauty, innovation, optimism and, above all, for women. Avon products include well-recognized and beloved brands such as ANEW, Avon Color, Avon Care, Skin-So-Soft, and Advance Techniques sold through approximately 6 million active independent Avon Sales Representatives. Learn more about Avon and its products at www.avoncompany.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This material contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to business growth and efforts to implement new digital strategies. Because forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility of business disruption, competitive uncertainties, and general economic and business conditions in Avon's markets as well as the other risks detailed in Avon's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Avon undertakes no obligation to update any statements in this material after it is posted to the Investor Relations section of our website.

SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.