Avon launches 125th Anniversary celebration.

Avon Chairman and CEO Andrea Jung launched the company’s 125th Anniversary year with a celebration in Atlanta, GA for more than 5,000 Avon Representatives. The event was part of the 16-city “Avon Believe World Tour” to celebrate the company’s heritage and belief in its mission to empower women. Throughout 2011, approximately 125,000 Avon Representatives are expected to participate in the Avon Believe World Tour as it visits Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, London, Istanbul, New York, Chicago, Mexico City, Warsaw, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Manila, Shanghai, New Delhi and Johannesburg.

“As the company for women, Avon feels an obligation and responsibility to play a leadership role in helping to improve the lives of women around the world, and we truly believe we can make a difference,” says CEO Andrea Jung. “Avon was founded in 1886, 34 years before women in the United States won the right to vote, on the then-revolutionary concept that women could earn an independent income, and achieve financial freedom and personal empowerment. Decade in and decade out, the ‘Avon lady’ has been at the forefront of the changing role of women. Today, Avon is the largest engine of economic opportunity for women on earth, serving more than six million Avon Representatives in over 100 countries. In addition, the Avon Foundation for Women is the largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women, and Avon global philanthropy has donated more than $800 million to improve women’s health and safety around the world.”