Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) announced the launch of a new partnership with Rappi, an on-demand delivery service.
In the initial pilot more than 100 Avon products will be available for two-hour delivery through selected Avon Representatives to customers in São Paulo in Brazil, and Bogotá and Medellin in Colombia.
The partnership with Rappi will enable Avon Representatives in the pilot group to deliver a rapid, high-quality and responsive experience to customers in Brazil, Avon’s largest market and one of the biggest beauty markets in the world. Consumers can order online with a two-hour fulfilment option, thereby allowing Avon’s Representatives to provide a personal, high-quality and differentiated customer experience to their communities.
Rappi has over one million subscribers in Brazil, and a growing presence across South America. The pilot service is expected to expand to other cities within Brazil and to major cities in Argentina, Chile and Mexico during the first half of 2019.
“We’re delighted to be trialing this partnership with Rappi to provide a really easy way for our top-selling Representatives to serve their customers better and faster,” said José Vicente Marino, executive vice president and general manager of Avon Brazil. “It isn’t just a delivery solution but potentially a whole new approach to connect with consumers. We look forward to seeing the results as the pilot expands.”
The partnership represents one element of the transformation plan to “Open Up Avon” by improving access to Avon products for customers anywhere, anytime. With a new focus on transforming and expanding the e-commerce experience for its customers, Avon is becoming a digital-first, fast-beauty brand to respond to changing demand from customers looking for faster access to new beauty products.
“This is an exciting step in our efforts to open up Avon to new strategic partnerships to better serve our customers, support our Representatives and grow our business,” said Jan Zijderveld, Avon’s chief executive officer. “We expect to scale this and similar delivery services to meet the current and future expectations of our Representatives and their customers. This is just one example of how we’re transforming Avon, and we aim to make similar services available far more widely in 2019.”
