What Killed Avon's Business Model?

For more than three decades, Avon Products was a great consumer brand that appealed to “Avon ladies,” consumer-entrepreneurs who sold these products door to door to other consumers. That was a long time ago, when women stayed home -- and therefore, someone was home when an Avon lady rang the doorbell. That’s how Avon turned from a start-up to a multibillion multinational enterprise with an enormous sales force. But in recent years, Avon’s business model seems to have been heade...