Oct 31 at 11:00
Profile hits: QU1
11:00 EDT - Avon (AVP) CEO Sheri McCoy didn't beat around the bush when
she started speaking during this morning's 3Q conference call. "By now you've
seen the press release...it was a tough quarter," with her quickly referencing
comments 3 months ago that 3Q "would be challenging. Given our sales
performance, it's clear that it was tougher than we anticipated." But she
contends "we understand what the challenges were." They include sales efforts in
the US. There, "our recruiting engine fell apart," and McCoy says AVP needs to
do better training and supporting new salespeople. All told, "there is no
shortage of challenges for us." No wonder shares are down 23% at $17.36, more
than halving the year's rebound. (kevin.kingsbury@wsj.com)