Natura sells Avon’s Central America operations to Grupo PDC
Key takeaways
- Natura is selling Avon’s Central American and Dominican Republic operations to Grupo PDC as part of its simplification strategy.
- The deal includes a symbolic US$1 price and an additional US$22 million when the deal closes.
- Natura will remain the licensor and supplier.
Brazilian cosmetics company Natura has announced that it is selling Avon’s operations in Central America and the Dominican Republic to consumer goods company Grupo PDC in a symbolic deal priced at US$1.
As part of the deal, Natura will remain the region’s licensor and supplier for Avon, while Grupo PDC will take over running the business in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic, which together make the Avon CARD business.
While Natura never controlled Avon’s US operations, it has been streamlining the rest of Avon’s global footprint, including the CARD markets and the Avon International unit. Both of these were classified as assets “held for sale” in Natura’s 2025 Q2 earnings report.
The move is part of a broader turnaround effort, which saw Natura previously sell its Aesop and The Body Shop brands to boost its finances.
The deal is expected to close in October, and an additional payment of US$22 million will be made to Natura’s subsidiary in Mexico when it does.
“Avon has enormous value due to its reputation, brand recognition, income generation for thousands of consultants, and deep household penetration among Latin America consumers. We are pleased to have found a partner with extensive experience in the Central American market who will continue to drive Avon’s prosperity in close partnership with Natura,” says João Paulo Ferreira, CEO at Natura.
Following the Avon CARD announcement, Natura’s Sao Paulo-traded shares rose over 3%, according to Reuters.
Financial pressures
Natura had been considering what to do with its Avon businesses for over a year. In February, speculation mounted that the company was looking to sell Avon’s operations outside of Latin America.
In its Q2 financial earnings reports, Natura said it delivered R$445 million (US$82.1 million) in profit from its ongoing businesses. However, once the losses from Avon’s struggling units, now classified as “assets held for sale,” were factored in, the company’s reported profit dropped to R$195 million (US$35.8 million).
Natura will remain the licensor and supplier of Avon in the region.Despite the drop, the profit marks a reversal from the R$859 million (US$157.96 million) net loss reported in the same period last year.
Natura’s strongest brands delivered a 10.3% growth in sales in Brazil, and its Hispanic markets climbed 17.8% in constant currency. However, these gains were offset by Avon’s sharp decline, which dragged down the region’s performance.
“We made significant progress in simplifying and restructuring our business, further reinforcing our leadership position in Latin America,” Ferreira said last month.
“After a solid first quarter, we delivered another quarter of strong results. Our key market, Brazil, saw revenue acceleration, and Natura outperformed the market, even with challenges related to Avon. Despite the slowdown in consumption, we are confident in our ability to maintain profitability growth for the full year.”