Avon calling in Pointe Claire

BY ALBERT KRAMBERGER

editor@transcontinental.ca

While no new jobs are being created as a result, Avon Canada’s new state-of-the-art distribution centre — a $20 million investment — improves efficiency and ensures

current jobs are maintained.

Avon Canada publicly opened its new distribution centre next to its head office in Pointe Claire, a fixture along Highway 40 since the early 1960s, in front of hundreds of employees last Friday morning. The expansion adds 207,000 square feet of space, a

55 per cent increase in onsite capacity. The company sells its beauty and related products — aimed at women — through its team of independent sales representatives.

Avon Canada president Scott Schlackman said the new centre is a commitment the company is making in Pointe Claire, after some jobs were lost in 2003 when its manufacturing wing closed.

“The new building means more efficiency, so while there are no new jobs, it secures existing ones,” he said.

Avon’s independent sales reps, such as Daphne Marghetis, will benefit from the improved order accuracy and efficiency.

“We have jobs because of Avon and they have jobs because of us,” said Marghetis, who lives in Ottawa now but grew up in Pierrefonds and has been selling for Avon for over 15 years. “The centre will help get products out to costumers. We are growing, but it all comes down to customer service.”

Schlackman said Avon Canada is aggressively advertising in order to improve on earnings — and any savings realized from the efficiency of the new distribution centre will be reinvested in promotion “to fuel growth.”

“We want to stay in the forefront of customers’ minds,” he added. “It’s very competitive out there. We need to be constantly going after our market share.”

Current employees will be trained to work with the new technology in the distribution centre, including an automated assembly system that can place some 18,000 ‘high-velocity’ products on a conveyor belt to be placed directly in cartons for delivery. There’s also a new order, storage and retrieval system for ‘low-velocity’ products that brings items to be picked by an assembler, with leftover goods sent back to storage.

Avon, with its global head office in New York City, is the largest direct-selling company in the world, with sales reps in over 100 countries. Avon product lines include brand names such as Avon Color and Skin So Soft.