雅芳緣何不再是買家眼里的香餑餑
????今年四月,雅芳(Avon)曾是炙手可熱的收購(gòu)對(duì)象。 ????當(dāng)時(shí),德國(guó)Joh. A. Benckiser股份有限公司主要持有的香水集團(tuán)科蒂(Coty)曾經(jīng)主動(dòng)開(kāi)價(jià)100億美元,希望收購(gòu)這家化妝品公司?!敦?cái)富》雜志(Fortune)還報(bào)道,Richmont Holdings投資公司也加入了收購(gòu)該公司的行列?!菊?qǐng)參見(jiàn)新聞《雅芳:一個(gè)美容帝國(guó)的興衰》。(Avon: The rise and fall of a beauty icon)】當(dāng)時(shí),《財(cái)富》雜志曾經(jīng)撰文分析了雅芳為何一開(kāi)始就成為搶手的收購(gòu)對(duì)象:長(zhǎng)期擔(dān)任雅芳首席執(zhí)行官的鐘彬嫻管理不善、決策失誤,同時(shí),核心客戶也在逐漸流失。雅芳的股價(jià)在鐘彬嫻的任期內(nèi)曾于2004年最高達(dá)到46美元,而在科蒂出價(jià)收購(gòu)前,股價(jià)已經(jīng)跌至19美元左右。 ????如今,大約七個(gè)月過(guò)去了,雅芳的股價(jià)依舊一路下跌,如今徘徊在14美元上下。11月1日公司發(fā)表的財(cái)報(bào)顯示,今年第三季度的利潤(rùn)同比下降了81%。 ????除去財(cái)報(bào)慘淡之外,公司與所有新買家的洽談也至少暫時(shí)擱淺。表面上看,雅芳可能甚至?xí)拥揭恍┎皇軞g迎的報(bào)價(jià),不過(guò)此時(shí)進(jìn)行私人股本交易的可能性不大。 ????雅芳的情況發(fā)生了很大的改變,其中最大的變化是鐘彬嫻不再負(fù)責(zé)管理公司。一年前,公司發(fā)布財(cái)務(wù)和運(yùn)營(yíng)審查時(shí),她依然擔(dān)任首席執(zhí)行官。在她的管理之下,雅芳經(jīng)歷了兩次失敗的高層改組。分析人士曾猜測(cè),在公眾視線之外進(jìn)行一次徹底洗牌,也許能讓公司的運(yùn)營(yíng)更加順利。 ????不過(guò)分析師們現(xiàn)在表示,公眾的關(guān)注無(wú)礙四月新上任的執(zhí)行官謝莉·麥科伊做出艱難的決策。 ????晨星公司(Morning Star)的分析師艾林·拉什說(shuō):“他們給人的感覺(jué)像是所有的選擇都已經(jīng)擺在了桌面上,其中甚至包括退出一部分市場(chǎng),進(jìn)行新一輪裁員,或者削減股息?!?/p> ????麥科伊在公司最近的收益電話會(huì)議上承認(rèn),公司還有很長(zhǎng)的路要走。她告訴分析師:“我理解,你們想知道我?guī)?lái)了什么靈丹妙藥,或者說(shuō)有什么快速解決問(wèn)題的方案,不過(guò)我們的業(yè)務(wù)很復(fù)雜。”她還說(shuō):“雅芳面臨的挑戰(zhàn)不是一夜之間出現(xiàn)的,而是日積月累形成的,所以我們也需要一些時(shí)間來(lái)解決它們?!?/p> |
????Back in April, Avon was a hot target. ????Fragrance maker Coty, majority-owned by German holding company Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH, made an unsolicited $10 billion offer for the direct seller of beauty products.?Fortune?also reported that Richmont Holdings was putting together a bid for the company. (See?Avon: The rise and fall of a beauty icon) ????At the time,?Fortune?detailed what had made Avon so vulnerable in the first place: plagued by mismanagement and poor execution during the tenure of longtime CEO Andrea Jung, the company had lost sight of its core customer. The stock hit $46 in 2004, a high for Jung's reign, but had dropped to around $19 just prior to the Coty bid. ????Seven or so months later, the stock's slide has continued, with the share price hovering around $14. Profits in the third quarter, reported Nov. 1, declined 81% over the same period in 2011. ????Despite the deteriorating numbers, talk of any new buyers -- at least for the time being -- has cooled. Avon might look even more exposed to an unwanted bid on the surface, but a private equity deal seems unlikely at this point. ????A lot has changed at Avon, but the biggest change is that Jung is no longer in charge. A year ago, when the company announced its latest financial and operational review, Jung was still CEO. Avon had already undergone two unsuccessful restructurings during her time as at the top, and analysts posited whether a turnaround would be easier to execute beyond the public eye. ????But analysts say that the spotlight hasn't stopped current chief executive Sheri McCoy, who took over in April, from making hard decisions. ????"The impression they convey is all options are on the table," says Morningstar analyst Erin Lash, "even if that means exiting some markets, going through another round of head count reductions, or whether that means slashing dividend." ????On the company's most recent earnings call, McCoy acknowledged that the company had a long road ahead, telling analysts, "I recognize you would like to hear me present a magic bullet or a quick fix, but our business is complex," and that "the challenges Avon is facing developed over time, not overnight, and the solutions will take time as well." |