With 140 years of fragrance heritage behind it, Avon brings accessible luxury, personalisation and omnichannel discovery to connect with a new generation of beauty consumers.
August 10, 2026, what happens when 140 years of fragrance heritage meets the way today’s consumers discover beauty?
At Watsons Malaysia’s TRX office this morning, the answer came through fragrance, personalisation and experience as Avon officially marked a new chapter in Malaysia with the launch of “Avon Now at Watsons.”
For a brand that has been part of Malaysian beauty culture for more than 54 years, the partnership represents more than simply gaining a new retail destination. It reflects the evolution of how consumers discover, experience and purchase beauty—from personal recommendations and Avon Representatives to social media, digital discovery and now physical retail through Watsons.
From Heritage to a New Generation
Welcoming guests, media, influencers and key opinion leaders, Christina Low, General Manager of Avon Malaysia, highlighted the changing way consumers engage with beauty.
Today’s consumer may discover a fragrance on social media, hear about it from a creator or friend, explore it online, and ultimately want to experience the scent in person before making a purchase. The Watsons partnership creates precisely that bridge.
For longtime Avon customers, it offers another convenient way to reconnect with a familiar brand. For younger consumers, it provides an opportunity to encounter Avon in an environment they already know and trust.
But perhaps more importantly, Avon is not simply making itself more accessible. It is making fragrance itself more approachable.
Executives from Avon and Watsons mark the official arrival of Avon’s world-class fragrances at Watsons Malaysia. (From left to right) Christina Low, GM of Avon Malaysia; Danny Hoh, COO of Watsons Malaysia; Rex Chiang, Avon GM of APAC Commercial Markets; Caryn Loh, Regional Managing Director, Health & Beauty Asia and Regional Exclusives Director, Watsons International, AS Watson Group; and Carol Tan, Watsons Head of Trading Beauty
Luxury in Reach
One of the most compelling aspects of the collection is its positioning for consumers who want a sophisticated fragrance experience without necessarily entering the higher price brackets traditionally associated with premium and designer fragrances.
The range includes both Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette, offering consumers different fragrance concentrations and experiences at accessible price points.
Yet affordability is not positioned as a compromise.
The collection spans a variety of profiles, including floral, fruity, oriental, gourmand and woody interpretations, allowing consumers to explore scents that feel sophisticated, distinctive and contemporary.
Some fragrances also offer noticeable projection and staying power, leaving a memorable scent trail even after the wearer has moved away. It is a proposition that could resonate particularly strongly with younger consumers: quality, individuality and an elevated fragrance experience, without an intimidating price tag.
Rather than competing purely on affordability, Avon appears to be opening the door to what could be described as accessible luxury in fragrance.
Technology Meets Personal Discovery
The launch experience reinforced that positioning. Before guests explored the fragrance collection, they could scan a QR code and complete a short lifestyle-based fragrance profile. Questions explored personal preferences, lifestyle choices, dining habits and even preferred holiday experiences before generating a fragrance direction suited to the individual’s profile.
With 22 fragrances displayed across eight pedestals, the profiling experience offered a more intuitive starting point rather than expecting consumers to test every scent individually. It was a small but clever example of how technology can simplify fragrance discovery while making it more personal.
The experience continued at the Scent Pouch station, where guests selected from dried flowers, petals, leaves, fruits and orange slices to create their own personalised aromatic pouch. Fragrance oils were then added to the chosen botanicals, allowing guests to take their creation home for use in a wardrobe, car or living space.
The concept tied neatly into Avon’s evolving idea of a “fragrance wardrobe” that consumers no longer need to rely on a single signature scent but can choose different fragrances to express different moods, occasions, and facets of their personality. Guests were also treated to a playful selection of locally inspired ice cream flavours, including cempedak, durian and apam balik, adding a distinctly Malaysian sensory touch to the experience.
A Bigger Omnichannel Ambition
Speaking at the event, Rex Chiang, General Manager, Avon APAC Asia, described the Watsons collaboration as an important component of Avon’s wider global omnichannel strategy. Following the expansion of its Watsons partnership in other markets in 2023, Malaysia now becomes part of that broader journey.
“We really want to bring Avon closer to the new generation of beauty,” Rex said, emphasising the importance of making it easier for consumers to discover, experience and enjoy the brand. That ambition potentially extends beyond a single retail partnership.
As beauty consumers become increasingly channel-agnostic, brands that can create compelling experiences across physical retail, digital platforms, social discovery and community engagement are increasingly positioned to capture attention. Avon’s latest move suggests it is positioning itself within that evolving landscape.
The Next Chapter
The significance of “Avon Now at Watsons” therefore goes beyond the launch itself.
It demonstrates how a heritage beauty brand can retain the emotional equity built over generations while adapting its consumer journey for a new era.
From the original beauty Avon Representative, to today’s digital creator; from the catalogue to the QR code; and from personal recommendation to physical retail, Avon is changing not only where consumers discover its products, but how they discover them.
And perhaps that is the most interesting part of Avon’s new chapter.
The brand may have arrived at Watsons today, but with its combination of heritage, accessible fragrance, personalization and an increasingly omnichannel mindset, Avon is positioning itself for a much bigger conversation about the future of beauty. A beauty icon is not simply returning to the spotlight. It is redesigning how the next generation discovers it.
