Avon names J&J exec McCoy new CEO

Avon is hoping a new chief executive can give it a much-needed makeover.

The struggling cosmetics seller Monday tapped longtime Johnson & Johnson executive Sherilyn S. McCoy as its new chief executive. The announcement ended a four-month search to replace embattled executive Andrea Jung, who had come under fire for failing to stem the company's declines and wrap up a bribery investigation.

Shares of the Manhattan-based company fell 3.12 percent to $22.69 Monday.

McCoy's emergence at Avon comes less than two months after she was passed over for the top spot at Johnson & Johnson, which in February announced that Alex Gorsky would take over as chief executive. Bill Weldon, who has served as J&J's chief executive for the past decade, plans to step down at the company's annual shareholder meeting April 26.

The announcement from Avon comes just a week after the company rejected a $10 billion takeover offer from the smaller beauty products maker Coty Inc.

Avon, founded in 1886, became a fixture in households across the country as its legions of "Avon ladies" went door to door selling makeup to family, friends and acquaintances. Its brands include Avon Color, Skin-So-Soft and mark.

The company markets its products in more than 100 countries through about 6.4 million independent sales representatives. Its annual revenue is more than $11 billion.

North American sales have dropped off over the years and about 80 percent of Avon's $11 billion in annual revenue now comes from overseas. The company has frequently missed analysts' earnings expectations and posted weak sales in some of its largest markets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also is investigating Avon's contact with financial analysts in 2010 and 2011 as part of a bribery investigation.