Mattsson Out at Oriflame
COPENHAGEN — Oriflame, the troubled Swedish cosmetics direct seller, said it has dismissed its chief executive, Sven Mattsson.
He will be replaced by Magnus Brannstrom, formerly the head of the firm’s operations in Russia and other countries that made up the Soviet Union.
Poor sales performance since Oriflame’s stock exchange listing last year is the main reason behind the decision, the company’s board said.
“During its first year on the Stockholm exchange, the company has not lived up to the expectations of the board of directors,” the board said in a statement.d
Mattsson, who has been with Oriflame for 17 years, took the company public in March 2004. The offering was a success, but sales rose just 3 percent last year, well below the company’s long-term target of 10 to 15 percent annualized growth.
That has sent the stock sharply lower in recent months. Company shares — which listed at 190 Swedish kronas, or $25.37 at average exchange, and hit an all-time high of 278 Swedish kronas, or $37.13, last June — rose 5 percent Tuesday on the news of a new ceo to 154 Swedish kronas, or $22.43. The stock closed flat at 152 Swedish kronas, or $22.14.
Brannstrom, 38, has headed Oriflame’s operations in Russia and other Soviet states since joining the company in 1997. During his tenure, company sales in the region have quadrupled to 330 million euros, or $431.1 million, last year.
“There will be quicker decision-making [now], with more focus on Russia and Eastern Europe,” the company’s chairman and founder Robert af Jochnick said in the statement.
Oriflame, which operates in 55 countries and boasts a sales force of more than 1.5 million representatives, reported 2004 sales of 670.7 million euros, or $876.2 million. Its net profits for the period clocked in at 79.6 million euros, or $104 million.
Kebede Named WHO Ambassador
NEW YORK — Estée Lauder model Liya Kebede was named Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health for the World Health Organization during a ceremony this morning at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva. According to the WHO, more than 500,000 women die each year during pregnancy and childbirth. Close to 11 million children die before the age of five. Most of these deaths occur in the developing world and could be prevented by skilled attendants at birth, breast feeding and vaccinations, the WHO stated. Dr. Lee Jong-wook, director general of the WHO, appointed Ethiopia-born Kebede, who is a mother herself.
