????今年四月，雅芳（Avon）曾是炙手可熱的收購對象。

????當時，德國Joh. A. Benckiser股份有限公司主要持有的香水集團科蒂（Coty）曾經主動開價100億美元，希望收購這家化妝品公司。《財富》雜志（Fortune）還報道，Richmont Holdings投資公司也加入了收購該公司的行列。【請參見新聞《雅芳：一個美容帝國的興衰》。（Avon: The rise and fall of a beauty icon）】當時，《財富》雜志曾經撰文分析了雅芳為何一開始就成為搶手的收購對象：長期擔任雅芳首席執行官的鐘彬嫻管理不善、決策失誤，同時，核心客戶也在逐漸流失。雅芳的股價在鐘彬嫻的任期內曾于2004年最高達到46美元，而在科蒂出價收購前，股價已經跌至19美元左右。

????如今，大約七個月過去了，雅芳的股價依舊一路下跌，如今徘徊在14美元上下。11月1日公司發表的財報顯示，今年第三季度的利潤同比下降了81%。

????除去財報慘淡之外，公司與所有新買家的洽談也至少暫時擱淺。表面上看，雅芳可能甚至會接到一些不受歡迎的報價，不過此時進行私人股本交易的可能性不大。

????雅芳的情況發生了很大的改變，其中最大的變化是鐘彬嫻不再負責管理公司。一年前，公司發布財務和運營審查時，她依然擔任首席執行官。在她的管理之下，雅芳經歷了兩次失敗的高層改組。分析人士曾猜測，在公眾視線之外進行一次徹底洗牌，也許能讓公司的運營更加順利。

????不過分析師們現在表示，公眾的關注無礙四月新上任的執行官謝莉·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：“他們給人的感覺像是所有的選擇都已經擺在了桌面上，其中甚至包括退出一部分市場，進行新一輪裁員，或者削減股息。”

????麥科伊在公司最近的收益電話會議上承認，公司還有很長的路要走。她告訴分析師：“我理解，你們想知道我帶來了什么靈丹妙藥，或者說有什么快速解決問題的方案，不過我們的業務很復雜。”她還說：“雅芳面臨的挑戰不是一夜之間出現的，而是日積月累形成的，所以我們也需要一些時間來解決它們。”

????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."