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Avon Doing Away With Regional Headquarters: Avon Products Inc. said it’s phasing out three international regional headquarters and reforming them into nine smaller business units as part of its restructuring. Each of the nine units will handle sales, marketing and distribution for a geographic region and report directly to a new office of the chairman. The office, made up of three top executives, will assume the overall leadership of Avon. By doing this, the New York-based company has cut a layer of bureaucracy, said Mary Taylor, vice president of communications for the maker and direct marketer of cosmetics, perfumes and jewelry. The company took a $64.4-million first-quarter charge to pay for the restructuring, which is expected to save it $40 million a year.