Beauty Sales: $6 Billion

Major Products/Brands: Prestige and Consumer Cosmetics

Fragrance and Hair Care from brands including:

• Adidas
• Biocolor
• Bottega Veneta
• Bourjois
• Bozzano
• Bruno Banani
• Burberry
• Calvin Klein
• Cenoura & Bronze
• Chloé
• Clairol
• CoverGirl
• ghd
• Gucci
• Hugo Boss
• James Bond 007
• Katy Perry
• Marc Jacobs
• Marni
• Max Factor
• Mexx
• Miu Miu
• Monange
• Nautica
• Nioxin
• OPI
• Paixão
• Rimmel
• Risqué
• Sally Hansen
• Sassoon
• Sebastian
• System Professional
• Tiffany & Co
• Wella

New Products:

• Adidas Active Skin & Mind Range
• Calvin Klein CK One Essence
• Etro fragrances and home fragrances
• Coty Protopia
• CoverGirl TruBlend Skin Enhancer Primers & Luminizers
• Philosophy Dose of Wisdom Bouncy Skin Reactivating Serum
• Sally Hansen Beetlejuice Collection

Comments: Coty smelled the roses in fiscal 2024, as net revenues climbed 10% to $6.1 billion, up from $5.5 billion in fiscal 2023. Net revenues grew across both the company’s Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments. Coty CEO Sue Nabi broke one of Beauty’s glass ceilings when she became the first woman to rise to the top of 2023’s list of highest-paid CEOs in NYC.

Nabi reportedly earned $149.4 million in 2023. Her 4,100% raise from 2022 was due largely to the $145.9 million she accrued in 2023 stock awards.

Prestige net revenues grew 13% to $3.8 billion fueled by growth in fragrances, cosmetics, and skincare. The prestige fragrance market continued to grow by approximately 10% in FY24, and was named by the company as one of the fastest-growing beauty categories across many markets, including the U.S. and China. Burberry Goddess was key to growth across the entire Burberry franchise. Marc Jacobs Daisy Wild and Cosmic Kylie Jenner also contributed to the unit’s success.

Coty’s Consumer Beauty revenues increased 6% to $2.2 billion, with growth in color cosmetics, mass fragrances and mass skin & body care, led by Brazil. Consumer Beauty e-commerce sales grew approximately 30% in FY24, fueling a significant proportion of the division’s growth. Coty continues to focus on its social media advocacy strategy as it propels viral Consumer Beauty innovations including CoverGirl Simply Ageless Skin Perfector Essence, and Rimmel Thrill Seeker Extreme mascara, resulting in Rimmel gaining market share globally for the last 6 months and CoverGirl outperforming the U.S. omnichannel market in the past quarter.

Growth in Coty’s skincare business was led by Lancaster, Philosophy, and Orveda.

2023-2024 Highlights:

Fortifying brand partnerships was the name of the game in terms of shoring up future business opportunities.

In 2023, the company renewed partnerships with Marc Jacobs International and Adidas, and announced the comeback of Philosophy with a new brand formulation principle, Dermatologic Wisdom, and a new product called Dose of Wisdom Bouncy Skin Reactivating Serum that bears the Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny Program insignia. The product began rolling out in April, and is the first product launched as part of the new Dose of Wisdom franchise.

In May 2023, Coty Protopia was unveiled as a new approach to beauty through “cutting-edge innovation and science, underpinned by the company’s commitment to sustainability and new art.” The event marked the debut of two products: Orveda Omnipotent Concentrate, a serum billed to represent a confluence of microbiome and cellular longevity; and Infiniment Coty Paris, a collection that will ultimately include a range of 14 scents that are expected to be launched globally in 2024. Coty says it is the first fragrance to have patents pending for both the formulation and the packaging.

In February 2024, Coty announced a new partnership with luxury Italian fashion house, Etro, to produce and distribute its signature fragrance lines and home scent collections beyond 2040.

In August, Coty launched CK One Essence, an “intensified, premium take on the original scent.” The bottle for CK One Essence is a play on the original screw-top flask and features a removable pump and a translucent metallic finish. Its secondary carton has a luxe metallic finish as well. According to the company, both the bottle and carton were created with “environmentally preferred” finishes.

Looking Ahead:

Riding high on its year-to-date performance, Coty predicted more growth in fiscal 2025, pointing to favorable market opportunities and to the strength of its innovation pipeline, which includes Burberry Goddess Intense, Chloe Signature Intense, Gucci Flora Gorgeous Orchid, Lancaster Golden Lift, CoverGirl Eye Enhancer 3D Mascara, and adidas Vibes, the first mass fragrance line designed and scientifically proven to enhance one’s mood.

Beauty Sales: $5.6 billion

Major Products: Fragrance, color cosmetics, hair care, skincare and body care products for Prestige and Consumer (Mass). Prestige includes Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Davidoff, Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Joop!, Kylie Baby, Kylie Cosmetics, Kylie Skin, Lacoste, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Orveda, Philosophy, Skkn and Tiffany & Co. Consumer includes Adidas, Bourjois, Bozzano, Bruno Banani, Cenoura & Bronze, Covergirl, David Beckham, Gabriela Sabatini, Good Kind Pure, Jovan, Katy Perry, Land of the Free, Manhattan, Max Factor, Mexx, Miss Sporty, Monange, Nautica, Paixao, Rimmel, Risqué, Sally Hansen and Vera Wang.

New Products: Marc Jacobs Beauty, Adidas Active Skin & Mind range, Orveda OmniPotent Concentrate Serum, Infiniment Coty Paris fragrance, Sally Hansen x Trolls nail polish collection, Sally Hansen x Sesame Street, Sally Hansen x Peeps, Philosophy (relaunch).

Financial Summary:

Fiscal 2023 marked the third consecutive year that Coty delivered strong financial, operational and strategic performance and the 12th consecutive quarter of results inline to beat expectations. Amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, beauty demand remained resilient across the company’s key categories and geographies, with no signs of trade down, while the “fragrance index” shows no sign of slowing. In fact, the beauty category continues to be a standout in key markets like the U.S., as the only category amongst all CPG and general merchandise categories to grow volumes in the last six months, speaking to the beauty industry’s ability to meet consumers’ emotional needs.

Against this favorable backdrop, net sales increased 5% year-over-year to $5.6 billion, driven by consistent momentum in both divisions (Prestige and Consumer Beauty), supported by strong global beauty demand across categories, geographies and channels.

The Prestige segment grew 5% as reported while core LFL (like-for-like) revenues grew 13%. The momentum in the fragrance category remained in full effect, with the prestige fragrance market growing over 10% in the full year. Importantly, this strong performance in Coty’s fragrance portfolio remained broad-based, with all its top brands growing double digits LFL in FY23. In Spring 2023 Coty kicked off its prestige skincare acceleration strategy, with new launches and strong in-market activations behind Lancaster and Philosophy. These initiatives saw positive early results, with revenues for both Lancaster and philosophy up double-digit percentages in Q4. Revenues for Coty’s prestige cosmetics were pressured in the early part of the year by the Chinese lockdowns, but rebounded strongly in Q4 with over 25% LFL growth.

Meanwhile, Consumer Beauty grew 5% as reported, while core LFL revenues grew 11%, including high single digit to double digit LFL growth across the majority of Coty’s leading brands.

Geographically, all regions contributed to the company’s growth in FY23. For the year, Americas grew 9% as reported and 10% LFL, EMEA grew 1% and 13% on a core LFL basis, and Asia Pacific grew 7% as reported and 13% LFL.

2022/2023 Highlights:

In September 2022, Coty announced a comprehensive update on its Skincare strategy, one of the company’s six strategic growth pillars—which includes a plan to double skincare sales by fiscal 2025.

In October 2022, Coty unveiled a new corporate identity centered around the value of “fearless kindness” and a new company purpose: “together we unleash every vision of beauty.” The introduction of this framework represents the next phase in Coty’s growth under the vision and leadership of CEO, Sue Y. Nabi, who aims to create “forward thinking beauty”: products that provide new, innovative, and simply better science-based solutions. According to Nabi, a key part of this new perspective is a belief in working together and with the wider beauty industry on a singular mission of breaking down barriers in beauty.

In November 2022, Coty released its Sustainability Report for the 2022 fiscal year, “Beauty That Lasts”—and it included a mission to reduce its packaging by 20% by 2030. Coty further defined this goal as an average of a 20% reduction in packaging across the company, measured by gram per milliliter of product manufactured.

As part of this new perspective, Coty launched a new campaign to redefine the meaning of beauty. Nabi says the current outdated entries for “beauty” across the leading English dictionaries are both limiting and exclusive, and therefore wrote an open letter calling for change. Coty also created a Change.org petition as part of its #UndefineBeauty campaign, which amassed over 3,500 signatures. The petition aims to “change the outdated definition of the word ‘beauty’ in the dictionary.”

In December 2022, Hugo Boss and Coty renewed their license agreement, which includes all Boss and Hugo fragrances for men and women. Hugo Boss aspires to claim a leading global role in men’s fragrances and will place particular emphasis on the U.S. market in the coming years.

Also in December, Coty sold its Lacoste fragrance license back to Lacoste by mutual agreement.

In January 2023, Coty and Jil Sander announced the renewal of their license agreement as well as the mutual decision to proceed with a long running partnership between the two companies.

In March 2023, Sally Hansen teamed up with the Peeps Brand to create a limited-edition collection inspired by the marshmallow treat. The Sally Hansen Insta-Dri X Peeps Collection included seven shades that featured an all new “sugar texture” for a finish that feels like a sugar-coated Peeps Marshmallow treat. Other Sally Hansen nail polish collaborations in 2023 included DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls and Sesame Street.

Also in March, Caroline Andreotti was appointed as Coty’s chief commercial officer for Prestige. Andreotti has more than 20 years of experience across the beauty industry, 15 of which has been with Coty. She has deep expertise in the Asian market, having worked in the region through much of her career, and a track record in fragrance, skin and body care, and color cosmetics.

In April 2023, Coty introduced Where My Heart Beats by Gucci—the company’s first fragrance manufactured using alcohol from 100% recycled carbon emissions. The fragrance uses CarbonSmart alcohol from Coty’s partner LanzaTech. This novel technology process captures carbon from industrial emissions and transforms it into alcohol for use in fine fragrances.

Also, Coty announced the return of skincare brand “philosophy” with a new brand formulation principle, a new serum, and approval under the Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny Program.

In 2023, Coty joined many other beauty companies and brands in entering the metaverse. It partnered with tech innovator Spatial to create an internal metaverse for its 11,000 global employees. Built with 3D technology, the virtual campus will upskill Coty’s global workforce and will empower future innovation for Coty’s broad portfolio of brands.

In May 2023, Coty renewed its license agreement with Davidoff, extending the long-running partnership beyond 20 years. The renewal of this license paves the way to update the brand’s leading fragrance, Davidoff Cool Water, as well as the creation of new innovations.

Also in May, Coty received authorization from its board of directors to explore a potential listing on the Paris Stock Exchange (PAR), a move that would make the company dual listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and PAR. The move is aimed at further enhancing Coty’s presence in Europe and tapping into new investors in the market. The proposed structure aligns with Coty’s over 100-year heritage in France and its substantial business presence in Europe.

In July 2023, Coty entered into a binding letter of intent to sell a 3.6% stake in Wella, a German hair care company, to investment firm IGF Wealth Management for $150 million. Following this transaction, Coty will retain a 22.3% stake in Wella with an implied valuation of approximately $900 million. The transaction advances the company’s objectives to actively deleverage.

In August 2023, Coty renewed its long-term license agreement with adidas. With the launch of the adidas Active Skin and Mind range, Coty aims to position adidas as a leading premium body care line with superior ingredients and sustainable packaging.

Also in August, Marc Jacobs International signed an expanded long-term license agreement with Coty that will bring Marc Jacobs Beauty into its portfolio. Marc Jacobs Beauty originally launched in 2013 and was discontinued in late 2021.

Looking Ahead:

Entering FY24, the beauty market remains a strong category, with ongoing premiumization trends. Coty continues to benefit from these positive trends, with momentum across its core categories, a strong innovation pipeline, and early wins in key white spaces. The combination of these factors are fueling the company’s expectations for FY24 for the core business to grow at the top of Coty’s medium term target range of 6-8% LFL.

Beauty Sales: $5.3 billion

Major Products: Fragrance, color cosmetics, hair care, skincare and body care products for Luxury and Consumer (Mass). Luxury includes Alexander McQueen, Chloé, Kylie Jenner, Marc Jacobs, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Davidoff, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Escada, Philosophy. Coty Consumer includes CoverGirl, Rimmel, Max Factor, Sally Hansen, Adidas, Nautica.

New Products: Clean Fresh Skincare, Kylie Baby, SKKN by Kim skin care, Sally Hansen Limited Edition Miracle Gel X Friends collection, Marc Jacobs Perfect, Gucci Guilty and Gucci Bloom.

Comments: In a year in which the external environment became increasingly complex and macro concerns dominated headlines, Coty continued to make progress strategically, operationally and financially.

Coty’s sales increased 15% year-over-year to $5.3 billion in the year ended June 30, 2022, driven by strong and consistent momentum in both divisions, with Prestige growing 20% as reported and 22% like-for-like in FY22, and Consumer Beauty growing 7% as reported and 8% like-for-like in FY22. Geographically, revenue improvement was fueled by double-digit growth across nearly all EMEA markets, the doubling of sales in Travel Retail enabled by Coty’s category expansion and premiumization strategy, double digit growth in Brazil, which continues to successfully manage the highly inflationary environment, and continued momentum in the U.S.

E-commerce continued its strong performance, with double-digit sales growth in Q4 and FY22, supporting high teens e-commerce penetration for the year.

2021/2022 Highlights:

After much speculation and anticipation—in July 2021, Coty Inc. announced it was relaunching Kylie Cosmetics with new and improved formulas that are clean and vegan, along with refreshed packaging. The updated formulas don’t contain animal oils, parabens, or gluten—along with a long list of over 1,600 other potentially harmful and irritating ingredients.

Also in July, Coty appointed Constantin Sklavenitis to the role of chief prestige brands officer. Sklavenitis joins Coty from M·A·C Cosmetics where he was senior vice president/general manager of North America. Prior to that, he spent more than two decades at L’Oréal, creating and executing the global business models of new brands, leading business development and growing sales for multiple brands including Urban Decay, IT Cosmetics and Kiehl’s.

In September 2021, Coty announced a multi-channel agreement with beauty tech solutions provider Perfect Corp. that will embed a suite of augmented reality and artificial intelligence experiences into the digital marketing toolkits of its beauty brands. The technology solutions will provide virtual try-ons, online skin diagnostics, and data-driven personalization for brands including CoverGirl, Sally Hansen and philosophy, among others, as well as for Coty’s broad fragrance portfolio.

In October 2021, Coty announced a definitive agreement to sell an approximate 9% stake in Wella to KKR in exchange for the redemption of approximately half of KKR’s remaining convertible preferred shares in Coty, reducing its total shareholding in the professional beauty company to approximately 30.6%. The transaction reflects a 50% appreciation in Wella’s value since the closing of Coty’s 60% sale of Wella to KKR in December 2020, coinciding with the re-opening of global hair salons and the positive momentum in the Wella business.

In November 2021, CoverGirl launched its first-ever skincare collection with Clean Fresh Skincare, a 100% vegan and clean lineup of products shown to visibly improve the look of skin – instantly and overtime. Formulated with 90% naturally derived ingredients, the Clean Fresh Skincare range includes, depending on the product, TruClean Cactus Water, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Rosewater and Vitamin C, to hydrate, improve texture and enhance skin tone.

Also, Coty entered into a licensing agreement with Orveda, an ultra-premium skincare brand made in France. Coty plans to immediately begin to integrate Orveda and its know-how in microbiome science into the company’s Prestige portfolio, with Coty developing, manufacturing and distributing the full range of Orveda products globally.

In February 2022, Coty started production of the world’s first globally distributed fragrances made using carbon-captured ethanol. Coty is making these fragrances using CarbonSmart ethanol produced by partner LanzaTech, a supplier of sustainable ingredients that manufactures ethanol by capturing and fermenting carbon emitted by industrial activity before it is released to the atmosphere. Coty is ahead of schedule on its goal to integrate sustainable ethanol into a majority of its fragrance portfolio by 2023.

In April 2022, Coty pulled out of Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia accounted for about 3% of Coty’s sales.

In May, Kim Kardashian shut down her fragrance brand KKW Fragrance, so that she can relaunch the brand in the future under a new brand name—and under a new web store. (Kim’s initials have changed since her divorce.) Coty owns a 20% stake in KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance.

In June 2022, Kim Kardashian, in partnership with Coty, introduced SKKN BY KIM, an efficacious nine-product skincare collection “sitting at the intersection of elevated simplicity and innovative science.” Each product was formulated to care for all skin types, tones, and textures at every stage of maturity. Also, each product is bottled inside sleek, minimalistic and refillable packaging.

Looking Ahead:

In late 2021, Coty Inc. unveiled its comprehensive transformation “All-In To Win” program, and announced its financial goals through FY25 and beyond. The All-in to Win program encompasses cost saving and capital deployment initiatives intended to ignite the full potential of Coty, with an additional $75 million of savings identified for FY24.

Over the coming years, Coty expects to benefit from an improving beauty market, including a stronger U.S. and Chinese market, a robust rebound in Travel Retail, and steady improvement across Europe. Based on this favorable market backdrop, the strong performance of recent brand repositioning and product launches, and Coty’s robust category and market expansion plans, the company forecasts net revenues to grow 6% to 8% annually LFL through FY25 and beyond, ahead of expected beauty market growth of 3% to 5%.

Beauty Sales: $4.7 billion

Major Products: Fragrance, color cosmetics, hair care, skin care and body care products for Luxury and Consumer (Mass). Luxury includes Alexander McQueen, Chloé, Kylie Jenner, Marc Jacobs, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Davidoff, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Escada, Philosophy. Coty Consumer includes CoverGirl, Rimmel, Max Factor, Sally Hansen, Adidas, Nautica.

New Products: CoverGirl Clean Pressed Powder Collection, Sally Hansen Good.Kind.Pure, CoverGirl Lash Blast clean mascara; Sally Hansen Good.Kind.Pure color cosmetics and Miracle Gel Top Coat; Kim Kardashian SKNN, Lancaster Sun Sensitive collection, Calvin Klein Eternity Summer for Women, Daisy Marc Jacobs Eau So Intense

Comments: In a year filled with new appointments and streamlined product offerings, all while aiming to build on a multi-year turnaround plan launched in 2019, Coty sales fell 25% for the year ended June 30, 2021, a decrease of close to $1.6 billion over the prior year. Sales in The Americas accounted for $1.8 billion, a drop of 21% over the prior year. The company put the onus on pandemic and supply chain disruptions for impacting all product categories, pointing to a 60% decline in continuing operations. Coty also cited the negative impact of shelf-space losses in the U.S.—for brands including Rimmel and CoverGirl—and especially in the U.S., the plunge of color trends in general.

The company said Prestige sales were affected most. On the other hand, the pandemic-related closure of nail salons boosted Sally Hansen sales.

EMEA sales topped $2.3 billion for the year; Asia-Pacific accounted for over $582 million.

In an effort to lower Coty’s leverage and strengthen its earnings, in the midst of the pandemic Coty secured a $1 billion direct investment from KKR and entered into an agreement to sell 60% of Coty’s professional and retail hair business (including Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands) for $2.5 billion. To help get the company back on its feet, in June, they hired Sue Y. Nabi, a long-time beauty industry executive with her own successful brand, to take Coty’s reins.

In November 2020, ex-Coty CEO Peter Harf investing $150 million in the company, telling Reuters, “I put my money where my mouth is. I believe in Coty and I believe in Sue [Y Nabi] and I am investing my own money into this company.”

At about the same time, Coty’s iconic CoverGirl brand introduced its new Lash Blast Clean Volume Mascara, billed as their “first clean, sustainable, 100% vegan and cruelty-free mascara to hit mass retailers at an affordable price.”

In December, to alleviate the company’s financial debt, Coty completed its Wella deal receiving $2.5 billion in cash and retaining a 40% stake in Wella.

2021 Highlights

In April, Coty’s Lancaster new Sun Sensitive line received accolades as the first-ever sun care range to receive a Silver C2C Certified Material Health Certificate from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. Sun Sensitive is Lancaster’s first clean, vegan and ocean-friendly collection—all delivered in eco-designed packaging.

Coty also revealed its long-term strategy for other brands, including CoverGirl, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The brand also revealed that it would focus on its eight top-selling product lines that represent approximately 70% of CoverGirl’s business, according to Nielsen. (The Top 3: Clean (17%), Lash Blast (14%); True Blend (10%) ).

Coty reported that CoverGirl’s Clean portfolio was the reason for the brand’s successful eCommerce strategy during 2020 especially on Amazon. Coty credits the success of CoverGirl’s Clean Fresh Face Makeup and Lash Blast Clean Mascara with propelling the company upward—to become the number two player in “clean” cosmetics. CoverGirl also redesigned its packaging.

In a report to investors, Nabi said: “Across our business, we are harnessing sustainability as the ultimate driver of innovation—enabling our brands to capitalize on growing consumer demand for outstanding beauty products that are clean and green. We intend to use this strategy to build Coty into a truly global beauty powerhouse.”

In Q3 of 2021 (ended March 31, 2021), Coty announced continued improvement in its financial results and early evidence of recovery across its operations. Prestige brands like Gucci, Burberry and Marc Jacobs were standouts, with double digit growth in the quarter, and the Asia Pacific region resumed growth despite the continuing impact of Covid-19.

In May, Simona Cattaneo stepped down from her role as president, Luxury Brands, after five years at Coty.

At the end of May, Coty promoted Andrew Stanleick to CEO for the beauty business created by Kylie Jenner. In addition, Stanleick will also manage Kim Kardashian West’s business for Coty with a focus on driving global expansion and entry into new beauty categories. He continues these new global responsibilities in addition to his current role as Coty EVP Americas.

In June, Coty CFO Laurent Mercier said that the company will streamline its product portfolio in order to increase profitability. Coty is looking to save upwards of $600 million over the next three years, as it appears that consumers have a preference for luxury over mass brands.

In June, CoverGirl touted “their largest sustainability step to date” by announcing a 35% reduction of plastic packaging globally with the new mold of the Clean Pressed Powder Collection. According to the brand, they selected the Clean Pressed Powder Collection—No.1 in the industry—as the first to undergo the packaging reinvention due to its mass appeal and overall impact. Products in the collection include: Clean Pressed Powder, Clean Matte Pressed Powder, Clean Sensitive Pressed Powder and Clean Fresh Pressed Powder.

After two years, Richard Jones stepped down from his role as chief supply officer and head of R&D.

In July, Coty made Beauty headlines with its announcement that it would roll-out a digitally-enabled touch-less fragrance testing device intended for use at beauty retailers within the next 12 months. Coty is partnering with Êverie, a French start-up specializing in smart devices, micro-dosing and diffusion technologies, to bring this touch-less fragrance tester to life. The device deploys a single drop of liquid to the skin with “the same restitution as traditional testers, eliminating unnecessary waste and offering a safe, contact-free alternative for testing.”

Also in July, Coty announced the appointment of Constantin Sklavenitis to the role of chief prestige brands officer, effective September 6. Sklavenitis joins Coty from M·A·C Cosmetics where he was SVP/general manager of North America.

Good news in the final quarter of the year, for Coty. Net revenues rose 80.7% like-for-like to $1.1 million, showing improved growth across all regions—especially in the U.S. and China markets. Revenue in the Americas rose 68.9% in 4Q21 versus the prior year period, due to prestige brand sales, which more than doubled in Q4, with nearly all luxury labels up double-to triple-digits. Mass beauty revenues also increased, up 37.9% in Q4, with growth across every region.

An upbeat Sue Y. Nabi, Coty’s CEO, commented, “Today marks the completion of a transformational year for Coty, as we advance on our journey in strengthening Coty’s position as a global beauty powerhouse. Over the last 12 months, we have built a leadership team of beauty and transformation experts, unveiled and began executing on our multi-year strategy, completed the divestiture Wella, significantly improved our leverage profile, and over-delivered on our savings, revenue, and profit objectives.

“We have ended the year on a high note, with Q4 sales nearly doubling YoY. Sales in the Americas expanded in FY21, and we saw particular strength in the U.S. and China. This a true testament not only to the strength of our prestige brand portfolio, but also to our innovation capabilities, with Marc Jacobs Perfect the best performing U.S. fragrance launch in the industry over the last 3 years, Gucci Guilty Pour Homme and Burberry Her driving market share gains for the beauty brands, and Chloe Atelier des Fleurs solidifying its position as a leading ultra-premium artisanal fragrance collection.”

Corporate Sales: $4.7 billion

Major Products/Brands:

• Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Calvin Klein
• Chloé, Gucci, Hugo Boss
• Tiffany & Co, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu
• Wella, OPI, ghd
• System Professional, Nioxin, Sassoon
• Sebastian, Clairol, CoverGirl
• Clairol, Rimmel, Adidas
• Bourjois, Sally Hansen, Max Factor
• Wella, Monage, Risqué, Bruno Banani
• Katy Perry, James Bond 007, Mexx
• Nautica Fragrances, Biocolor, Bozzano
• Cenoura & Bronze, Paixão

New Products:

• CoverGirl Clean Fresh, Calvin Klein Women
• CK Everyone, Gucci Bloom Nettare di Fiorgi
• Gucci Guilty Pour Femme, Gucci Alchemist Garden
• Kylie Skin (Europe), Kylie Cosmetics and Burberry beauty
• Marc Jacobs Perfect

Comments: According to Coty’s year-end results issued in August, Covid-19 has taken a sizable bite out of the company’s fiscal 2020 net revenues, which decreased 22%. Fourth quarter, like-for-like figures also indicated a decline of 53% for Total Coty and 60% for Continuing Operations, which excluded the revenues and directly attributable costs of the to-be-divested Wella business.

Regionally, Coty’s Americas territory net revenues of $1.7 billion (38% of total Coty continuing operations) decreased by 21.3% versus the prior year. On a like-for-like basis, Americas net revenues decreased by 21.5%. Sales through the first half of the fiscal year were in line with Coty’s expectations, however. the company acknowledged.

Despite the challenge of withstanding the Mass beauty market pressures and shelf space losses within its Mass beauty business, Coty’s U.S. Mass cosmetics gained market share online and offline. CoverGirl U.S. provided a boost with the launch of Clean Fresh, and Sally Hansen generated strong growth on and offline, thanks to the launch of “Good.Kind.Pure,” which premiered in December 2019; it has been the No. 1 color cosmetics launch since December 2019. Strong prestige performances were also turned in by Gucci, Burberry and Tiffany.

The most notable development to boost U.S. sales was Coty’s Kylie Beauty partnership with reality TV personality, Kylie Jenner. Despite Covid-19 related issues to the brand’s third-party manufacturer’s fulfillment center in Coty’s 4Q20, Kylie Skin remained operable during the quarter, generating solid sales growth.

2020 Highlights

In June, Coty announced a $200 million deal with Kim Kardashian West to help broaden the reality show superstar’s product and category offerings as well as develop her beauty business globally. Coty will have a 20% ownership interest and will have overall responsibility for the portfolio’s development in skin care, hair care, personal care and nail products. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

June was also marked by the announcement of a strategic transaction with KKR for Coty’s professional and retail hair business, spanning the Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands, valuing the businesses at $4.3 billion on a cash- and debt-free basis. KKR will own 60% of this separately managed entity and Coty will own the remaining 40%. As previously announced, KKR is investing $1 billion directly into Coty through the issuance of convertible preferred shares. The sale of a majority interest in the professional and retail hair business effectively simplifies Coty’s portfolio, allowing Coty to focus on its core Prestige and Mass beauty businesses.

Effective September 1, 2020, Sue Y. Nabi serves as newly appointed chief executive officer, charged with spearheading Coty’s transformation. Peter Harf will be elevated to the role of executive chairman. Nabi is founder and CEO of Orveda, a new-age luxury skin care line, and previously served as worldwide president of both L’Oréal and Lancôme during her 20-year tenure at L’Oréal.

Looking Ahead

Coty reported seeing gradual sales trend improvement from April through June, with “significant” improvements in July and August across the portfolio. Peter Harf, Coty’s founder and executive chairman, said the company had set “rigorous objectives” for fiscal 2021 and expected a return to profitability by the first quarter of 2021.

In a global town hall address, new CEO Nabi stated Coty would become more “product-centric” and “maximize the cache” that comes with its brand partners, Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian West.

Beauty Sales: $9.3 billion

Major Brands:
Luxury, Professional and Consumer products from brands including:

• Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Calvin Klein
• Chloé, Gucci, Hugo Boss
• Tiffany & Co, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu
• Wella, OPI, ghd, System Professional
• Philosophy, Nioxin, Sassoon
• Sebastian, Clairol, CoverGirl
• Clairol, Rimmel, Adidas
• Bourjois, Sally Hansen, Max Factor
• Wella, Monage, Risqué
• Bruno Banani, Katy Perry, James Bond 007
• Mexx, Nautica Fragrances, Biocolor
• Bozzano, Cenoura & Bronze, Paixão

New Products:

• Obsessed by Calvin Klein
• Tiffany & Co
• Gucci Bloom
• Burberry Beauty (license)
• Daisy Love Marc Jacobs
• Miu Miu Twist
• OPI ProHealth GelColor System
• Nice n Easy hair color (relaunch)
• WellaPlex
• Wella Professional Smart Mirror

Comments: After splashing out $12.5 billion to acquire a stable of beauty brands from P&G back in 2015/2016, Coty spent 2018 managing the ripple effect of the purchase, trying to appease investors and rebalance its bottom line. In fiscal 2018, Coty focused on integrating, restructuring and optimizing the combined organization, divesting or terminating 14 brands spanning CLC, Celine Dion, Cutex, Esprit, Guess, Halle Berry, JLo, Lady Gaga, Love2Love, Playboy, Summer and Tim McGraw within Consumer Beauty, and Cerruti and Chopard, which were reported in the luxury segment. By year’s end, the company posted a 23% net revenue increase, with incremental net revenues from the acquisition of the P&G beauty business comprising 13% of the total percentage net revenue increase.

Revenue gains in the company’s luxury beauty segment also jumped 25% to $3.2 billion thanks in part to the successful launches of Tiffany & Co., Gucci Bloom and Obsessed by Calvin Klein. The Consumer Beauty Division posted 16% gains to $4.2 billion and Professional Beauty saw net revenues rise 38% to $1.9 billion.

North America, Coty’s largest market, saw net revenues increase 18% to $2.9 billion primarily due to acquisition. Excluding the acquisitions, North American revenue decreased 3% due to declines in color cosmetics in the U.S.

Overall Q4 growth in luxury and professional beauty were offset by declines in Consumer Beauty, where ill-timed supply chain disruptions at two major distribution centers in the U.S. and UK challenged the company’s ability to meet product demand and subsequently dinged revenues. In brighter cosmetics news, CoverGirl achieved “Leaping Bunny” Certification in November after Coty forged a partnership with Cruelty Free International which aims to end animal testing for cosmetics globally. CoverGirl’s certification was achieved following an audit of the brand’s supply chain and ingredients to confirm products and ingredients are not tested on animals either by Coty or its suppliers.

A flurry of top-down personnel changes also occurred. Pierre Laubies replaced Camillo Pane as Coty CEO, then in February Gianni Pieraccioni was hired as chief operating officer, Consumer Beauty. He was previously president, Revlon Consumer Division and COO of Revlon Inc. until 2017. Pierre-André Terisse joined the company as chief financial officer, after having served as CFO of Danone for seven years. Fiona Hughes joined Coty as chief marketing officer, Coty Consumer Beauty. Esra Erkal-Paler, formerly global head of external communications at AstraZeneca, was appointed chief global corporate affairs officer and a member of the executive committee.

News of Note in 2019

In early 2019, JAB Holding Co., which was already Coty’s largest shareholder, spent around $1.7 billion to increase its ownership from 40% to 60%, gaining majority control. The move didn’t go over well with public investors, who not long thereafter initiated a class action lawsuit against the company, its directors and JAB.

In July, Coty announced a bold turnaround strategy structured to put the “the new Coty” on better brand confidence footing and quell concerns. But the news launched Coty’s stock into a tailspin, falling nearly 15%, with underwhelmed investors saying the $600 million plan fell short of expectations, considering the company said it expected a net revenue decline in fiscal 2020. In August the company terminated its partnership with the Younique brand.

In Q4, Coty reported a 4.1% decrease in organic net revenues. The company’s Consumer Beauty segment revenues tumbled 15.2% to $902 million, Professional also fell 7% to $458.3 million. Luxury was the lone bright spot, climbing just 1.7% to $754.7 million. Overall sales in North America were down 14% to $658 million, European sales also slid 10% to $866 million. ALMEA sales gained 2% to $592 million.

In September, the company strengthened its leadership organization for its supply chain, implementing action plans and focusing on the key value creation objectives. Coty said its procurement function and supply operations will be organizationally disassociated and reinforced, and both will report directly to CEO Pierre Laubies and sit at the executive committee. Ad interim, procurement will be led by Gianluca Colombo, chief procurement officer, and supply operations will be led by Jean–Claude Thomas.

Beauty Sales: $9.4 billion (FY 2017: $7.7 billion)

Major Products/Brands:
Luxury fragrance brands including:

• Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Gucci, Philosophy,
• Marc Jacobs, Davidoff, Lacoste, Chloé, Joop!,
• Jil Sander, Escada, Stella McCartney,
• Alexander McQueen, and Miu Miu

Consumer color cosmetic and personal care brands:

• CoverGirl, Rimmel, Adidas, Max Factor, Sally Hansen,
• Nice’n Easy, Koleston, Bourjois Paris, Playboy, Wellaton Monange,
• Bazzano, Risqué, and Paixao

Professional hair care products:

• Wella, Sebastian, System Professional, Clairol Professional, Nioxin,
• Londa Professional, and Sassoon

New Products:

• CoverGirl TruBlend color cosmetics
• CoverGirl Exhibitionist Lip Kit
• Katy Kat eyelashes and eye color cosmetics
• Exhibitionist lip color
• Magic Mirror augmented reality beauty
• Daisy Love Marc Jacobs fragrance
• Burberry fragrances

Coty, By the Numbers

Coty has been on a multibillion-dollar spending spree in recent years, fortifying for long-term growth with solid brand acquisitions. Thanks in large part to those acquisitions, overall sales were up an astounding 76%. Excluding those from acquisition though, sales only grew 1%. As CEO Camillo Pane commented, a transformational turnaround takes time.

On the bright side, 2017 was a good year for the company’s Luxury beauty division. Luxury brands boomed with a net revenue increase of 25% to $3.2 billion since last year, with growth powered by the success of Gucci Bloom and Tiffany, strong performance in Calvin Klein and philosophy. Chloe Nomade and Marc Jacob’s Daisy Love also gained share in Q4 2018. The company said the future prospects surrounding the Burberry brand (acquired in October) is another reason for excitement.

On the Consumer beauty side, net revenues totaled $4.2 billion, growing 15.7%, but declining 4% on a like-for-like basis. The 2016 completion of the P&G transaction, which included CoverGirl, Clairol and Wella, has helped Coty begin to stabilize its Consumer Beauty business; however, the company admitted that it’s clear that the recovery is taking longer than expected. The influencing factors the company pointed to included “external conditions” such as the decline of the mass beauty market in Europe and North America, increasingly strong competition, and an evolving retail environment that has shifted toward specialty retailers and e-commerce. Coty also acknowledged internal problems such as short-term supply chain disruption and the longer time required to rejuvenate global brands that have sustained multi-year declines which also adversely impacted momentum.

Coty’s Professional Beauty unit delivered net revenues of $1.9 billion, an increase of 37.5% from $1.3 billion the prior year, with like-for-like growth of 1.7%, due to the solid collective performance of Wella and ghd hair brands and the mid-single digit growth of its OPI nail brand.

News of Note in 2018

On the heels of relaunching its CoverGirl color cosmetics brand, in June, Coty announced that it would open the brand’s first-ever flagship “beauty destination” in Times Square, in the heart of New York City. The 10,000 square foot store, targeted to open this fall, will serve to reacquaint consumers with the CoverGirl brand, via an “experiential beauty play room” with interactive elements, full service makeup application, on-the-go services and digital experiences.

In July, Coty restructured its Consumer Beauty leadership team to improve the agility of different categories under the company’s underperforming consumer brands banner. Once handled by a lone chief marketing officer, Friedemann Schmid (who left Coty in September), the restructuring redistributes the responsibilities between Mike Bryce, Mark Cooper and Ukonwa Ojo, who were each promoted to the new roles of global chief marketing officer overseeing Color Cosmetics; Retail Hair, Body Care and Lifestyle Scenting; and Cover Girl, Sally Hansen and Consumer U.S. Beauty, respectively.

In August, Coty also announced the resignation of Patrice de Talhouët, executive vice president and chief financial officer, who was said to be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.

Looking Ahead

Coty’s annual financial statement took a step in the right direction, but the company said it remains unsatisfied with its results and pledged to continue to drive for a better outcome in the coming year by targeting revenue growth in the ALMEA geographic region, overall e-commerce, and with Younique, the company’s social selling brand.

Beauty Sales: $7.7 Billion

Major Products/Brands: Coty Consumer Beauty: color cosmetics, retail hair coloring and styling products, body care and mass fragrances including Adidas, Bourjois, Clairol, CoverGirl, David Beckham, Katy Perry, Max Factor, Rimmel, Sally Hansen and Wella; Coty Luxury: prestige fragrances, skincare and beauty including Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, Davidoff and Miu Miu, Lancaster and philosophy; Coty Professional Beauty: Clairol Professional, Nioxin, OPI, Sebastian Professional, System Professional and Wella Professionals.

New Products: Fragrances: Calvin Klein Deep Euphoria, Joop! Homme Sport, Davidoff Horizon, Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs Decadence, Marc Jacobs Divine Decadence, Marc Jacobs Splash; Color cosmetics: OPI Hello Kitty, OPI Infinite Shine; Skin care: Playboy Play It Wild, Adidas UEFA Champions League Edition, Adidas toiletries, Adidas Born Original.

Comments: In late 2015, Coty committed to a complex plan to broaden its beauty presence, improve its management team and restructure its divisions that transformed the brand into a leaner, meaner beauty category competitor. That momentum hinged on solidifying Coty’s   standing as a top major player in beauty with a splashy, $12 billion purchase of popular but struggling P&G brands two years ago. The company also snapped up the license to Burberry Beauty, and in February 2016 completed the acquisition of the beauty and personal care business of Hypermarcas SA, gaining a leg up in the Brazilian beauty market. While Coty’s growth strategy was structured for the long-term, the short-term results last year weren’t overwhelmingly positive.

Despite ranking No. 1 in fragrance, No. 2 in professional haircare and No. 3 in color cosmetics, the company experienced a 1% sales dip in 2016. Coty’s fragrance sales accounted for 46% of its 2016 sales, followed by cosmetics (36%) and skin/body care (16%).

By category, skin and body care sales dipped 10% to $693 million, with every brand in the company’s skincare stable reporting a decline in sales. The fragrance category also suffered an 8% loss. Coty execs lamented the loss, nodding to the declined interest in celebrity and lifestyle brands, all except for the Marc Jacobs franchise, which posted gains.

Coty’s color cosmetics group was the only segment that delivered in 2016, with sales climbing 7% to more than $1.5 billion. Coty singled out Sally Hansen as a bright spot, but acknowledged that OPI, NYC New York Color and Astor all dipped slightly.

Coty reported that its Professional and Luxury divisions performed well. Luxury category net revenues increased 40% to $2.6 billion compared to Legacy-Coty net revenues in the prior-year reflecting the contribution from the acquired P&G Beauty Business. Luxury net revenues decreased 1% for the combined company at constant currency compared to the prior year, reflecting declines in Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs partly offset by growth in Hugo Boss, philosophy and Chloe.

In the Consumer Beauty division, net revenues increased 63% to $3.7 billion as reported compared to the previous year, which the company attributed to contributions from the acquired P&G Beauty Business, Younique and Hypermarcas brands. Consumer Beauty net revenues decreased 2% for the combined company at constant currency compared to the prior year, reflecting a 10% organic decline largely offset by positive contributions from both Younique and seven months of the Hypermarcas Brands. The organic decline reflected weakness in several of the acquired P&G Beauty Business brands CoverGirl, Clairol and Wella Retail, as well as continued weakness in the U.S. nail category which pressured the Sally Hansen brand.

Professional Beauty net revenues increased 10%, jumping from $250 million to $1.4 billion thanks in large part to the P&G Beauty Business and ghd acquisitions. Strong momentum in Wella and System Professional salon hair care was offset by declines in OPI, though these declines moderated in Q4 compared to prior quarters.

Looking Ahead

2017 continues to be transformational for Coty. Despite a 5% increase in sales in Q3 2017 after stacking their deck with a ready-made stable of popular consumer brands, Coty shocked the market with a surprise Q4 slump that saw shares fall 13%. Excluding the positive contribution from the acquisitions of ghd and Younique, the company’s combined organic net revenues declined 3%. Executives pointed to unexpected costs connected to specific P&G brands it had acquired (CoverGirl, Max Factor cosmetics and Clairol hair dyes), owning up to the realization that the brands were struggling more than they had originally realized when Coty acquired them.

While the company didn’t discuss a long- or short-term strategy to kick start a turnaround, CEO Camillo Pane held firm to his belief that the brands were still a solid acquisition and that Coty was better positioned to turn them toward success than their two previous corporate owners.

Beauty Sales: $4.3 billion

Major Products/Brands: Fragrances, skin care and color cosmetics brands including Adidas, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Davidoff, Marc Jacobs, OPI, Philosophy, Playboy, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Bourjois Cosmetics.

New Products: Miu Miu fragrance, Marc Jacobs Decadence, Marc Jacobs Kiss Pop collection, Sally Hansen 18K Gold Cuticle Eraser, Rimmel Volume Colorist Mascara.

Comments: In this year’s Top 20, Coty comes in at No. 14, but next year, what was once known as “the world’s largest fragrance company” could present a whole different story. With its $12.5 billion deal to acquire 41 P&G brands taking hold this month, the transaction could catapult it to the top quarter next year, placing Coty among the top five beauty industry players—and with a whole lot more brands listed under its name.

The P&G deal will reportedly double Coty’s annual revenues to more than $9 billion, making it not only the world’s largest seller of fragrances, but the third-largest company in color cosmetics. Picking up brands such as Wella may also give it a sizable presence in the hair care market. And together, all of the new acquisitions will help to boost Coty’s presence in worldwide markets where it has not been as active (the reason the company originally bid on Avon several years ago).

Fiscal 2016 proved to be a challenging one at Coty as it set up for the change, with a whole new management structure, picking up industry leaders from P&G, Walgreens and Burberry along the way, pending the deal’s closure. While the volatile fragrance market improved for the first time in years, as demand picked up in the Americas and Asia Pacific, it couldn’t completely offset the costs of the P&G merger, and of Coty’s billion-dollar acquisition last year of the beauty care unit of Brazilian consumer goods company Hypermarcas SA.

Coty Inc. announced financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, with net revenues of $4.3 billion, a slight decrease from last year. The fourth quarter was its second quarterly loss in a row. In 2015, Coty also purchased Bourjois cosmetics from Chanel and bought several Brazilian skin care brands as well as digital marketing firm Beamly in an attempt to build its e-commerce business.

On a like-for-like basis, the 1% decline in the underlying business was driven by 3% like-for-like declines in both Fragrances and Skin & Body Care partly offset by 2% like-for-like growth in Color Cosmetics. The like-for-like net revenue decline also reflected moderate growth in the power brands, offset by declines in the remaining portfolio.

By Category

Fragrances net revenues declined about 8% due to foreign currency translation as well as declines in celebrity and mass fragrance brands. These results were partially offset by growth from Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein, as well as the strong launch of the Miu Miu fragrance.

Color Cosmetics net revenues increased 7%, aided by the Bourjois acquisition and strong growth in the Rimmel and Sally Hansen brands, especially reflecting the international roll-out of Sally Hansen’s Miracle Gel.

Skin & Body Care net revenues fell 10%, reflecting declines in Playboy and philosophy, and partially offset by growth in adidas.

By Geographic Region

In the Americas, reported net revenues decreased 2%, due in part to lower demand for celebrity and lifestyle fragrances, N.Y.C. New York Color and OPI, and declines in Latin America. Key growth brands in the region were “power brands” Marc Jacobs, Sally Hansen, and Rimmel.

Reported net revenues for Europe, the Middle East & Africa were flat for the year, including a 7% contribution from the Bourjois brand acquisition. Key growth brands in the region included Rimmel, Marc Jacobs, adidas, Sally Hansen and Calvin Klein.

In Asia Pacific, net revenues declined 3%, with like-for-like growth in Australia, offset by like-for-like declines in China. Adidas, Rimmel, OPI and Sally Hansen were top performers.

News of Note in 2016

In January 2016, two P&G-owned brands said no to the Coty deal: Dolce & Gabbana; and Christina Aguilera Perfumes, which was later picked up by Elizabeth Arden.

In Coty’s drive for designer fragrance rather than celebrity names, the company closed a deal with Tiffany to develop, produce and distribute Tiffany scents for men and women.

In April, Coty hired Burberry’s head of beauty Simona Cattaneo as chief marketing officer for the luxury division, then quickly reported that Shannon Curtin, group vice president of beauty and personal care at Walgreens would join Coty as the U.S. general manager. Curtin will be tasked with getting Coty’s consumer beauty brands back on track, especially Sally Hansen.

In July, Coty announced that its Board of Directors had appointed Camillo Pane as chief executive officer and member of the Coty Board—positions that became effective the day after the closing of the merger of P&G Specialty Beauty into Coty.

Looking Ahead

Coty says it remains focused on growing its power brands through innovation, strong support levels, digital engagement with consumers, and improved “in-market” execution. The company is targeting net revenue momentum to improve and return to growth in the second half of fiscal 2017, excluding foreign currency. There is also speculation that Coty too, in turn, may divest itself of certain brands, particularly in fragrance, as it now focuses more on prestige than mass.

Beauty Sales: $4.4 billion

Major Products: Fragrances, color cosmetics and skin & body care brands including Adidas, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Marc Jacobs, OPI, Philosophy, Playboy, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Bourjois, Bottega Veneta, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Guess, Halle Berry, Miu Miu.

New Products: Marc Jacobs Decadence fragrance, Miu Miu fragrance, Philosophy Mixed Berry Tart Trio, Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar, Reveal Calvin Klein Eternity Now for Men, Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Sorbet, Adidas 6-in-1 anti-perspirant, Bottega Veneta Knot fragrance, Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun Tanning Lotion, Sally Hansen Nail Rehab Nail Care, OPI Venice Collection.

Comments: It’s been a rough and tumble year at Coty as seasoned executives jumped ship—one even before he sat at his new desk. Brands including Miu Miu and Bourjois were added sporadically throughout the year, and then came a major agreement with P&G that could catapult what was once known as “the world’s largest fragrance company” to a whole new level in the beauty industry.

Coty identifies 10 of its holdings as power brands— Adidas, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Marc Jacobs, OPI, Philosophy, Playboy, Rimmel and Sally Hansen—among a slew of others, and has now signed a definitive agreement with P&G to merge 43 brands across fragrance, color cosmetics and hair color into Coty through a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. The $12.5 billion deal is slated to close next year. According to Coty’s chairman and interim chief executive officer Bart Becht, “We believe we will not just create a pure-play global leader in challenging the beauty industry with approximately $10 billion in revenues, but it will also offer material costs and cash savings, as well as longer-term enhanced growth opportunities.”

The P&G brands that will be merged with Coty include Wella Professionals, Sebastian Professional, Clairol Professional, Sassoon Professional, Nioxin, SP (System Professional), Koleston, Soft Color, Color Charm, Wellaton, Natural Instincts, Nice & Easy, VS Salonist, VS ProSeries Color, Londa/Kadus, Miss Clairol, L’image, Bellady, Blondor, Welloxon, Shockwaves, New Wave, Design, Silvikrin, Wellaflex, Forte, Wella Styling, Wella Trend, Balsam Color, Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Lacoste, bruno banani, Christina Aguilera, Escada, Gabriela Sabatini, James Bond 007, Mexx, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Max Factor and CoverGirl.

Industry analysts are batting around Coty’s move, which sounds like a daunting undertaking, but the global manufacturer has been trying to expand out of scents for years, especially with the plight of celebrity fragrance. Coty faces a number of challenges before the P&G deal becomes final next year and, in part, is relying on its Global Efficiency Program to reduce costs. Neither Coty nor P&G beauty brands have seen outstanding success in the past year or so.

For the fiscal year ended June 2015, Coty reported net revenues of $4.4 billion, which were flat like-for-like and down 3% as reported.

Becht commented, “We made meaningful progress on our strategy of driving revenue growth on power brands, while fueling profit growth behind efficiency programs.” He said, “During the year, power brand net revenue growth, while still modest, was in the low single digits like for like, driven by Marc Jacobs, Chloé, Sally Hansen, Rimmel and Philosophy.”

He acknowledged, “We still have work to do in returning Coty to top-line growth. But the strong progress in increased savings target for our Global Efficiency Program…should give us the flexibility to invest additional capital in our business and very gradually, reignite growth.”

For the year, 8% like-for-like growth in Color Cosmetics, driven by Sally Hansen and Rimmel, was offset by declines in Fragrances and Skin & Body Care. Fragrances declined 2% like-for-like due to a fall in celebrity brands and a lower level of new launch activity in select brands. Skin & Body Care declined 5% like-for-like, as a result of lower revenues from Adidas and Playboy brands, which offset any Philosophy gains.

By geographic region, there was 1% like-for-like growth in the Americas, but sales were flat in EMEA and Asia Pacific. Emerging markets grew 4% like-for-like during the year, accounting for 29% of net revenues in fiscal 2015 compared to 28% of net revenues in the prior year on a like-for-like basis.

News of Note

In October 2014, following the departure of CEO Michele Scannavini, Coty inked a deal with Chanel, to acquire the prestige brand’s masstige cosmetics holding, Bourjois.

In January 2015, Coty lost another executive, when Catherine Walsh, widely noted for bringing celebrity fragrance to the forefront in 2002 when she signed Jennifer Lopez and produced the star’s Glow fragrance, announced she would be leaving the beauty company after 14 years.

In April, prior to the P&G bid, Coty announced that a new CEO, Elio Leoni Sceti, would replace Michele Scannavini. Shortly thereafter, Coty said the transition would not be taking place afterall, and that Becht would remain chairman to lead the Coty-P&G beauty merger.

Marc Rey, who joined Coty as president of Coty Prestige U.S., and regional vice president of Coty Prestige North America in January of 2013 left the company in July, taking up new roots at Shiseido.

With a renewed penchant for prestige designer fragrances, Coty has upped the ante with innovative packaging. In September, the company launched the first fragrance for its newly acquired license for the Miu Miu brand, owned by Prada. The bottle’s light blue color, gold hardware, and red plastic adornment were inspired by the creative brand. The shape resembles vintage bottles and translates the purse-like elements of the brand’s matelassé bag.

Outlook for Fiscal 2016

Coty says it remains focused on growing its 10 power brands, and raising its Global Efficiency Program savings target by 35% or $70 million. In line with the P&G merger, Becht says the company’s focus will be on becoming a top beauty player, strengthening its presence in key markets and expanding into new ones.

Beauty Sales: $4.6 billion

Major Products: Fragrances, skin care, color cosmetics and body care sold under brands including Adidas, Balenciaga, Beyonce, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Jacobs, OPI, Philosophy, Playboy, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Vera Wang.

New Products: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel, Calvin Klein Reveal, Bottega Veneta pour Homme, Lady Gaga Fame, Just Cavalli, DOT Marc Jacobs, See by Chloé, Playboy VIP fragrances, Philosophy Miracle Worker Anti-Aging Liquid Makeup SPF 30; Philosophy Loveswept; Rimmel Scandal’eyes mascara, Rimmel Wonderful.

Comments: Net revenues fell 1.6% like-for-like and 2.1% as reported last year, as Coty continued to find itself in a changing global fragrance and beauty world. The loss was attributed mostly to Color Cosmetics, which was struck by a sharp, 7% like-for-like decline in the nail business, especially with the Sally Hansen brand. Rimmel was a bright spot in the Color Cosmetics category.

Fragrances, and Skin & Body Care, saw modest growth. Fragrances grew 1% like-for-like, with positive performance on the Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Davidoff and Chloe brands. Skin & Body Care also increased 1% like-for-like, with growth across Philosophy, Adidas and Lancaster, partially offset by a decline in TJoy.

By revenue breakdown, Fragrances still led in the company that once dominated the category but has now diversified. Sales of fragrance reached $2.5 billion; Color Cosmetics reported $1.4 billion; and Skin & Body Care, $687 million.

By geographic region, EMEA and Asia Pacific experienced strong momentum, offset by pressure in the Americas. EMEA grew 3%, benefiting from the UK, Travel Retail, Eastern Europe, Middle East and South Africa performance, partially offset by softness in Russia, Germany and Southern Europe. Asia Pacific grew 7% like-for-like, with growth in Southeast Asia and Australia. Revenues in the Americas declined 9%, with pressure in the U.S. and Canada, particularly in the Color Cosmetics segment, partially offset by growth in the Latin America and Travel Retail.

In total, emerging markets grew 10% during the year, accounting for 29% of net revenues in fiscal 2014 compared to 26% in the prior year, on a like-for-like basis.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Michele Scannavini, CEO, said, “In fiscal 2014 Coty made good progress on its strategic objectives by rapidly expanding its business in emerging markets and growing most of its power brands. As a result, the company enjoyed strong performance in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific, which was more than offset by revenue softness in North America, where our nail and fragrance businesses were impacted by market contraction, trade de-stocking and increased promotional and competitive pressure, mainly in the mass channel.”

Going forward, in FY 2015, Scannavini said they were aiming to return to revenue growth through innovation, continuing expansion in emerging markets and by improving mass business in North America.

In addition, the company implemented a “global efficiency plan,” which is expected to generate over $200 million in annual savings within the next three years.

In October 2013, Coty announced a fragrance partnership with Prada SA to debut a signature scent for the Miu Miu brand.

In February 2014, Coty, which was working on entering international and developing markets with products other than fragrance, announced that it was discontinuing its Chinese skincare brand TJoy. Analysts said Coty had placed Tjoy in a higher price segment, which did not match its product development.

Following Coty’s previous years’ bids for Avon, in May, the company announced that select fragrances would be marketed and sold through Avon Brazil’s network of 1.5 million independent sales representatives in an effort to increase both companies’ global fragrance market share in Brazil.

Also in May, Coty opened a 115,000-square-foot research facility in Morris Plains, NJ, where Sally Hansen brand’s biggest debut of the year, Miracle Gel nail polish, as well as Philosophy’s Time in a Bottle skin-care serum, are the stars.

Focus on Distribution

Clearly, Coty has been focused on increasing global distribution for the past year. In June, Coty made a deal with Li & Fung to distribute some of Coty’s brands in China, including Adidas, Rimmel, and Playboy. The company had also signed a distribution deal with with UAE-based luxury goods distributors, Chalhoub Group to provide consumers in that region with greater access to Coty’s brand portfolio. In November 2013, Coty formed a new wholly owned subsidiary in South Africa to manage and operate its business there and in 13 other African countries.

New Business Model

Also in July, Coty announced a massive reorganization that changed the company’s business model from one having two separate divisions—mass and prestige—to one that instead focuses on product categories, geographic regions and consumer needs. Efforts will be made on increasing sales in emerging markets.

Brands are now divided into four product categories: Fragrance, Color Cosmetics, Skincare and Body Care.

The Global Markets division will be headed by Jean Mortier, who previously headed Coty Prestige. This division will consist of four regions, all headed by senior vice presidents.

At the same time, Coty announced the retirement of Ralph Macchio, Coty’s chief scientific officer and senior vice president of global research and development.

FY 2015 Holds Promise

The new fiscal year may hold signs of a promising future—especially in nails. Scannavini told analysts:  “We are particularly excited to see the first sign of a turnaround in our nail business in the beginning of this fiscal year, driven by the launch of the new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel. First sales results are outstanding.”

But things are now up in the air. At press time, after 12 years with Coty, Scannavini announced that he would be leaving the company, citing personal reasons.


Beauty Sales: $4.7 billion

CEO Michele Scannavini said: “Coty delivered another year of positive financial performance.”

Major Products: Fragrances, color cosmetics and skin and body care marketed under Coty Prestige and Coty Beauty divisions. Brands include Adidas, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Davidoff, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez Fragrances, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Marc Jacobs Fragrances, OPI, Philosophy, Playboy, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Vera Wang Fragrances.

New Products: Katy Perry Killer Queen, Marc Jacobs Honey, Downtown Calvin Klein, Halle Berry Jasmine, JLove, See by Chloé, Rimmel Scandaleyes Show Off Mascara, OPI San Francisco Collection, Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat.

Comments: It was a rough and tumble year for Coty.After a change in top leadership and failed attempts to purchase Avon to instantly boost global market share, the resilient global fragrance and beauty company filed a long-awaited IPO in June, and instituted a number of organizational changes aimed at pursuing international growth on its own.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Michele Scannavini, CEO of Coty Inc., said, “Coty delivered another year of positive financial performance. Our increase in net revenues was driven by growth in our Fragrances and Color Cosmetics segments as well as positive developments across all regions, particularly the emerging markets.”

Halle Berry’s sixth scent for Coty features a bottle with a modern prism-shape, embossed with a beautiful array of jasmine flowers.

For 2012, net revenue was $4.7 billion, up 2% like-for-like. By category, fragrances gained 2% to $2.49 billion; color cosmetics increased 3% to $1.47 billion. Skin and body care declined 5% to $689.9 million. Scannavini said that for the year, fragrances accounted for 54% of the business, driven by brands such as Marc Jacobs, which grew at a double-digit rate for the fourth year in a row (other top performers were Chloe and Playboy); color cosmetics accounted for 31%, boosted by Rimmel’s double-digit growth and gains in both the European and U.S. markets; and the skin- and body-care category accounted for the remaining 15%.

In fragrance, new launches DOT Marc Jacobs, See by Chloe, and Playboy VIP proved highly successful. Also driving segment growth was the newly established brand Lady Gaga Fame and the strengthening of the Roberto Cavalli brand through new launches, including what Coty said was the extremely successful special edition fragrance for the Middle East, Roberto Cavalli Oud.

As far as color cosmetics, N.Y.C. New York Color and Manhattan, the company’s entry price level brands, also helped boost the segment. Nail care brands OPI and Sally Hansen remained stable versus last year, though Scannavini recently commented on a noticeable decline in this market segment and acknowledged its future effect on inventory and sales.

Adidas net revenues were impacted by lackluster conditions in Europe and the lack of major sport events-related promotions such as the prior year’s Euro Cup efforts. Still, Adidas experienced strong double-digit growth in China. Philosophy picked up speed in the second half of the fiscal year. In 2013, Jill Scalamandre was brought in to take charge of the cheeky skin care brand.

By region, the largest increase in net revenues came from the U.S., followed by Latin America and Canada. Higher net revenues in the U.S. were due to new fragrance launches from power brands Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein and Chloe. Emerging markets in the region, particularly Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, experienced strong double-digit growth.

In Europe, the Middle East & Africa, growth was driven by emerging markets, primarily Russia and the Middle East. Travel Retail also delivered double-digit growth.

Asia Pacific delivered double-digit growth as well. In South East Asia, this was due mostly to Calvin Klein, Chloe, Marc Jacobs, and the introduction of Philosophy. Australia heated up due to growth in Fragrances and expanded distribution of the Rimmel brand.

Emerging markets now represent 24% of total net revenues, up from 23% in the prior year.

During the past year, Coty made a number of executive management changes on the heels of naming its new CEO. Among them, Stephen Mormoris was appointed SVP global marketing American fragrances, Coty Prestige. Johanna Businelli was named SVP marketing color cosmetics, Coty Beauty. Catherine Walsh was elevated to the newly created position of senior vice president of corporate communications of the parent company, Coty Inc. Her appointment signals Coty’s intention of stepping up its brand building to make the Coty name a widely recognized global entity. Toward the end of 2012, Marc Rey was announced as the new regional vice president of Coty Prestige, North America.

Also late in 2012, Coty Inc., announced the signing of eight-time Grammy nominee Katy Perry to develop and market her own line of signature fragrances. As part of the project, Coty will also distribute the artist’s successful existing fragrance portfolio, comprised of Purr and Meow!.

A few notable highlights of 2013:

In March, Chloé expanded its beauty footprint from fragrance to facial skin care—in Asia. Color cosmetics are to follow.

In May, Coty made two purchases in a global expansion effort. It acquired StarAsia, an established distributor of beauty products in the markets of Southeast Asia. At about the same time, the emerging leader in global beauty announced a joint venture in Brazil with Frajo Internacional, a leading Brazilian cosmetics distributor.

Jennifer Lopez will launch her 20th fragrance— JLove—with Coty this month. The square double-wall bottle features a trendy cap with a bold leopard pattern. Shiny fire-engine red is used for the logo, as well as for the bottle’s neck, collar and actuator. The fruity scent is by Firmenich.

Looking ahead to 2014, Coty reported that it has seen a deceleration of market growth in the U.S. and Europe, triggering significant trade de-stocking activity, particularly by U.S. mass retailers. Thus, the company estimates that net revenues in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 will marginally decline versus the prior year period. Following that, it expects to return to in line—or greater than the market—growth, and foresees that its new investments in emerging markets will pay off.

Scannavini said focus will remain on the company’s Top 10 brands.

Beauty Sales: $4.1 billion (reported for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011)

Major Products: Fragrances, skin care and color cosmetics marketed in prestige and beauty divisions under names including: Adidas, Astor, Balenciaga, Beyoncé, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein, Celine Dion, Cerruti, Chloé, Chopard, CK One Color, David Beckham, Davidoff, Elite Models, Esprit, Faith Hill, Guess, Gwen Stefani, Halle Berry, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Lopez, Jil Sander, Joop!, Jovan, Karl Lagerfeld, Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga, Lancaster, Madonna, Manhattan, Marc Jacobs, Miss Sporty, Nautica, Nikos, NYC New York Color, Nicole by OPI, OPI, Philosophy, Pierre Cardin, Playboy, Rimmel, Roberto Cavalli, Sally Hansen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Stetson, Tim McGraw, Vera Wang, Vivienne Westwood.

The bottle for Truth or Dare by Madonna Naked keeps the same silhouete as the original, but has been stripped naked to expose an amber-colored juice.

New Products: Madonna’s Truth or Dare fragrance, Truth or Dare by Madonna Naked, Lady Gaga Fame Eau de Parfum, Glowing by Jennifer Lopez, OPI Germany nail lacquer, Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara, Calvin Klein Color Cosmetics, Philosopy Living Grace, Just Cavalli fragrance, Dot Marc Jacobs, Play It Rock fragrance, Closer by Halle Berry fragrance.

Comments: Perhaps no beauty company has been in the news this year quite as much as Coty. And not just for three of its top blockbuster fragrance launches: Madonna’s Truth or Dare, Lady Gaga’s Fame and JLo’s Glowing. Earlier this year, Coty made a play for an instant entry into global beauty markets with an unsolicited 10 billion bid to acquire Avon. When the direct seller turned down the offer, Coty raised the ante—but to no avail. Then, after 10 years of leading a successful growth pattern, Bernd Beetz stepped aside (he will remain a board member and shareholder), turning the fragrance and beauty giant’s control over to Michele Scannavini, who became the new chief executive officer of Coty Inc. Then Plan B took over the headlines with Coty’s announcement that it would be pursuing an IPO. Next came an announcement that the IPO path in which Coty had planned to raise $700 million for investors through an initial public offering this month, had been put on hold until next year. Most recently, Jean Mortier was named global president of Coty Prestige. While Coty hones its plans and puts its power players in place, one thing is sure: The privately owned company is intent on becoming a worldwide powerhouse.

Once referred to as the world’s largest fragrance company, Coty has also clearly diversified—though it still holds the fragrance title as well. The most recent figure available for global corporate net sales—$4.1 billion (reported for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011)—is characterized by a product category split of 57% Fragrance, 28% Color Cosmetics and 15% Body Care.

By region, the highest revenues are attributed to EMEA (52%), followed by Americas (37%) and Asia Pacific (11%).

Bent on expansion with or without its plans for Avon, Coty established some global footholds during the year.

In April, the company opened a new corporate flagship office facility in Geneva, meant to complement headquarters activities in New York and Paris. It includes a state-of-the-art R&D group linked to a Fragrance Center of Excellence, global and regional commercial teams for Coty Beauty and Coty Prestige divisions, procurement and supply chain operations, and a regional Northern European finance center.

To boost its position in Asia, and expand its cosmetics and skincare business globally, Coty announced a partnership with Korea’s leading cosmetic company, LG Household & Health Care, creating Coty Korea, a joint venture established to expand the presence of both companies in the Korean cosmetics market.

This fall, Coty Korea will rely on its popular 2010 brand acquisition Philosophy to get things going in the Korean marketplace, before introducing other brands there.

While we wait in anticipation of Coty’s next corporate announcement, the company continues to roll out its signature celebrity and designer fragrances. Following on the heels of Madonna’s Truth or Dare, were launches from JLo—in the first light-up fragrance bottle (see Beauty Packaging’s July/August 2012 issue for details), Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs and the long–awaited launch of Fame from Lady Gaga. This month we’ll see Closer by Halle Berry. Georgia May Jagger will be the face of the new Just Cavalli fragrance for women, set for release in February 2013. Jagger is the daughter of Rolling Stones lead singer, Mick Jagger, and supermodel Jerry Hall.

Beauty Sales: $3.8 billion (estimated)

Major Beauty Brands/Products: Coty’s Daisy eau So Fresh is capped with colorful daisies that are soft to the touch.

Fragrance, toiletries, color cosmetics, skin care, sun care and personal care sold through two divisions. Coty Prestige: Baby Phat, Balenciaga, Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Chloé, Chopard, Davidoff, Jennifer Lopez, Jette Joop, Jil Sander, Joop!, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Cole, L.A.M.B. fragrance Gwen Stefani, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Nautica, Nikos, Sarah Jessica Parker, Vera Wang, Vivienne Westwood. Coty Beauty: Adidas, Aspen, Astor, Beyoncé Knowles, Borghese Nail Care, Celine Dion, Chupa Chups, David & Victoria Beckham, Desperate Housewives, Esprit, ex’cla.ma’tion, Faith Hill, Guess?, Halle Berry, Jovan, Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue, Miss Sporty, N.Y.C. New York Color, Pierre Cardin, Playboy, Rimmel London, Sally Hansen, Sally Hansen Natural Beauty, Shania Twain, Stetson, Vanilla Fields.

New Products: Beyoncé Pulse, Marc Jacobs Bang, Vera Wang Preppy Princess, Jennifer Lopez Love and Light, Jennifer Lopez LA Glow, Harajuku Lovers G of the Sea, Kenneth Cole Connected, Halle by Halle Berry Pure Orchid, Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips.

Comments: For the year ending June 2010 (Coty’s most recently reported figures), corporate fragrance and beauty sales reached almost $4 billion. Sales were split pretty evenly between the two divisions with Coty Beauty contributing 49% and Coty Prestige, 51%.

Sales were strongest in Europe (57%), followed by North America (32%), Asia (7%) and Rest of the World (4%).

Fragrances (62%) topped sales, followed by Color Cosmetics (23%), and Skin, Sun and Personal Care (15%).

In addition to pursuing and maintaining its leadership in fragrance, in 2010, Coty Inc. also focused on additional beauty channels, boosting its brand portfolio with skin care and color cosmetics brands. Coty acquired OPI in nail care; Philosophy, Inc., in skin care and cosmetics; TJoy, a leading Chinese skin care company; and Dr. Scheller Cosmetics AG, a German manufacturer of makeup and skin care brands.

In October, Coty Inc. and Calvin Klein, Inc. announced a collaboration to develop and market a full line of color cosmetics to be added to the Coty portfolio for a planned spring 2012 launch.

In November, after much industry speculation, Coty officially announced it had signed blockbuster celebrity Lady Gaga to develop and market her first-ever signature fragrance. The fragrance line is expected to launch in spring 2012. Steve Mormoris, senior vice president of global marketing for Coty Beauty, said, “The marketing behind Lady Gaga’s fragrance will be unprecedented and groundbreaking.”

In January 2011, Boston-based private equity firms Berkshire Partners LLC, based in Boston, and Rhône, which has offices in New York, London and Paris, announced that they had each made minority equity investments in Coty Inc, with each of the investors represented on Coty’s board of directors. The move prompted talk of a possible IPO as well as a positioning for further acquisitions.

Subsequently, in January, Coty Beauty announced that entrepreneur and supermodel Heidi Klum had been signed to develop and market her new signature fragrance, Heidi Klum Shine, which launched this fall.

But Coty Inc.’s biggest deal may still be in the wings. Industry buzz says that the world’s No. 1 fragrance company is about to sign the “Material Girl” for the first Madonna fragrance. A Madonna license, along with Lady Gaga, and existing and future Beyoncé and J.Lo. scents, could catapult Coty to unimagined heights.

Beauty Sales: $3.5 billion for the year ended June 30, 2009 (new figures unavailable at press time)

Major Products: Prestige—Baby Phat, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Chloé, Chopard, Davidoff, Home Skin Lab, Jennifer Lopez, Jette Joop, Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Cole, L.A.M.B. fragrance by Gwen Stefani, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Nautica, Sarah Jessica Parker, Vera Wang and Wolfgang Joop. Coty Beauty—Adidas, Astor, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Chupa Chups, David and Victoria Beckham, Faith Hill, Guess, Halle Berry, Jovan, Kate Moss, Miss Sixty, Miss Sporty, N.Y.C. New York Color, Playboy, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Shania Twain, Stetson, Tim McGraw.

New Products: Coty Prestige—Marc Jacobs Bang, Jennifer Lopez Love and Glamour, Eternity Aqua by Calvin Klein, Lola by Marc Jacobs, Eau de Fleurs by Chloé, SJP NYC; Coty Beauty—Halle by Halle Berry, Beyoncé Heat, Faith Hill Parfums, McGraw by Tim McGraw Southern Blend, David Beckham Pure Instinct, Hot Water by Davidoff, Vintage by Kate Moss, Sunshine Cuties by Harajuku Lovers.

Comments: Coty was certainly not exempt from the woes of last year’s economy, but the fragrance and cosmetics powerhouse powered on in 2009, signing agreements, naming spokespeople and launching plenty of new entries into a slowly recovering market and setting the stage for the future. One of the most notable, perhaps, was a deal struck with Beyoncé in September 2009. Bottega Veneta and Coty formed an exclusive partnership to create, develop and distribute a line of fragrances, which will be Bottega Veneta’s first fragrance collection. Coty also entered into a license agreement with global lifestyle brand, Guess? to develop and market new fragrance lines.

Lots of activity continues in 2010. In March, Coty signed Alejandra Ramos, Solange Knowles and Zooey Deschanel as Rimmel ambassadors. The three team up with Kate Moss, Georgia May Jagger and Coco Rocha as the “aspirational ambassadors” of Rimmel London.

In April, Catherine Walsh, senior vice president Coty Prestige, was honored at The Pratt Institute-Luxe Pack “Art of Packaging Award” Gala, benefiting the “Marc Rosen Scholarship for Graduate Package Design” at Pratt Institute.

Coty captured four prestigious FiFi awards in June, taking top honors in both prestige and mass appeal categories for Fragrance of the Year (Women’s Luxe: Lola, by Marc Jacobs; Women’s Popular Appeal: Halle by Halle Berry). And the world’s largest fragrance company keeps rolling along with top-notch celebrity and designer collaborations, aiming for a more profitable year ahead. Among those just out: Jennifer Lopez Love and Glamour, and Marc Jacobs Bang.

Coty Inc. signed a licensing agreement with Italian fashion designer extraordinaire Roberto Cavalli, which will begin in 2011.

Coty Beauty announced a trio of Playboy scents for women, and said a new Playboy for Men scent will also be introduced.

But the biggest news surrounds its latest coup of signing a long-term licensing deal with singer and show biz sensation Lady Gaga. Her first women’s scent is expected to launch in spring 2012.

Beauty Sales: $3.5 billion

New Products: Faith Hill fragrance, Marc Jacobs Lola, Harajuku Lovers Snow Bunnies collection, My Glow by Jennifer Lopez, Sally Hansen Insta Dri Fast Dry Nail Color.

Comments: Coty Inc. manufactures a variety of beauty products, including cosmetics and personal care products, and claims the title of the world’s largest fragrance company, launching a steady stream of celebrity and designer fragrances. Net sales reached $3.5 billion for the year ended June 30, 2009. Fragrances accounted for 59% of sales; followed by color cosmetics, 22%; and skin care, sun and personal care, 19%. By region, Europe accounted for more than half of sales, 51%; North America, more than a third, 34%; Asia/ Australia contributed 8%; and the rest of the world, 7%. Sales of Coty Beauty products, at 52%, maintained its lead over those in the Coty Prestige division, at 48%.

From the world’s largest fragrance company comes Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color, which features one-stroke application, one-coat coverage and dries in 60 seconds.

Coty maintains R&D centers in New Jersey, Monaco and Spain, and this global pool of more than 100 experts has created a range of innovative beauty products. In fact, the company boasts more than 500 patent registrations worldwide. In May, Coty demonstrated its leadership in fragrance packaging as well as scent when it took home six FiFi awards, including Women’s Luxe—Harajuku Lovers Fragrance: Love, Lil’Angel, Music, Baby, “G;” Men’s Popular Appeal—McGraw by Tim McGraw; Women’s Nouveau Niche—Chloé eau de parfum; Fragrance Hall of Fame—Davidoff Cool Water; Best Package of the Year, Women’s Prestige—Harajuku Lovers Fragrance, and Best Package of the Year, Men’s Popular Appeal— McGraw by Tim McGraw.

Sally Hansen remains the flagship brand of Del Laboratories, now a division of Coty Inc., and continues to increase its dominant share in the nail care category. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color, just out, features one-stroke application, one-coat coverage and dries in 60 seconds. Another important beauty brand for Del is N.Y.C. New York Color, the category’s fastest-growing budget cosmetics line.

In a key personnel move, Sergio Pedreiro joined Coty as chief financial officer in January. In May, Renato Semerari was appointed president of the Coty Beauty division, replacing Hans-Joachim Honigfort, who retired. Prior to this appointment, Semerari had been president and chief executive officer of Sephora Europe.

Coty continues to do what it does best. In August, the company entered into a license agreement with global lifestyle brand Guess? to develop and market new Guess fragrance lines. As part of the new partnership, Coty will also distribute existing Guess fragrances, effective January 2010.

In September, Coty announced the signing of multifaceted artist, performer and international celebrity Beyoncé Knowles. The partnership will yield the first signature fragrance line for Beyoncé, and is scheduled to launch in early 2010.

Beauty Sales: $4 billion for the year ended June 30, 2008.

Products/Brands: Fragrances, color cosmetics, skin care, sun care and personal care products marketed under a variety of brand names. The Coty Prestige brand portfolio includes Baby Phat, Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Chloé, Chopard, Davidoff, Jennifer Lopez, Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld, L.A.M.B. fragrance by Gwen Stefani, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Nautica, Sarah Jessica Parker, Vera Wang, Wolfgang Joop.

The Coty Beauty brand portfolio includes Adidas, Celine Dion, Chupa Chups, David and Victoria Beckham, Jovan, Kate Moss, La Voce by Renée Fleming, Miss Sixty, N.Y.C. New York Color, Playboy, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Shania Twain, Stetson, Tim McGraw, Vanilla Fields.

Coty and Puig Fashion and Beauty S.A. have a strategic partnership for the distribution of the perfume lines of Nina Ricci, Carolina Herrera, Prada and Paco Rabanne in the U.S. and Canada.

New Products: Color cosmetics: Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy. Fragrances:  Kate Moss Velvet Hour, La Voce by Renée Fleming, Beckham Signature for him and her. To be launched: Vera Wang Look (November 2008).

David and Victoria Beckham Signature for him and her may turn out to be Coty’s biggest fragrance launch ever

Comments: No doubt about it—Coty is a hot contender in the beauty business. The company has nearly tripled in sales during the past seven years, growing from $1.4 billion to $4 billion—and seems well on its way to reach its reported $5 billion target by 2010. At the end of fiscal year 2008, June 30, 2008, earnings totaled $4 billion, up 23% from FY 2007. Specifically, Coty Prestige ended the fiscal year with net sales reaching $2.1 billion, 16% ahead of the previous year. Coty Beauty ended the fiscal year with net sales of over $1.9 billion, a 33% increase from fiscal year 2007. Sales were pretty much even between the two divisions with Coty Prestige edging ahead with 52%.

A reported 77% of Coty’s annual sales were attributed to fragrance and toiletries, 20% to color cosmetics and the remaining 3% to skin care and sun care products.

The success of the Coty Prestige division owed to steady growth in existing markets and robust growth in emerging markets, including the Middle East, Russia, China and Southeast Asia. Daisy Marc Jacobs enjoyed global success, holding the No. 1 prestige fragrance position for four consecutive months in Japan; it was also named Fragrance of the Year in the Women’s Luxe category at the Fragrance Foundation’s 36th annual FiFi Awards in May 2008 (Coty stole the show, taking home five awards and having marketing partner Vera Wang inducted into the organization’s hall of fame). Calvin Klein, Vera Wang, Chloé, Joop!, Lancaster and Davidoff all accelerated the division’s growth.

Growth in the Coty Beauty division was spurred on by new launches including Kate by Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling and Showtime, and David Beckham Intimately Night, as well as the continued strength and growth of the Adidas and Rimmel brands and the acquisition of Del Laboratories, Inc.

Coty’s acquisition of Del Laboratories, Inc. integrated popular skin care and color cosmetics brands Sally Hansen, N.Y.C. New York Color and La Cross into the Coty Beauty portfolio, and bolstered Coty’s presence in the color cosmetics and nail care market. Coty was also rumored to be one of several companies looking to purchase French cosmetics company Clarins amid speculation earlier in the year that the company might be up
for sale.

In April, Coty entered into an agreement with Gemini Cosmetics, Inc. under which Gemini will assume exclusive responsibility for distribution of Coty Beauty brands to prestige and department specialty stores in the U.S. market.

With steady sales in Western Europe and the U.S. (54% and 32% of company’s worldwide sales, respectively), Coty intensified its expansion into emerging markets like Asia and Australia (7% of worldwide sales). The expansion in Asia is attributed to the strong performances from the Adidas, Rimmel, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chloe, Kate Moss, and David Beckham fragrances. Earlier this year, Coty Inc., entered into a licensing agreement with Kosé Corporation, a leading cosmetic company based in Japan, to distribute and manufacture Rimmel products in China. “By commencing distribution in China, Coty is accelerating the global brand presence of Rimmel and simultaneously continuing the elevation of Coty’s global presence,” said Bernd Beetz, CEO, Coty Inc. “We look forward to bringing Rimmel products to China as we focus on accelerating our business growth in Asia.

Catherine Walsh, senior vice president, American Fragrances, Coty Prestige—and the leading visionary behind more than 20 fragrance and beauty launches—was honored at the HBA Industry Awards Dinner in Manhattan in September as marketing executive of the year. Keeping her company on the podium was one of the adorable fragrance “dolls” in Gwen Stefani’s wildly popular Harajuku Lovers series. Walsh praised Beetz for his incredible vision.

In the year ahead, Coty will reportedly work toward creating a sizable skin care business, growing color cosmetics and expanding into emerging markets such as Asia, Russia and the Middle East to ultimately strengthen the company’s presence as a global beauty leader.