Coty

Summary

Since its launch back in 1904, Coty Inc. has grown through collaborations and acquisitions to become one of the world’s biggest beauty conglomerates with an iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, cosmetics, hair color and styling, skin and body care.

History

Coty was founded by François Coty in Paris in 1904. The brand’s first fragrance- La Rose Jacqueminot- was unveiled the same year, packaged in a bottle designed by Baccarat. According to The Week- the perfume was the first example of “a fine but affordable fragrance that would appeal both to the upper classes and to the less affluent.. changing the way scents were sold forever.”

Following its early successes Coty opened its first store in 1908 in Paris’ Place Vendôme. Soon after it collaborated with French glass designer René Lalique to create custom fragrance bottles and packaging materials. The conglomerate began its global expansion in the 1910s.. opening its headquarter in New York and commissioning Lalique to design pressed glass panels for the façade windows for which the structure was given landmark status by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Coty began selling other beauty products including face and body powders and lipsticks and launched one of its most successful fragrances- Chypre- in 1917. During the Twenties Coty unveiled over fifteen fragrances and expanded into Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Coty, Inc. was formed in New York in 1922 and became a publicly-traded company. Sadly, François Coty passed way in 1934 and his family maintained control of the company and also served as board members.

Global diversified health care company Pfizer acquired Coty in 1963 and resold the beauty business in 1992 to Germany- based Joh. A. Benckiser: a leading consumer products and cosmetics company with operations in over twenty countries. Peter Harf was appointed CEO. Famed in the industry as one of the most aggressive players in terms of mergers and acquisitions.. Coty acquired Unilever’s European cosmetic brands including Rimmel in 1996. Bernd Beetz joined Coty as chief executive from LVMH where he oversaw the Perfume and Cosmetics division. With him at the helm the company initiated deals that elevated Coty to industry leader. He narrowed the focus on celebrity-endorsed fragrances including David Beckham.. Céline Dion.. Jennifer Lopez and Sarah Jessica Parker and expansion of its portfolio of luxury fragrances.

Coty proved that the wisdom on successful corporate acquisitions is simple: make them synergistic. And it grew stronger with each purchase. In 2005 Coty purchased licenses for Calvin Klein.. Cerruti.. Chloé.. Lagerfeld and Vera Wang from Unilever. These acquisitions- along with existing portfolio licenses including Adidas.. Davidoff and JOOP made Coty the largest fragrance maker. The company acquired DLI Holding Corp. in 2007 adding Sally Hansen and Color to its portfolio.. entered into license agreements with Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Miu Miu.. and acquired OPI Products.

The conglomerate filed to go public in June 2012 and CNN Money described it as the “largest U.S.-listed IPO for a consumer products company”. Coty acquired Bourjois in 2014. During 2015–2016 it acquired forty-one beauty brands from Procter and Gamble including CoverGirl.. Gucci.. Hugo Boss.. Max Factor and Wella which made Coty the third largest global seller of cosmetics. The next step was a license agreement with Tiffany and acquiring Hypermarcas’ beauty and personal care and Burberry’s cosmetics and fragrances. In November 2019 Coty acquired fifty one per cent of Kylie Jenner’s brands Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin. Shortly her sister Kim Kardashian West sold twenty per cent of her beauty business to Coty for a reported $200 million. A company release states that Coty Inc would be performing a “strategic transaction” to further develop KKW Beauty and expects skincare, haircare, personal-care and nail-care products from Kardashian.

Recently Coty Inc closed its manufacturing site in Cologne Germany in an effort to consolidate its fragrance operations. Per Forbes: “The company announced a plan to cut costs, improve supply chain and reduce debt which came as the Covid-19 pandemic kept salons and department stores- where its products are sold- shut.”

Vision

Coty’s brand vision is to create forward thinking beauty products that provide new innovative and simply better science-based beauty solutions. In doing so the beauty band empowers women worldwide with confidence to look and feel their best.

Mission Statement

To challenge the definition of beauty, to encourage authenticity and celebrate diversity.

Products and Services

Coty Inc. has a mammoth collection of beauty brands which includes Cosmetics- Skin Care- Nail Care and Fragrance.

Key Team

Sue Y. Nabi (CEO and Director)
Peter Harf (Executive Chairman)
Laurent Mercier (Chief Financial Officer)
Kristin Blazewicks (Chief Legal Officer)
Gordon Von Bretten (Chief Transformation Officer)
Anna Von Bayern (Chief Corporate Affairs Officer)

Awards and Recognition

Coty ranked number 371 on the Fortune 500, Fortune magazine’s annual list of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue, in 2018. The company ranked number 5 on Women’s Wear Daily’s 2017 “Top 100” list of the world’s largest beauty manufacturers, estimating $9.15 billion in sales. According to Advertising Age, Coty was one of the largest global advertisers in 2017. In 2018, Coty ranked number 1,196 on the Forbes Global 2000, an annual ranking of the top 2,000 public companies in the world. Additionally, Coty ranked number 396 on Forbes’s 2018 list of “America’s Largest Public Companies”.

References

• Official website Coty
• Coty Makes Progress in Luxury WWD
• Coty Inc. acquires beauty product lines from P&G for $12B New York Post
• Coty to Buy Unilever’s Perfumes LA Times
• Facebook page of Coty Facebook
• The scent of celebrity CNN
• Twitter page of Coty Twitter
• Burberry Licenses Its Fragrance and Make-Up Brands to Coty Ad Age
• LinkedIn page of Coty LinkedIn
• Kim Kardashian West sold part of KKW Beauty to Coty Inc Vogue
• Pfizer’s Coty sale Journal Of Commerce
• Instagram page of Coty Instagram
• Cosmetics giant Coty replaces CEO- Chairman Reuters
• Wiki Twitter page of Coty Wikipedia
• Coty is About to Become the Largest Fragrance Company GCI Magazine
• Coty’s growth over the decade Reuters
• Coty is third largest beauty brand Cosmetic Design
• Snapshot of Coty Forbes
• Coty Professional Beauty Opens New Headquarters AmericanSalon