Coty

François Coty in 1926

Coty was founded by François Coty in Paris in 1904.[1][2] The brand's first fragrance, La Rose Jacqueminot, was launched the same year and was packaged in a bottle designed by Baccarat.[42] L'Origan was launched in 1905; according to The Week, the perfume "started a sweeping trend throughout Paris" and 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".[43] Following its early successes, Coty was able to open its first store in 1908 in Paris' Place Vendôme.[42] Soon after, Coty began collaborating with French glass designer René Lalique to create custom fragrance bottles, labels, and other packaging materials, launching a new trend in mass-produced fragrance packaging.[44][45] Coty also established a "Perfume City" in the suburbs of Paris during the early 1910s to handle administration and fragrance production; the site was an early business supporter of female employees and offered benefits including child care.[42]

The company began its global expansion in the early 1910s, first in London and New York.[46][47] Coty established U.S. headquarters at 714 Fifth Avenue in New York City, and commissioned Lalique to design pressed glass panels for the building's façade windows, which were installed in 1912.[44][48] Coty remained headquartered in the building until 1941.[48] The structure was later given landmark status by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission during the 1980s for its custom windows.[49][50] Coty began selling other beauty products including face and body powders in the 1910s, and launched one of its most successful fragrances, Chypre, in 1917. The company's products gained more attention in the United States as World War I soldiers started returning from France with gifts for loved ones. During the 1920s, Coty launched more than fifteen new fragrances and expanded into Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland.[44] Coty, Inc. was formed in New York in 1922, and became a publicly-traded company in 1925.[51]

François Coty died in 1934; his family maintained control of the company and served as board members until the 1960s.[44]

Coty Pavillion at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Coty's Air Spun face powder was launched in 1935.[42] The powder has been described by Real Simple as one of the "best beauty products of all time" and remains mostly unchanged.[52]

In the 1940s, Coty became a major supporter of the growing American fashion industry, launching the Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards to recognize and promote emerging American fashion designers. Coty discontinued its participation in 1985.[53][54]

Coty became a key player in the American lipstick market with the launch of Coty 24 in 1955. By the 1960s, Coty had become a leading fragrance manufacturer and marketer and the largest fragrance company in the U.S.[44] It attracted the attention of Pfizer, which acquired the company in 1963.[2][44]

In 1991, the company had annual sales of approximately $280 million.[55][56] Pfizer sold Coty to Joh. A. Benckiser (now known as JAB Holding Company) in 1992. Coty was a strategic fit for Benckiser, which had another beauty subsidiary, as well as an international distribution network through which it could market Coty's products.[55] Coty's fragrances at the time included Emeraude, Exclamation, L'Effleur, Preferred Stock, Sand & Sable, Tribe, and Wild Musk.[55][57] Peter Harf, chairman and CEO of JAB since 1988, was named Coty's CEO in 1993.[44] Coty acquired Unilever's European cosmetic brands, including Rimmel, in 1996.[44]

During the mid 2000s, the company focused on marketing celebrity-endorsed fragrances, including David Beckham, Céline Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Shania Twain.[58] Coty also expanded its portfolio of luxury fragrances. It purchased the fragrance license for fashion designer Marc Jacobs in 2003.[59] The company's revenue increased from $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion during 2004–2005.[58][60]

In 2005, Coty purchased additional licenses for Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Chloé, Lagerfeld, and Vera Wang from Unilever.[61] These newest acquisitions, along with existing portfolio licenses including Adidas, Davidoff, and JOOP!,[62][63] made Coty the largest global fragrance maker.[2][60]

Coty acquired Del Laboratories' parent company, DLI Holding Corp., in 2007, adding the Sally Hansen and NYC New York Color brands to Coty's portfolio.[64][65] The company entered into license agreements with Balenciaga in 2008 and Bottega Veneta in 2009.[22][66][67]

In 2010, Coty purchased nail polish maker OPI Products,[68] as well as the skin care brand philosophy from The Carlyle Group.[59][69] The company also entered into a license agreement with Miu Miu, a subsidiary of Prada.[32]

Coty filed to go public in June 2012, and raised approximately $1 billion during its initial public offering (IPO) one year later.[70][71] The IPO, held in 2013, was the third largest in the US at the time and the largest by a final goods company since Michael Kors.[70] CNN Money described the offering as the "largest U.S.-listed IPO for a consumer products company".[71] Coty acquired Bourjois in 2014.[72]

During 2015–2016, Coty acquired 41 beauty brands from Procter & Gamble (collectively known as Galleria),[7] including Clairol, CoverGirl, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Max Factor, and Wella.[27][31][26] The agreement, completed as a Reverse Morris Trust, made Coty the third largest global seller of cosmetics.[9][33][73] Coty also acquired the digital marketing technology agency Beamly in 2015.[74][75][76] which is wound up in 2020.

The company entered into a license agreement with Tiffany & Co. in 2016.[77] During 2016–2017, Coty acquired Hypermarcas' (now known as Hypera Pharma) beauty and personal care business, ghd, and became a majority stakeholder in the peer to peer digital beauty company Younique.[78] Younique had approximately 80,000 sellers when Coty purchased a 60 percent stake in January 2017, and surpassed 230,000 sellers by December.[79] Coty announced that it was cutting ties with Younique in August 2019, saying that Younique was "definitely different" from other businesses owned by Coty, and intended to sell its 60% stake in Younique back to its founders.[80]

Coty acquired licenses to Burberry's cosmetics and fragrance brands in April 2017.[81] In July, Coty added the skincare brand philosophy to Tmall,[82] and launched other brands on the platform as well.[41][83]

In December 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union's European Court of Justice ruled that Coty did not violate competition laws by forbidding German distributor Parfümerie Akzente from selling products via Amazon, and that luxury brands are allowed to prohibit distributors from selling through third-party platforms.[19][84][85] Previously, according to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary, Coty supported the Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill introduced to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to combat copyright infringement and counterfeit goods trafficking, in late 2011.[86][87]

Coty developed "Let's Get Ready" for the Amazon Echo Show; the guide debuted in early 2018 and presents looks and products to users, which can be added to shopping carts.[88] In February, Coty created a startup accelerator focused on artificial intelligence.[89][90]

The company underwent refinancing of debt, including debt associated with Galleria, in March 2018.[7]

In November 2019, Coty announced to purchase a $600 million stake (51%) in Kylie Cosmetics, the company of media personality and model Kylie Jenner.[91][92] In June 2020, the company announced that it would buy a 20% stake for $200 million in KKW, a company owned by Jenner's sister Kim Kardashian West.[30]

On December 1, 2020, Coty completed sale of Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands stake to KKR for $2.5bn in cash whilst retaining 40% stake in the standalone company.[93] On October 1, 2021, Coty announced that it would sell an approximate 9% stake in Wella to KKR for $426.5 million. The deal cuts Coty's stake in Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands to around 30.6%.[94]