Coty, Inc.

1960s and 1970s

Coty and Coty International were sold in 1963 to Chas. Pfizer & Co. for about US$26 million and became divisions in the pharmaceuticals company's consumer products group. In 1965 Coty introduced Imprevu, its first new perfume in 25 years. This became the leading Coty fragrance by the end of 1968.

Coty and Coty International were united in 1973. Among the new products introduced in the early 1970s were the Styx, Sweet Earth, and Wild Musk fragrances and the Equatone beauty-treatment line. The production facility was moved from New York City to Sanford, North Carolina, at this time. Coty products were being marketed to franchised accounts, including distributors, independent drugstores, mass merchandisers, and department stores. Results were not meeting expectations, however, for the subsidiary was reported to be on the block in 1974 for possibly as little as $20 million—less than Pfizer had paid a decade earlier.

1990s

Coty was purchased in 1992 by Benckiser Consumer Products, the U.S. arm of a family-owned German household-products giant named Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH (now known as JAB Holding Company).^[5] In 1993 Benckiser merged into Coty its Quintessence Inc. unit, which it had acquired the previous year. Coty, Inc., grew into a US$1.5-billion-a-year company in 1996, when Benckiser made its Lancaster Group a Coty division. (The existing Coty, renamed Coty Beauty, became the other division.) Lancaster, founded in Monaco in 1946 and acquired from SmithKline Beecham plc in 1990.

During the year of 1998, 45 percent of the company's sales were in mass fragrances, 24 percent in mass cosmetics, and 31 percent in prestige-market beauty products. Fifty-five percent of sales volume came from Western Europe and 30 percent from North America.

Recent history

In May 2005, Unilever announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to sell its global prestige fragrance business, Unilever Cosmetics International (UCI), to Coty, Inc., of the United States.^[6] However, several major brands were sold to Elizabeth Arden.

Unilever reportedly received a consideration of US$800 million in cash at the closing, with the opportunity for further deferred payments contingent upon future sales.

The business included the perfume licenses for Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Vera Wang, Chloé and Lagerfeld, as well as a manufacturing and distribution center in Mount Olive, New Jersey, which was later closed in June 2007 as operations were transferred to the existing Coty-Sanford, North Carolina, facility.

Sales for the global prestige fragrance business for 2004 were in excess of $600 million (€490m). In December 2007, Coty announced the acquisition of DLI Holding Corp.^[7]

The Calgon and Healing Garden brands were purchased by Ascendia Brands on 9 February 2007.^[8]

In August 2009, Coty, Inc., announced that it had entered into a license agreement with global lifestyle brand GUESS?, Inc., to develop and market new GUESS fragrance lines. As part of the partnership, Coty would also distribute existing GUESS fragrances, effective January 2010.^[9]

In November 2010, Coty, Inc., announced that Coty has entered into an agreement to acquire philosophy, inc., from the Carlyle group.^[10] In early 2011, Coty, Inc., announced that it had officially concluded the acquisitions of Dr. Scheller Cosmetics,^[11] OPI Products, Inc.,^[12] and TJoy.^[13]

In July 2012, Coty, Inc., appointed Michele Scannavini as the new CEO. Scannavini has been president of Coty Prestige for the last 10 years.^[14]

On June 13, 2013, Coty, Inc., became a public company via the initial public offering of its Class A shares on the NYSE.^[15] Coty raised $1.0 billion in the largest consumer IPO since Arcos Dorados' $1.3 billion IPO in 2011. The company operates in three segments: fragrances, color cosmetics and skin and body care.^[16]

In June 2014, Coty discontinued TJoy.^[17] On September 29, 2014, Michele Scannavini had stepped down from the CEO position, and Bart Becht named interim CEO.^[18]

On July 9, 2015, Coty announced it had reached a definitive agreement to purchase some of Procter & Gamble's beauty brands for $12.5 billion in a deal that would more than double its sales and transform it into one of the world’s largest cosmetics companies.^[19]

In October 2015, Coty acquired leading global digital marketing platform Beamly, providing Coty with a step change across digital marketing capabilities ^[20]

In November 2015, Coty acquired Hypermarcas’ Beauty & Personal Care Business, providing Coty a strong position in Brazilian beauty & personal care market, the third-largest beauty market in the world.^[21]

In July 2016, Coty named Camillo Pane as CEO and member of the Coty Board, each effective as of the day following the closing of the merger with P&G Specialty Beauty.^[22]

In October 2016, Coty completed its merger with P&G Specialty Beauty Business, transforming Coty into one of the world’s leading beauty companies with the number one position in fragrances, and number two and three positions in salon hair and color cosmetics, respectively.^[23]

In October 2016, the company confirmed it had reached an agreement with Lion Capital LLP to buy Good Hair Day (GHD), a manufacturer of hair care products, for $522 million in cash. GHD will be run by its existing management team.^[24] The sale was completed on 21 November 2016.^[25]