10.25.23
Coty is #12 on our Top Global Beauty Companies 2023 Report.
Below is a look at the company's 2023 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands and latest innovations.
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.
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.
Read Next: Kao is #13.
Below is a look at the company's 2023 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands and latest innovations.
Beauty Sales:
$5.6 billionKey Personnel:
- Sue Y. Nabi, chief executive officer; Stéphane Delbos, chief procurement officer
- Jean-Denis Mariani, chief digital officer
- Caroline Andreotti, chief commercial officer prestige
- Stefano Curti, chief brands officer, consumer beauty
- Alexis Vaganay, chief commercial officer, consumer beauty
- Constantin Sklavenitis, chief brands officer
- Dr. Shimei Fan, chief scientific officer
- Graeme Carter, chief global supply chain officer
- Peter Harf, executive chairman
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.Read Next: Kao is #13.
