Coty Inc., the American beauty company specialising in cosmetic, skin, fragrance & hair brands, is going through profound changes by implementing new corporate strategies and selling sections of its brand portfolio.
Leading the charge is Pierre Denis, who has been appointed new Coty CEO succeeding Pierre Laubies, who has held the position since November 2018. In May 2020, Denis will leave his current position as CEO of Jimmy Choo Group, a position he has held since July 2012. Coty is a company which he already knows quite well, after having already sat on its Board of Directors. Pierre Denis is not a new to the cosmetic industry. In fact, before leading brands such as Jimmy Choo and John Galliano, he was part of the LVMH perfume and cosmetics division, working with brands such as Dior, Guerlain and Givenchy.
This is not the only change in Top Management at Coty : Pierre-André Térisse, Chief Financial Officer, will also take on the role of Chief Operating Officer, while Isabelle Parize and Justine Tan have been appointed non-executive directors on the Coty board of directors.
“In under 18 months, Pierre Laubies and his team have implemented a number of strategic initiatives,” said Peter Harf, Chairman of Coty.“These have succeeded inpositioning the company for sustainable growth and long-term success into the future. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Pierre for his decisive contributions to Coty.” Mr Harf went on to justify the change of leadership with the need to accelerate the growth of the business: “Pierre Denis brings a wealth of cosmetics and luxury experience in developed and developing markets, including in Asia, and I have admired his work for many years,” he added. “Pierre will work closely with Pierre-André Térisse, who intimately knows the company’s operations and finances, to ensure that Coty is well-positioned to capture myriad growth opportunities and accelerate top line performance.”
Coty’s financial situation
To reduce its debt and simplify its structure, the US group Coty last October announced that it was considering selling its professional division which includes brands of hair and nail care products such as Wella, O.P.I or Sally Hansen.
According to Bloomberg, this option seems to materialize, because the Advent International funds, Bain Capital, and Cinven would be preparing purchase offers.
But it looks like they are not the only ones to be interested in the acquisition, as Henkel, Clayton Dubilier & Rice and the Dutch Unilever (who launched an audit of his cosmetic sector) would also be in the game. The amount of the transaction is estimated around 8 billion dollars (7.4 billion euros).
In the period from September to December 2019/20, the American perfume manufacturer reported a turnover of 2.34 billion dollars (2.1 billion euros), down by 6.6 %. And while in the first half of its financial year Coty reduced its losses, the group, which includes beauty product brands such as Burberry, Gucci, Tiffany or Hugo Boss in its portfolio, still encounters difficulties in managing the 43 cosmetic brands acquired in the 2015 from Procter & Gamble for about of 12.5 billion dollars.
