10. Coty

10. Coty
New York, NY
www.coty.com
Beauty Sales: $4 billion for the year ended June 30, 2008.

Key Personnel: Bernd Beetz, chief executive officer, Coty, Inc.; Michael Fishoff, chief financial officer, Coty, Inc.; Michele Scannavini, president, Coty Prestige; Hans-Joachim Honigfort, president, Coty Beauty; Darryl McCall, executive vice president, global operations.

Products/Brands: Fragrances, color cosmetics, skin care, sun care and personal care products marketed under a variety of brand names. The Coty Prestige brand portfolio includes Baby Phat, Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Chloé, Chopard, Davidoff, Jennifer Lopez, Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld, L.A.M.B. fragrance by Gwen Stefani, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Nautica, Sarah Jessica Parker, Vera Wang, Wolfgang Joop.
  
The Coty Beauty brand portfolio includes Adidas, Celine Dion, Chupa Chups, David and Victoria Beckham, Jovan, Kate Moss, La Voce by Renée Fleming, Miss Sixty, N.Y.C. New York Color, Playboy, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Shania Twain, Stetson, Tim McGraw, Vanilla Fields.
  
Coty and Puig Fashion and Beauty S.A. have a strategic partnership for the distribution of the perfume lines of Nina Ricci, Carolina Herrera, Prada and Paco Rabanne in the U.S. and Canada.

New Products: Color cosmetics: Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy. Fragrances:  Kate Moss Velvet Hour, La Voce by Renée Fleming, Beckham Signature for him and her. To be launched: Vera Wang Look (November 2008).

David and Victoria Beckham Signature for him and her may turn out to be Coty’s biggest fragrance launch ever

Comments: No doubt about it—Coty is a hot contender in the beauty business. The company has nearly tripled in sales during the past seven years, growing from $1.4 billion to $4 billion—and seems well on its way to reach its reported $5 billion target by 2010. At the end of fiscal year 2008, June 30, 2008, earnings totaled $4 billion, up 23% from FY 2007. Specifically, Coty Prestige ended the fiscal year with net sales reaching $2.1 billion, 16% ahead of the previous year. Coty Beauty ended the fiscal year with net sales of over $1.9 billion, a 33% increase from fiscal year 2007. Sales were pretty much even between the two divisions with Coty Prestige edging ahead with 52%.
  
A reported 77% of Coty’s annual sales were attributed to fragrance and toiletries, 20% to color cosmetics and the remaining 3% to skin care and sun care products.
  
The success of the Coty Prestige division owed to steady growth in existing markets and robust growth in emerging markets, including the Middle East, Russia, China and Southeast Asia. Daisy Marc Jacobs enjoyed global success, holding the No. 1 prestige fragrance position for four consecutive months in Japan; it was also named Fragrance of the Year in the Women’s Luxe category at the Fragrance Foundation’s 36th annual FiFi Awards in May 2008 (Coty stole the show, taking home five awards and having marketing partner Vera Wang inducted into the organization’s hall of fame). Calvin Klein, Vera Wang, Chloé, Joop!, Lancaster and Davidoff all accelerated the division’s growth.
  
Growth in the Coty Beauty division was spurred on by new launches including Kate by Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling and Showtime, and David Beckham Intimately Night, as well as the continued strength and growth of the Adidas and Rimmel brands and the acquisition of Del Laboratories, Inc.
  
Coty’s acquisition of Del Laboratories, Inc. integrated popular skin care and color cosmetics brands Sally Hansen, N.Y.C. New York Color and La Cross into the Coty Beauty portfolio, and bolstered Coty’s presence in the color cosmetics and nail care market. Coty was also rumored to be one of several companies looking to purchase French cosmetics company Clarins amid speculation earlier in the year that the company might be up
for sale.
  
In April, Coty entered into an agreement with Gemini Cosmetics, Inc. under which Gemini will assume exclusive responsibility for distribution of Coty Beauty brands to prestige and department specialty stores in the U.S. market.
  
With steady sales in Western Europe and the U.S. (54% and 32% of company’s worldwide sales, respectively), Coty intensified its expansion into emerging markets like Asia and Australia (7% of worldwide sales). The expansion in Asia is attributed to the strong performances from the Adidas, Rimmel, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chloe, Kate Moss, and David Beckham fragrances. Earlier this year, Coty Inc., entered into a licensing agreement with Kosé Corporation, a leading cosmetic company based in Japan, to distribute and manufacture Rimmel products in China. “By commencing distribution in China, Coty is accelerating the global brand presence of Rimmel and simultaneously continuing the elevation of Coty’s global presence,” said Bernd Beetz, CEO, Coty Inc. “We look forward to bringing Rimmel products to China as we focus on accelerating our business growth in Asia.
  
Catherine Walsh, senior vice president, American Fragrances, Coty Prestige—and the leading visionary behind more than 20 fragrance and beauty launches—was honored at the HBA Industry Awards Dinner in Manhattan in September as marketing executive of the year. Keeping her company on the podium was one of the adorable fragrance “dolls” in Gwen Stefani’s wildly popular Harajuku Lovers series. Walsh praised Beetz for his incredible vision.
  
In the year ahead, Coty will reportedly work toward creating a sizable skin care business, growing color cosmetics and expanding into emerging markets such as Asia, Russia and the Middle East to ultimately strengthen the company’s presence as a global beauty leader.