Coty

Coty Inc. started in Paris in 1904 when François Coty, a Corsican-born perfumer, launched a fragrance company that would help democratize luxury scents. Today, the company is incorporated in Delaware but runs its global operations from Amsterdam. With a portfolio of around 40 brands as of 2024, Coty develops, manufactures, and sells fragrances, cosmetics, skin care, nail care, and hair products for both professionals and everyday consumers. Its reach spans mass-market drugstore aisles and high-end department store counters, making it one of the world's largest beauty conglomerates.

Coty's business is divided into two main divisions: Consumer Beauty, which includes brands like CoverGirl, Rimmel, and Sally Hansen, and Luxury, which houses prestige fragrance licenses for fashion houses such as Gucci, Burberry, and Hugo Boss. The company also owns professional hair care brands like Wella and Clairol. Over the decades, Coty has grown through strategic acquisitions, including the purchase of Procter & Gamble's beauty business in 2016 for $12.5 billion, a move that doubled its size but also brought financial challenges. By 2024, Coty had restructured and refocused, posting annual revenues of around $5.5 billion.

Under CEO Sue Nabi, appointed in 2020, the company has pushed a digital-first strategy and sustainability initiatives like the "Beauty that Lasts" program. Coty has also faced scrutiny over its debt load and past SEC settlement for improper payments, but its fragrance licensing model remains a steady revenue generator. In 2024, it sold a 60% stake in its professional hair business to KKR for $4.3 billion, retaining a 40% share.[edit]