Coty prioritises fragrance as it launches strategic review of Consumer Beauty division

Coty has confirmed plans to more closely integrate its Prestige Beauty and Mass Fragrance businesses as part of a broader effort to realign the company with its core strengths and drive sustainable, profitable growth.

The move is expected to improve coordination and operational efficiency across the company's fragrance portfolio, which accounts for 69% of its total sales.

The goal is to leverage synergies across research and development, consumer insights, manufacturing, and distribution, strengthening overall revenue and profit.

Sue Nabi, Chief Executive Officer at Coty, said: "This next phase of our transformation is about clarity and focus. By more closely integrating all our fragrance and scenting brands, we unlock the full power of our scale.

"The fragrance category continues to outperform the global beauty market and already drives the majority of our revenues and profits. Coty has a proven right to win at all price points of scenting, and is already making strong headway in the exciting new $7 billion mist market."

The Prestige division will also continue to expand its cosmetics and skincare categories, which the business views as "high-margin segments with significant global growth opportunities". Coty added that it will maintain its commitment to growing the prestige portfolio through major product launches and brand elevation initiatives.

In a parallel move, the firm has initiated a strategic review of its Consumer Beauty business, which includes mass-market brands such as CoverGirl, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, and Max Factor, as well as a separate Brazilian portfolio. These segments account for around $1.6 billion in revenue.

The review will explore a range of potential outcomes, including partnerships, divestitures, spin-offs, or other strategic options, with the objective of maximising long-term shareholder value and improving the company’s balance sheet.

To lead this effort, Coty has appointed former Chief Transformation Officer Gordon von Bretten as President of Consumer Beauty. He will take on full operational responsibility for the mass cosmetics, skin, and personal care businesses, in addition to overseeing the strategic review.

"We are taking decisive steps and our agenda is clear: realise the full potential of our market-leading brands by focusing the portfolio, elevating product excellence, and driving productivity with discipline so that performance is visible in growth, margin expansion, and cash generation," said Gordon von Bretten.

As part of a wider organisational restructuring, two senior executives in the Consumer Beauty division - Stefano Curti, Chief Brands Officer, and Alexis Vaganay, Chief Commercial Officer - will also step down from their roles.

Coty emphasised that these changes are designed to position the company for long-term success across both prestige and mass-market segments, while sharpening its focus on the fragrance category, a key driver of growth and profitability.