Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business.
Overview
Founded in 1904, Coty Inc. is one of the world’s largest beauty companies with an iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care.
Over the past few years we have been implementing a comprehensive transformation agenda (the “Transformation Plan”), focusing on our core go-to-market competencies, simplifying our capital structure and deleveraging our balance sheet.
As we transform the Company, we continue to make progress on our strategic priorities, including stabilizing and growing our consumer beauty brands through leading innovation and improved execution, accelerating our prestige fragrance brands and ongoing expansion into prestige cosmetics, building a comprehensive skincare portfolio leveraging existing brands, enhancing our e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) capabilities, expanding our presence in China and travel retail through prestige products and select consumer beauty brands, and establishing Coty as an industry leader in sustainability.
In fiscal 2021, we completed the sale of a majority stake in Coty’s Professional and Retail Hair business, including the Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands, (together, the “Wella Business”). As of June 30, 2023, Coty owned a 25.9% stake in
Rainbow JVCO LTD and subsidiaries (together, “Wella” or the “Wella Company”). On July 18, 2023 we announced that we entered into a binding letter of intent to sell a 3.6% stake in Wella to investment firm IGF Wealth Management for $150.0. The closing of the transaction is subject to, among other things, completion of due diligence and the satisfaction of certain closing conditions, including the approval of the transaction by KKR. Assuming the transaction closes, we would retain 22.3% of the Wella Company.
All dollar amounts in the following discussion are in millions of United States (“U.S.”) dollars, unless otherwise indicated.
Segments
Operating and reportable segments (referred to as “segments”) reflect the way the Company is managed and for which separate financial information is available and evaluated regularly by the Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company has designated its Chief Executive Officer as the CODM.
For segment financial information and information about our long-lived assets, see Note 5— Segment Reporting in the notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements, and for information about recent acquisitions or dispositions, see Note 4—Business Combinations, Asset Acquisitions and Divestitures in the notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Brands
The following chart reflects our iconic brand portfolio:
Consumer Beauty Prestige
Adidas Burberry
Beckham Calvin Klein
Biocolor* Chloe
Bozzano* Davidoff
Bourjois* Escada*
Bruno Banani Gucci
CoverGirl* Hugo Boss
Jovan* Jil Sander
Max Factor* Joop!*
Mexx Kylie Jenner
Monange* Lancaster*
Nautica Marc Jacobs
Paixao* Miu Miu
Rimmel* Orveda
Risque* philosophy*
Sally Hansen* SKKN BY KIM
Tiffany & Co.
* Indicates an owned beauty brand.
Marketing
We have a diverse portfolio of brands, some owned and some licensed, and we employ different models to create a distinct image and personality suited to each brand’s equity, distribution, product focus and consumer. For our licensed brands, we work with licensors to promote brand image. Each of our brands is promoted with logos, packaging and advertising designed to enhance its image and the uniqueness of each brand. We manage our creative marketing work through a combination of our in-house teams and external agencies that design and produce the sales materials, social media strategies, advertisements and packaging for products in each brand.
We promote our brands through various channels to reach and engage beauty consumers, through traditional media, through in-store displays, on digital and social media, and through collaborations, product placements and events. In addition, we seek editorial coverage for products and brands in both traditional media and digital and social media to drive influencer amplification and to build brand equity. We also leverage our relationships with celebrities and on-line influencers to endorse certain of our products. Our marketing efforts benefit from cooperative advertising programs with retailers, often in connection with in-store marketing activities designed to engage consumers so that they try, or purchase, our products, including sampling and “gift-with-purchase” programs designed to stimulate product trials.
We have dedicated marketing and sales forces in most of our significant markets. These teams leverage local insights to strategically promote our brands and product offerings and tailor our creative marketing to fit local tastes and resonate with consumers most effectively.
We utilize in-depth brand and market data analytics to develop branding, merchandising and marketing execution strategies to maximize the consumer experience and build a better business. We continue to concentrate working media resources on select products, channels and markets, which we believe represents a significant opportunity for revenue and gross margin improvement, and to implement a tactical, in-store strategy for the others.
Distribution Channels and Retail Sales
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We market, sell and distribute our products in approximately 126 countries and territories, with dedicated local sales forces in most of our significant markets. We have a balanced multi-channel distribution strategy which complements our product categories. Our mass beauty brands are primarily sold through hypermarkets, supermarkets, drug stores and pharmacies, mid-tier department stores, traditional food and drug retailers, and dedicated e-commerce retailers. The prestige products are primarily sold through prestige retailers, including perfumeries, department stores, e-retailers, direct-to-consumer websites and duty-free shops. We continue to focus on expanding our e-commerce and direct-to-consumer channels. We also sell our products through third-party distributors. In fiscal 2023, no retailer accounted for more than 10% of our global net revenues; however, certain retailers accounted for more than 10% of net revenues within certain geographic markets and segments. In fiscal 2023, Walmart, our top retailer, accounted for approximately 5% of total Coty Inc. net revenues from continuing operations.
Innovation
Innovation is a pillar of our business. We innovate through brand-building and new product lines, as well as through new technology. Our research and development teams work with our marketing and operations teams to identify recent trends and consumer needs and to bring products quickly to market.
We are continuously innovating to increase our sales by elevating our digital presence, including e-commerce and digital, social media and influencer marketing designed to build brand equity and consumer engagement. We have also focused our efforts on meeting evolving consumer shopping preferences and behaviors, both on-line and in-store. We have introduced new ways to customize the consumer experience, including using artificial intelligence-powered tools to provide personalized advice on selecting and using products, and augmented reality tools that invite customers to virtually try products with curated looks, tutorials and product recommendations.
In addition, we continuously seek to improve our products through research and development. Our basic and applied research groups, which conduct longer-term and “blue sky” research, seek to develop proprietary new technologies for first-to-market products and for improving existing products. This research and development is done both internally and through affiliations with various universities, technical centers, supply partners, industry associations and technical associations. A number of our products incorporate patented, patent-pending or proprietary technology. In addition, several of our products and/or packaging for our products are covered by design rights protections.
Our principal research and development centers are located in the U.S. and Europe. See “Item 2. Properties.”
We do not perform, nor do we commission any third parties on our behalf to perform, testing of our products or ingredients on animals except where required by law. In the few jurisdictions requiring animal testing, we actively apply for exemptions and work with local authorities and organizations to authorize alternative methods of product testing.
Supply Chain
During fiscal year 2023, we continued to manufacture and package approximately 79% of our products, primarily in facilities located in the United States, Brazil, China and various countries in Europe. We recognize the importance of our employees at our manufacturing facilities and have in place programs designed to ensure operating safety. In addition, we implement programs designed to ensure that our manufacturing and distribution facilities comply with applicable environmental rules and regulations, as well as initiatives to support our sustainability goals. To capitalize on innovation and other supply chain benefits, we continue to utilize a network of third-party manufacturers on a global basis who produce approximately 21% of our finished products.
The principal raw materials used in the manufacture of our products are primarily essential oils, alcohols and specialty chemicals. The essential oils in our fragrance products are generally sourced from fragrance houses. As a result, we realize material cost savings and benefits from the technology, innovation and resources provided by these fragrance houses.
We purchase the raw materials for all our products from various third parties. We also purchase packaging components that are manufactured to our design specifications. We collaborate with our suppliers to meet our stringent design and creative criteria. We believe that we currently have adequate sources of supply for all our products. We review our supplier base periodically with the specific objectives of improving quality, increasing innovation and speed-to-market, ensuring supply sufficiency and reducing costs.
We have experienced disruptions in our supply chain from time to time, including in connection with our past restructuring efforts and, more recently due to global supply disruptions, and we work to anticipate and respond to actual and potential disruptions. In light of these challenges, we are continually benchmarking the performance of our supply chain, and we augment our supply base, adjust our distribution networks and manufacturing footprint, enhance our forecasting and planning capabilities and adjust our inventory strategy based upon the changing needs of the business. We continue to explore options to further optimize our supply chain operations.
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Competition
There is significant competition within each market where our products are sold. We compete against manufacturers and marketers of beauty products, salon professional nail products and personal care products. In addition to the established multinational brands against which we compete, small targeted niche brands continue to enter the beauty market. We also have competition from private label products sold by retailers.
We believe that we compete primarily on the basis of perceived value, including pricing and innovation, product efficacy, service to the consumer, promotional activities, advertising, special events, new product introductions, e-commerce initiatives, direct sales and other activities (including influencers). It is difficult for us to predict the timing, scale and effectiveness of our competitors’ actions in these areas or the timing and impact of new entrants into the marketplace. For additional risks associated with our competitive position, see “Risk Factors— The beauty industry is highly competitive, and if we are unable to compete effectively, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation could suffer ”.
Intellectual Property
We generally own or license the trademark rights in key sales countries in Trademark International Class 3 (covering cosmetics and perfumery) for use in connection with our brands. When we license trademark rights we generally enter into long-term licenses, and we are generally the exclusive trademark licensee for all Class 3 trademarks as used in connection with our products. We or our licensors, as the case may be, actively protect the trademarks used in our principal products in the U.S. and significant markets worldwide. We consider the protection of our trademarks to be essential to our business.
A number of our products also incorporate patented, patent-pending or proprietary technology in their respective formulations and/or packaging, and in some cases our product packaging is subject to copyright, trade dress or design protection. While we consider our patents and copyrights, and the protection thereof, to be important, no single patent or copyright, or group of related patents or copyrights, is material to the conduct of our business.
Products representing 63% of our fiscal 2023 net revenues from continuing operations are manufactured and marketed under exclusive license agreements granted to us for use on a worldwide and/or regional basis. As of June 30, 2023, we maintained 22 brand licenses. In addition, approximately 54% of our fiscal 2023 net revenues from continuing operations were attributable to prestige fragrance, of which approximately 88% was from our top seven prestige fragrance brands.
Our licenses impose obligations and restrictions on us that we believe are common to many licensing relationships in the beauty industry, such as paying annual royalties on net sales of the licensed products, maintaining the quality of the licensed products and the image of the applicable trademarks, achievement of minimum sales levels, promotion of sales and qualifications and behavior of our suppliers, distributors and retailers. We believe that we are currently in material compliance with the terms of our material brand license agreements.
Our license agreements have an average duration of over 25 years. Most brand licenses have renewal options for one or more terms, which can range from two to ten years. Certain brand licenses provide for automatic extensions, so long as minimum annual royalty payments are made, while renewal of others is contingent upon attaining specified sales levels or upon agreement of the licensor. None of our top seven licenses, which account for approximately 88% of our prestige fragrance sales, are up for non-automatic renewal before 2028, with an average remaining duration of 13 years. We are currently in the process of renewing a smaller license which is up for renewal during fiscal 2024. For additional risks associated with our licensing arrangements, see “Risk Factors— Our brand licenses may be terminated if specified conditions are not met, and we may not be able to renew expiring licenses on favorable terms or at all ” and “Risk Factors— Our failure to protect our reputation, or the failure of our brand partners or licensors to protect their reputations, could have a material adverse effect on our brand images ”.
Human Capital
Workforce . As of June 30, 2023, we had approximately 11,350 full-time employees in over 36 countries. In addition, we typically employ a large number of seasonal contractors during our peak manufacturing and promotional season.
Our employees in the U.S. are not covered by collective bargaining agreements. Our employees in certain countries in Europe are subject to works council arrangements and collective bargaining agreements. We have not experienced a material strike or work stoppage in the U.S. or any other country where we have a significant number of employees.
Our employees are a key source of competitive advantage and their actions, guided by our Code of Conduct and our global compliance program, Behave Beautifully , are critical to the long-term success of our business. We recognize the importance of our employees to our business and believe our relationship with our employees is satisfactory.
Environmental, Social and Governance
Coty’s sustainability commitment, Beauty That Lasts, is a multi-pillared strategy which aims to contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future. With a focus on products, planet and people we see sustainability as the ultimate driver of innovation.
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We report annually on our progress towards our sustainability targets through a separate sustainability report. Our sustainability reports and other information on our sustainability initiatives and achievements are available on our website. Changing circumstances, including evolving expectations for sustainability, or changes in standards and the way progress is measured, may lead to adjustments in, or the discontinuation of, our pursuit of certain goals, commitments, or initiatives (see additional discussion in “Forward-looking Statements— Cautionary Note Regarding Sustainability Information ”). The content of our sustainability reports and information on our website are not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC.
On March 31, 2022, the SEC issued a proposed rule on climate-related disclosures by U.S. public companies. The proposed rule is not yet final. We are unable to predict if or when the rule will be finalized and the extent to which a final rule will apply or deviate from the proposal.
The Beauty of Our Product
Our products have an important role to play in building a sustainable future for the beauty sector. To respond to evolving social and environmental challenges, sustainability is at the heart of our product creation, from design and development through to sourcing of materials.
We are changing the way we design, formulate and manufacture in order to minimize our environmental impact and create innovative products. Since 2020, we have an operational Beauty That Lasts Index in place, which is a qualitative tool for evaluating the social and environmental profile of new product developments.
We have ambition to reduce the amount of packaging we use across our portfolio, while sourcing from more sustainable sources. In fiscal 2023, we introduced refillable packaging solutions into our global portfolio, including Chloé Rose Naturelle Intense Eau de Parfum and Adidas Active Skin and Mind range of shower gels which delivered a packaging weight reduction compared to the original baseline body care range. In addition, we work to reduce the environmental impact of our product formulas and our new products, for example integrating carbon captured alcohol into our fragrances. In fiscal 2023, we launched Gucci, The Alchemist’s Garden, Where My Heart Beats Eau de Parfum, which was the first globally distributed fragrance manufactured using 100% carbon captured alcohol.
We recognize that sustainability efforts require collaboration which goes beyond our own organization. To that end we are members of several industry initiatives, including the Responsible Beauty Initiative and Responsible Mica Initiative, focused on responsible sourcing, and the Sustainable Packaging Initiative for Cosmetics, focused on creating common guidelines and tools for eco-design of packaging. We are also part of the EcoBeautyScore Consortium – a breakthrough initiative which aims to develop an industry-wide environmental scoring system for cosmetics products, with the aim of empowering consumers to make sustainable beauty choices.
We continue to evaluate and modify our processes and activities to further limit our impact on the environment as we implement our sustainability strategy.
The Beauty of Our Planet
Conserving and protecting the natural environment is a vital part of our responsibility as a business. We are committed to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations and preserving resources for generations to come.
During fiscal year 2023, our greenhouse gas emissions targets were approved by the Science Based Target initiative. The targets cover our Greenhouse gas emissions for scopes 1 and 2, renewable electricity commitment and our greenhouse gas reduction for scope 3. We continue to focus on the implementation of these targets with the development of operational plans. We are currently implementing our climate strategy focusing on three focus areas: our product impact, our transportation and the impact of our own operations.
In fiscal 2023, we have extended existing efforts made on our supply chain sites (factories and distribution centers) to our R&D centers and Corporate Offices. Accordingly, our offices and R&D centers are developing energy reduction and transition plans. For example, our Paris Headquarter has now transitioned to renewable electricity and we have completed an extensive energy audit in our Amsterdam Headquarter with very positive results. In our efforts to reduce our impacts on the environment, none of the waste from our factories and distribution centers was sent to landfill, while most was reused, recycled, or composted. We have implemented several measures to reduce water consumption across our plants and distribution centers.
While certain projects are already in execution phase, other projects are in the early stages as we validate their feasibility and explore new ones to achieve our proposed targets. We continue to evaluate and modify our processes and activities to further limit our impact on the environment and to enable the deployment of our climate-related initiatives to meet our proposed targets.
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The Beauty of Our People
We are committed to playing our part in creating a more inclusive business and society. We celebrate diversity in all its forms and continue to work towards building a more inclusive business. We recognize the importance of diversity at a leadership level and throughout our whole organization, including diversity of gender, ethnicity, ability, background, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Our Executive Committee and our Board of Directors are majority female. For associates, we rolled out a new training to broaden knowledge of our sustainability framework, Beauty That Lasts. This training introduced the three-pillared framework and included short modules on climate change and DE&I topics such as bias and microaggressions. In July 2022, we implemented a sustainability objective for all employees eligible to the bonus plans, as part of their annual goals. This applies for employees’ fiscal 2023 bonuses. The accomplishment of these objectives is considered when assessing eligibility for annual bonuses.
As of October 2022, we were proud to achieve our commitment to pay equity for similar roles and performance, regardless of gender by reducing the gap in every level of our global management categories. To further gender equality within our business, we also launched a gender-neutral Parental Leave Policy. From November 2022, all employees, regardless of gender, have access to the same number of fully paid weeks of parental leave offered in their local region when starting or extending a family.
We also strive to reflect the communities we serve through our brands, which champion the diversity of beauty and beauty of diversity. In fiscal 2023, Sally Hansen & CoverGirl continued their multi-year partnership with LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD. Marc Jacobs Fragrance celebrates the third year of its partnerships with US-based NGO The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) and second year with UK-based charity, akt.
We are committed to creating opportunities for our associates to develop skills, advance their careers and nurture their long-term employability. Our associates undergo an annual performance review process, and work with their manager to build customized development plans. We offer our employees a range of development activities, from learning formally through e-learning courses and trainings, and on the job.
Our global Health and Safety Policy governs the management of work-related health and safety risks across all our manufacturing and distribution sites, including corporate offices. The policy, which is complemented by our Code of Conduct, sets out the principles that guide our approach to Health and Safety, as well as outlining responsibilities within the business.
Government Regulation
We and our products are subject to regulation by various U.S. federal regulatory agencies as well as by various state and local regulatory authorities and by the applicable regulatory authorities in the countries in which our products are produced or sold. Such regulations principally relate to the ingredients, labeling, manufacturing, packaging, advertising and marketing and sales and distribution of our products. Because we have commercial operations overseas, we are also subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) as well as other countries’ anti-corruption and anti-bribery regimes, such as the U.K. Bribery Act.
We are subject to numerous foreign, federal, provincial, state, municipal and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations relating to, among other matters, safe working conditions, product stewardship and environmental protection, including those relating to emissions to the air, discharges to land and surface waters, generation, handling, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of hazardous substances and waste materials, and the registration and evaluation of chemicals. We maintain policies and procedures to monitor and control environmental, health and safety risks, and to monitor compliance with applicable environmental, health and safety requirements. Compliance with such laws and regulations pertaining to the discharge of materials into the environment, or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment, has not had a material effect upon our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position. However, environmental and social responsibility laws and regulations have tended to become increasingly stringent and, to the extent regulatory changes occur in the future, they could result in, among other things, increased costs and risks of non-compliance for us. For example, certain states in the U.S., such as California, and the U.S. Congress have proposed legislation relating to chemical disclosure and other requirements related to the content of our products. For more information, see “Risk Factors— Changes in laws, regulations and policies that affect our business or products could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. ”
Seasonality
The Company’s sales generally increase during the second fiscal quarter as a result of increased demand associated with the winter holiday season. Financial performance, working capital requirements, sales, cash flows and borrowings generally experience variability during the three to six months preceding the holiday season. Product innovations, new product launches and the size and timing of orders from the Company’s customers may also result in variability. However, the mix of product sales can vary considerably as a result of changes in seasonal and geographic demand for particular types of products, as well as other macroeconomic, operating and logistics-related factors, as evidenced by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Availability of Reports
We make available financial information, news releases and other information on our website at www.coty.com. There is a direct link from our website to our SEC filings via the EDGAR database at www.sec.gov, where our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such reports and amendments with, or furnish them to, the SEC. Stockholders may also contact Investor Relations at 350 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10118 or call 212-389-7300 to obtain hard copies of these filings without charge.
We use our website as a channel for routine distribution of important information, including news releases, presentations, and financial information. We have also posted on our website our: (i) Principles of Corporate Governance; (ii) Code of Conduct (and any amendments or waivers); (iii) Code of Conduct for Business Partners; (iv) Charters for the Audit and Finance Committee and Remuneration and Nomination Committee; and (vi) sustainability information, including information on our sustainability strategy, Beauty that Lasts , and our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. The information on our website is not, and will not be deemed to be, a part of this annual report on Form 10-K or incorporated into any of our other filings with the SEC.