Coty said on Tuesday it had launched a strategic review of its consumer beauty business that could lead to the sale of brands such as CoverGirl and Rimmel, as the cosmetics maker plans to focus on its more profitable fragrances unit.
Reuters
The New York-based company had last month projected a quarterly sales decline as demand for its beauty products softened.
The firm invested heavily into its U.S. mass beauty business at the expense of fragrance, before shifting course as mass beauty struggled with rising competition from lower‑cost online rivals.
The move comes as the U.S. mass-market makeup segment faces pressure, with drugstores destocking products as cost-conscious consumers tighten spending and fierce competition from newer brands building a strong following online.
Anti-theft measures by U.S. retailers and recent changes in immigration policies have also hurt demand in the mass beauty category, company executives have said.
More than a decade ago, Coty paid $12.5 billion for some of these brands in a deal with Procter & Gamble.
“This new structure will… drive renewed momentum and sharper focus for consumer beauty, positioning it to compete more effectively in the evolving beauty landscape,” CEO Sue Nabi said, adding she aims to grow Coty’s prestige portfolio through blockbuster launches and brand elevation.
In 2024, the prestige fragrance market was the fastest growing category, up 12%, according to data firm Circana, while the mass-market makeup category declined 3% compared to 2023.
In the first half of 2025, prestige fragrance sales are up 6% in the U.S., the data showed.
“Coty is signaling it’s done playing drugstore beauty pageant and wants to sit exclusively at the prestige beauty table with LVMH and Estée Lauder as dinner companions, not competitors,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and CIO at Running Point Capital Advisors.
Coty said its review would focus on its $1.2 billion revenue mass color cosmetics segment, which includes brands such as CoverGirl, Rimmel, Sally Hansen and Max Factor, as well as its $400 million standalone Brazil business.
“The review will assess a full range of alternatives including partnerships, divestitures, spin-offs and other potential strategic actions,” Coty said, adding that the aim was to bolster its balance sheet.
Coty’s consumer beauty division, which contributed $2.07 billion to annual sales, saw like-for-like sales drop 5% year-on-year for the 12 months ending June 30, it said last month. In the same period, its ultra-premium, prestige and consumer beauty fragrances grew between 2% and 9%.
Reduced profit has eaten into Coty’s free cash flow, which totaled $277.7 million for the year to June 30, while the company’s total debt was just over $4 billion.
Coty’s previous efforts saw it bring together hair and nail brands into professional beauty business Wella and sell a majority to stake to KKR.
Coty is still working to divest its remaining 26% stake in that business. Coty will bring all fragrance and scent brands under one business unit accounting for 69% of company sales, while aiming to maintain steady growth in cosmetics and skincare.
Shares of the company, which have lost nearly half of their value this year, were up nearly 3% in early trading on Tuesday.
Coty, which licences the fragrance brands of Gucci, Chloe and Burberry, has a market capitalization of about $3 billion, according to LSEG data.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier on Tuesday.
The house of Dior has named actor Drew Starkey to be its latest brand ambassador.
Dior names Drew Starkey brandambassador. – Dior
“Dior is delighted to welcome Drew Starkey as the new ambassador for Jonathan Anderson’s collections,” the Paris-based house said in a release.
The actor had previously collaborated with Anderson when Starkey appeared in Loewe’s Spring 2025 campaign during Anderson’s tenure at the Spanish house.
The appointment comes as Starkey continues to gain momentum for his performances in the hit series Outer Banks and Luca Guadagnino’s film Queer.
Earlier this month, Dior named UK actor Josh O’Connor as a brand ambassador – all ahead of Anderson’s sophomore menswear show on Wednesday.
“The actor stands out for his risk-taking, charisma and integrity, echoing the values of the house of Dior and its creative director,” added Dior about Starkey.
Barcelona-based label Desigual is expanding its line-up of international collaborations. The label has unveiled a new collection co-created with Masha Popova, a Ukrainian designer based in London, resulting in an offering that blends Mediterranean spirit with a distinctly London edge and will be available from February 17 across all the company’s physical retail outlets and online.
The new capsule created with Masha Popova will be available from 17 February in stores and online – Desigual
The collection has been conceived as a dialogue between Desigual’s archive and the bold, sensual, and rebellious aesthetic that defines Popova’s creative universe. The pieces reinterpret the brand’s bohemian essence through a contemporary lens, combining craftsmanship, a raw attitude and a confident, modern visual language; garments include hand-finished denim, fitted silhouettes, and avant-garde pieces.
This launch comes at a strategic moment for Desigual in the UK market. In 2025, the company posted double-digit digital growth in the UK, with a 16% increase in turnover, cementing it as one of the brand’s most promising European markets. At present, the brand operates in the country exclusively via its e-commerce platform, with no brick-and-mortar network.
Furthermore, through this new alliance, Desigual reaffirms its commitment to collaborating with international brands and designers as a driver of creative renewal and global reach. In this vein, the label has recently developed capsules with the French label Egonlab and Botter, founded by designers Lisi Herrebrugh and Rushemy Botter in Amsterdam.
Founded in 1984 by Thomas Meyer, Desigual is a Barcelona-based fashion company with more than 280 company-owned stores and a presence in 107 markets across ten sales channels. On the economic front, the company closed the 2024 financial year with turnover of €332 million, supported especially by its international expansion and the growth of its digital business.
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Alix Morabito, director of assortment and buying at Galeries Lafayette, is rounding out her team within a newly restructured buying division. To lead buying for the pivotal womenswear and leather goods segment, the Parisian department store has turned to a rival currently in the midst of a revamp: La Samaritaine.
Victoria Dartigues has been appointed Director of Womenswear and Leather Goods Buying at Galeries Lafayette – David Atlan/ Galeries Lafayette
Victoria Dartigues has taken up her new post after four years heading buying and merchandising at LVMH’s Right Bank department store in Paris. Since 2019, she has been with DFS, the luxury group’s duty-free subsidiary that spearheaded the Paris project, and played a key role in the relaunch of La Samaritaine.
For Victoria Dartigues, a graduate of HEC Montréal and IFM, this appointment at Galeries Lafayette is something of a homecoming: her first experience in Parisian department stores was as a buying assistant at Galeries Lafayette. She went on to join rival Printemps as a womenswear buyer in 2012.
After more than six years at the Printemps group, where she rose to head of merchandising overseeing the designer offer, she spent a stint at Kenzo before moving to DFS in 2019.
“A specialist in the multi-brand and department store sector, she has built strong relationships with brands over the years, curating assortments and leading negotiations,” Galeries Lafayette said in a press release. The group added that her appointment completes a buying leadership team comprising Alice Feillard for menswear and footwear, Pascale Leboutet-Reberat for beauty, and Violaine Moreau, who has been promoted to head up childrenswear, home and luggage.
“This new structure addresses the strategic challenge of asserting Galeries Lafayette’s commercial and creative vision through an increasingly exclusive offering,” the group said in its press release.
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