Coty and Kylie Jenner announce plans for the future of Kylie Cosmetics

In late 2019 Coty acquired 51% of the Kylie Cosmetics business​. That transaction is now complete and the company is moving ahead, announcing plans to turn the brand Kylie Jenner launched online in 2015 into “a global powerhouse.”​

Christoph Honnefelder will soon be CEO of 2 Kylie beauty brands

The former Douglas executive will “in the near future” ​step into the role of CEO for both Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin.

“I’m excited to welcome Christoph to the team and look forward to the continued growth of Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin,”​ says Kylie Jenner, in this week’s media release.

At Douglas (a sizable European beauty retail chain), Honnefelder served as the executive vice president for assortment and purchasing and was also part of the company’s executive committee. Additionally Honnefelder has experience in consumer goods and coffee retail; and he worked for several years as a project leader with the business strategy firm The Boston Consulting Group.

Kylie Jenner will continue to lead communications and creative strategy

According to the media release Coty posted on its site Monday, Jenner (along with her existing team) will maintain leadership of creative strategy for the brands’ products and communications. This will allow her to “[build]”​ on what Coty describes as “her unrivalled global reach capabilities through social media.” ​Jenner has more than 270 million followers across social platforms.

Coty will stick to what it does best for brands, taking on “overall responsibility for the portfolio’s development, leveraging its global knowledge and capabilities in R&D, manufacturing, distribution, commercial and go-to-market expertise, as well as its deep understanding of the fragrances, cosmetics and skincare categories.”​

And for now, there are no plans for product formulation or packaging changes: “The company intends to continue to work with the current strategic partners in existing product categories,” ​notes the release.

How big can the Kylie Cosmetics business get?

Coty acquired 51% of the Kylie Cosmetics business for $600m. And the company see tremendous potential for growth. “We are pleased to complete this transaction and partner with Kylie Jenner to build a high growth, digitally native beauty brand,” ​says Pierre Laubies, CEO of Coty, in the media release. How large and how quickly the brand will grow as part of the Coty portfolio is yet to be seen.

---

Deanna Utroske has a discerning sensibility for quality news that resonates with today's digital audience ​and is a leading voice in the cosmetics and personal care industry as well as in the indie beauty movement. As Editor of CosmeticsDesign.com, she writes daily news about the business of beauty in the Americas region and regularly produces video interviews with cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, and packaging experts as well as with indie brand founders.