In the wake of a deal to acquire one of the most popular new names in makeup, the directors of the besieged beauty giant Coty Inc. they had some unconventional concerns.
Will sales be reduced if the chief executive decides to have another child? Can a 22-year-old social media star reliably stay out of trouble? What role will your mother play?
Last year, Coty drew up a plan to pay $ 600 million for a stake that controlled the cosmetics startup founded by “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star Kylie Jenner, an action aimed at reviving a business of beauty dependent on pharmacy commodities like Cover Girl and Max. Factor.
Coty’s directors finally decided on Kylie Cosmetics ’metrics: $ 200 million in annual revenue with less than a dozen employees and virtually no advertising spending. Also persuasive were the assurances of Mrs Jenner’s mother, Kris Jenner, who helped launch the company in 2015 and led the negotiations.
A year after closing the deal, Kylie Cosmetics has bolstered its new parent company and given it a few hits, though none that the company initially anticipated.