Introduction: Coty is sharpening its focus on six priority brands, expanding its makeup offer and preparing new fragrance launches under its Coty.Curated strategy.
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, Coty Senior Vice President Global Travel Retail Mette Engell discusses the portfolio priorities, recruiting younger travellers and the role of advocacy in driving conversion.
She also outlines how makeup is supporting fragrance sales and why generative engine optimisation is emerging as a new area of focus.
The Moodie Davitt Report: How is the Coty Curated strategy taking shape in travel retail?
Mette Engell: We want to focus on scaling what wins, which means concentrating investment behind our core franchises. Two major priorities are Hugo Boss and Burberry, where we see huge potential to accelerate growth and strengthen their global reach.
Then we have Marc Jacobs, which is very strong in Western markets. Calvin Klein is a global juggernaut with an opportunity to create another boom in a modern format. We also have Chloé, where Atelier des Fleurs is a success, and Kylie Cosmetics.
Coty.Curated examined the brand portfolio, structure and organisation to identify efficiencies that allow us to invest more in our brands.
How is the Gucci exit impacting Coty’s travel retail business?
At Coty, we have always maintained a broad-based portfolio, which means we are not overly reliant on one brand.
Coty has a strong plan to mitigate the profit impact in FY28 post Gucci’s exit, while fuelling future growth. This includes an amplified innovation and expansion pipeline for our core prestige fragrance brands, while building out new fully incremental portfolio initiatives, including the launch of Marc Jacobs Makeup.
Our presentations over the few days in Cannes have reaffirmed to retailers and customers that Coty will remain the number two fragrance player.
How has Marc Jacobs Beauty performed since its launch, and what is it bringing to the travel retail offer?
We took a big bet because there were existing Marc Jacobs makeup fans who knew and loved the products, so it was a very highly anticipated launch.
We now have the amazing packaging and a very bold expression. When we launched online with Sephora, it took off. At the same time, we launched at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
At JFK, it is now a top three makeup brand. In Palma de Mallorca, it is a top six brand, and that is within three months. Following the launch and the results at JFK and Palma, Avolta, our launch partner, is asking how quickly we can roll it out.
How is makeup helping drive engagement with your fragrance portfolio?
We use makeup to bridge into fragrance, with merchandising that brings the two together.
At JFK, we have seen an uplift of up to +60% in Marc Jacobs fragrances. Improved visibility and merchandising makeup alongside fragrance are helping drive fragrance conversion.
For Burberry, we have opened 12 makeup counters across Europe over the past 12 months. Burberry makeup has held a strong position in Asia Pacific in recent years.
We are now taking Burberry makeup into Europe.
What needs to change to recruit more Gen Z and Millennial shoppers?
Our excitement around Marc Jacobs Beauty is also linked to Gen Z. Everyone is asking: “How do we attract them and convert them in our stores?”
Conversion among Gen Z and Millennial consumers is below the average across passengers. Their baskets are smaller. They are buying, but are not as engaged in the category.
Marc Jacobs is one way we are addressing that.
The other way we are addressing this is our fragrance portfolio. Gen Z love fragrances. Around 73% use fragrance three times a week.
Recruiting Gen Z is very important, particularly young men. They are very interested in fragrances. They follow influencers and creators and discuss the finer details of fragrance: how it develops, its bouquet, and its ingredients.
They might decide to save on a pair of trainers because they want to build their own fragrance wardrobes. It is about self-expression. They are bold and want a unique scent, which they create by mixing and matching.
Our body mists have also been a tremendous success with Gen Z. We are also not seeing cannibalisation because these consumers layer fragrances, mix brands and build fragrance wardrobes.
What role will new licences play in the portfolio?
We have three new licences: Etro, Marni and Swarovski. Those are longer-term projects, and we are excited about what’s to come.
Swarovski is another brand with strong Gen Z appeal through its jewellery. We presented it in Cannes, with retailtainment and storytelling. We will work on category stories and alongside the jewellery offer, as we have previously done with Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss.
You have identified advocacy as another strategic priority. What does that mean in practice?
For us, advocacy is about creating meaningful conversations with our consumers. That means working with the right creators and communities to build genuine excitement around our brands, reach consumers in culturally relevant ways and ultimately drive conversion.
In travel retail, that opportunity is particularly exciting because we can engage travellers throughout their journey, from the moment they start planning their trip, through to the airport and beyond. The ambition is to make advocacy a much more integrated part of how we build our brands and connect with the next generation of beauty consumers.
How can you engage these Gen Z and Millennial travellers across the travel journey?
That is a discussion we are having with many partners: how do we engage consumers as soon as they book a ticket, and how do we respond to this generation’s spontaneity?
We need to reach them at the point of booking. Previously, that might have involved travel agents or tour operators. Now, we can connect with them in their Uber or train to the airport through geotargeted advertising.
It is about the whole journey, from planning to travelling and afterwards, with meaningful engagement, including through creators.
We’re also building excitement around the brand and their expressions. That is the overarching advocacy model.
Where do you see the next opportunity for AI?
We use AI to personalise discovery across the traveller journey, including virtual try-on and gamification. The next major area will be generative engine optimisation. We need to ensure our brands are visible and relevant as consumers increasingly use generative AI to discover and learn about beauty products.
You need to engage consumers and be relevant. You need to encourage consumer engagement and generate organic virality.
Capturing AI opportunitiesCoty has partnered with AI visibility specialist Brandlight to strengthen its brands’ presence across AI assistants and generative AI search platforms. The partnership aims to accelerate Coty’s Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) capabilities, equipping brand teams with tools, insights and training to respond to changes in how consumers discover beauty products. According to Coty, early pilot work has shown that optimising content, product detail pages, creator assets, digital PR and launch toolkits can improve brand visibility in AI-generated recommendations, including searches that do not directly name its brands. Coty Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer Markus Strobel commented: “AI is redefining the rules of attention, discovery and influence. Our ambition is not simply to keep our brands visible in this new world, but to make them impossible to overlook, ensuring they reach the most relevant audiences and meet a variety of beauty needs.” |
What are your priorities for the year ahead?
Travel retail is undergoing a major transformation, and our strategy is clear. We are fragrance experts and the number two fragrance company in global travel retail. We need to leverage that expertise to bring even more innovation and excitement to the category.
We will continue with avant-premières. There are also opportunities in exclusivity, retailtainment and AI.
We need to be on top of anticipating trends. It is one thing to identify today’s trend, but what will the trend be in one or two years, and how do we get ahead of it?
The transformation we are undertaking with Coty.Curated requires us to be clear about what we want to do and where we invest.
In travel retail, we have a continued focus on disciplined execution, accelerating innovation and capturing opportunities across categories and markets. ✈
