Coty has appointed consumer packaged goods expert Pierre Laubies as CEO, replacing Camillo Pane who has resigned. In addition, Peter Harf has taken over as Chairman from Bart Becht, also effective immediately, with Erhard Schoewel appointed as Lead Independent Director.
The company is a leading beauty player in travel retail through brands such as Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss and Gucci.
In a statement, the US$9 billion powerhouse said: “The Board is commencing a renewal process to bring new perspectives to the company and strengthen independent director representation. Specifically, the Board has agreed and started a process to add two new independent Board members with deep commercial and financial experience.”
Laubies does not have a beauty background but has business integration and debt reduction experience. He has worked at both confectionery group Mars and global coffee player Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) where he was recently CEO. At JDE, Laubies is credited with successfully integrating the ex-Mondelez coffee business while realising the associated synergies, and also reducing the debt burden at JDE.
Overcoming ‘internal challenges’
The changes at the top come on the back of weak recent numbers from Coty. In the quarter ending September 2018, the company reported revenue down -9.2% (-7.7% like-for-like) to US$2,031.3 million.
This was blamed on “several temporary supply chain-related headwinds” including component shortages from external suppliers which impacted luxury (one of its three divisions). This led to a Q1 2019 net loss of US$12.1 million, an improvement from a loss of US$19.7 million in the same period the prior year.
Coty’s share price plummeted on the news of these results, from US$11.18 to US$8.66 – an all-time low – and it has remained below US$10 since 7 November.
Commenting on the result last week, Pane said: “Q1 2019 was a disappointing setback in achieving our financial targets and strategic goals, and we are working hard to solve the issues. With the P&G Beauty integration near completion, and after we have overcome the internal challenges, we will be better equipped to focus more externally, so that we can fully capitalise on the exciting and dynamic changes in the beauty industry.
“We remain absolutely convinced that the fast-paced and ambitious transformational agenda we are pursuing, including comprehensive upgrades to our systems, processes, culture, and people, is ultimately building a much stronger Coty for the long term.”
