Coty unveils growth acceleration strategy at investor update event

NOTES TO EDITORS

The full Investor Day presentation can be downloaded here.

Coty’s next quarterly earnings will be announced on May 10, 2021. For more detail, please visit Coty’s Investor Relations section of its website.

About Coty Inc.

Coty is one of the world’s largest beauty companies with an iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care. Coty is the global leader in fragrance, and number three in color cosmetics. Coty’s products are sold in over 150 countries around the world. Coty and its brands are committed to a range of social causes as well as seeking to minimize its impact on the environment. For additional information about Coty Inc., please visit www.coty.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to, among other things, the Company’s future operations and strategy (including the expected implementation and related impact of its strategic priorities), the impact of COVID-19 and potential recovery scenarios (including recovery of the travel retail sector) , the Company’s e-commerce, direct-to-consumer and digital initiatives, the Company’s sustainability initiatives, the Company’s brand strategy and brand repositioning (including the timing and impact thereof), product innovations (including the timing and impact thereof), investments, licenses and portfolio changes, strategic planning, targets, segment reporting and outlook for future reporting periods (including the extent and timing of revenue, expense and profit trends and changes in operating cash flows and cash flows from operating activities and investing activities, and expected drivers of sales and profitability in future periods), the Company’s comprehensive transformation agenda (the “Transformation Plan”), ongoing and future cost efficiency, optimization and restructuring initiatives and programs, strategic transactions (including their expected timing and impact), the Company’s capital allocation strategy and payment of dividends (including suspension of dividend payments and the duration thereof), synergies, savings, performance, cost, timing and integration of acquisitions, including the strategic partnership with Kylie Jenner and the strategic partnership with Kim Kardashian, future cash flows, liquidity and borrowing capacity, timing and size of cash outflows and debt deleveraging, the availability of local government funding or reimbursement programs in connection with COVID-19 (including expected timing and amounts), the timing and extent of any future impairments, and synergies, savings, impact, cost, timing and implementation of the Company’s Transformation Plan, including operational and organizational structure changes, operational execution and simplification initiatives, fixed cost reductions, supply chain changes, and the priorities of senior management. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by words or phrases, such as “anticipate”, “are going to”, “estimate”, “plan”, “project”, “expect”, “believe”, “intend”, “foresee”, “forecast”, “will”, “may”, “should”, “outlook”, “continue”, “temporary”, “target”, “aim”, “potential”, “goal” and similar words or phrases. These statements are based on certain assumptions and estimates that we consider reasonable, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual events or results (including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects) to differ materially from such statements, including risks and uncertainties relating to:

• the impact of COVID-19 (or future similar events), including demand for the Company’s products, illness, quarantines, government actions, facility closures, store closures or other restrictions in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the extent and duration thereof, the availability and widespread distribution of a safe and effective vaccine, related impact on the Company's ability to meet customer needs and on the ability of third parties on which the Company relies, including its suppliers, customers, contract manufacturers, distributors, contractors, commercial banks and joint-venture partners, to meet their obligations to the Company, in particular collections from customers, the extent that government funding and reimbursement programs in connection with COVID-19 are available to the Company, and the ability to successfully implement measures to respond to such impacts;
• the Company’s ability to successfully implement its multi-year Transformation Plan, including its management realignment, reporting structure changes, operational and organizational changes, and the initiatives to further reduce the Company’s cost base, and to develop and achieve its global business strategies (including mix management, select price increases, more disciplined promotions, and foregoing low value sales), compete effectively in the beauty industry, achieve the benefits contemplated by its strategic initiatives (including revenue growth, cost control, gross margin growth and debt deleveraging) and successfully implement its strategic priorities (including innovation performance in prestige and mass channels, strengthening its positions in core markets, accelerating its digital and e-commerce capabilities, building on its skincare portfolio, and expanding its presence in China) in each case within the expected time frame or at all;
• the Company’s ability to anticipate, gauge and respond to market trends and consumer preferences, which may change rapidly, and the market acceptance of new products, including new products related to Kylie Jenner’s or Kim Kardashian’s existing beauty business, any repositioned brands or relaunched or rebranded products and the anticipated costs and discounting associated with such repositioning, relaunches and rebrands, and consumer receptiveness to our current and future marketing philosophy and consumer engagement activities (including digital marketing and media);
• use of estimates and assumptions in preparing the Company’s financial statements, including with regard to revenue recognition, income taxes (including the expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowance), the assessment of goodwill, other intangible and long-lived assets for impairments, the market value of inventory, the fair value of the equity investment, and the fair value of acquired assets and liabilities associated with acquisitions;
• the impact of any future impairments;
• managerial, transformational, operational, regulatory, legal and financial risks, including diversion of management attention to and management of cash flows, expenses and costs associated with the Company's response to COVID-19, the Transformation Plan, the Wella TSA, the integration of the King Kylie transaction and the KKW transaction, and future strategic initiatives, and, in particular, the Company's ability to manage and execute many initiatives simultaneously including any resulting complexity, employee attrition or diversion of resources;
• the timing, costs and impacts of divestitures and the amount and use of proceeds from any such transactions;
• future divestitures and the impact thereof on, and future acquisitions, new licenses and joint ventures and the integration thereof with, our business, operations, systems, financial data and culture and the ability to realize synergies, avoid future supply chain and other business disruptions, reduce costs (including through the Company’s cash efficiency initiatives), avoid liabilities and realize potential efficiencies and benefits (including through our restructuring initiatives) at the levels and at the costs and within the time frames contemplated or at all;
• increased competition, consolidation among retailers, shifts in consumers’ preferred distribution and marketing channels (including to digital and prestige channels), distribution and shelf-space resets or reductions, compression of go-to-market cycles, changes in product and marketing requirements by retailers, reductions in retailer inventory levels and order lead-times or changes in purchasing patterns, impact from COVID-19 on retail revenues, and other changes in the retail, e-commerce and wholesale environment in which the Company does business and sells its products and the Company’s ability to respond to such changes (including its ability to expand its digital, direct-to-consumer and e-commerce capabilities within contemplated timeframes or at all);
• the Company and its joint ventures’, business partners’ and licensors’ abilities to obtain, maintain and protect the intellectual property used in its and their respective businesses, protect its and their respective reputations (including those of its and their executives or influencers), public goodwill, and defend claims by third parties for infringement of intellectual property rights, and specifically in connection with the strategic partnerships with Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, risks related to the entry into a new distribution channel, the potential for channel conflict, risks of retaining customers and key employees, difficulties of integration (or the risks associated with limiting integration), risks related to regulation of multi-level marketing business models, ability to protect trademarks and brand names, litigation or investigations by governmental authorities, and changes in law, regulations and policies that affect KKW Holdings, LLC’s (“KKW Holdings”) business or products, including risk that direct selling laws and regulations may be modified, interpreted or enforced in a manner that results in a negative impact to KKW Holdings’ business model, revenue, sales force or business;
• any change to the Company’s capital allocation and/or cash management priorities, including any change in the Company’s dividend policy or, if the Company's Board declares dividends, the Company’s stock dividend reinvestment program;
• any unanticipated problems, liabilities or integration or other challenges associated with a past or future acquired business, joint ventures or strategic partnerships which could result in increased risk or new, unanticipated or unknown liabilities, including with respect to environmental, competition and other regulatory, compliance or legal matters;
• the Company’s international operations and joint ventures, including enforceability and effectiveness of its joint venture agreements and reputational, compliance, regulatory, economic and foreign political risks, including difficulties and costs associated with maintaining compliance with a broad variety of complex local and international regulations;
• the Company’s dependence on certain licenses (especially in the fragrance category) and the Company’s ability to renew expiring licenses on favorable terms or at all;
• the Company’s dependence on entities performing outsourced functions, including outsourcing of distribution functions, and third-party manufacturers, logistics and supply chain suppliers, and other suppliers, including third-party software providers, web-hosting and e-commerce providers;
• administrative, product development and other difficulties in meeting the expected timing of market expansions, product launches, re-launches and marketing efforts, including in connection with new products related to Kylie Jenner’s or Kim Kardashian West’s existing beauty businesses;
• global political and/or economic uncertainties, disruptions or major regulatory or policy changes, and/or the enforcement thereof that affect the Company’s business, financial performance, operations or products, including the impact of Brexit (and related business or market disruption), the current U.S. administration and recent election, changes in the U.S. tax code, and recent changes and future changes in tariffs, retaliatory or trade protection measures, trade policies and other international trade regulations in the U.S., the European Union and Asia and in other regions where the Company operates;
• currency exchange rate volatility and currency devaluation;
• the number, type, outcomes (by judgment, order or settlement) and costs of current or future legal, compliance, tax, regulatory or administrative proceedings, investigations and/or litigation, including litigation relating to the tender offer by Cottage Holdco B.V. (the “Cottage Tender Offer”) and product liability cases (including asbestos), and litigation or investigations relating to the strategic partnerships with Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian;
• the Company’s ability to manage seasonal factors and other variability and to anticipate future business trends and needs;
• disruptions in operations, sales and in other areas, including due to disruptions in our supply chain, restructurings and other business alignment activities, the Wella Transaction and related carve-out and transition activities, manufacturing or information technology systems, labor disputes, extreme weather and natural disasters, impact from COVID-19 or similar global public health events, and the impact of such disruptions on the Company’s ability to generate profits, stabilize or grow revenues or cash flows, comply with its contractual obligations and accurately forecast demand and supply needs and/or future results;
• restrictions imposed on the Company through its license agreements, credit facilities and senior unsecured bonds or other material contracts, its ability to generate cash flow to repay, refinance or recapitalize debt and otherwise comply with its debt instruments, and changes in the manner in which the Company finances its debt and future capital needs;
• increasing dependency on information technology, including as a result of remote working in response to COVID-19, and the Company’s ability to protect against service interruptions, data corruption, cyber-based attacks or network security breaches, including ransomware attacks, costs and timing of implementation and effectiveness of any upgrades or other changes to information technology systems, and the cost of compliance or the Company’s failure to comply with any privacy or data security laws (including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and the Brazil General Data Protection Law) or to protect against theft of customer, employee and corporate sensitive information;
• the Company's ability to attract and retain key personnel and the impact of senior management transitions and organizational structure changes;
• the distribution and sale by third parties of counterfeit and/or gray market versions of the Company’s products;
• the impact of the Transformation Plan as well as the Wella Transaction on the Company’s relationships with key customers and suppliers and certain material contracts;
• the Company’s relationship with Cottage Holdco B.V., as the Company’s majority stockholder, and its affiliates, and any related conflicts of interest or litigation;
• the Company’s relationship with KKR, whose affiliates KKR Rainbow Aggregator L.P. and KKR Bidco are respectively a significant stockholder in Coty and an investor in the Wella Business, and any related conflicts of interest or litigation;
• future sales of a significant number of shares by the Company’s majority stockholder or the perception that such sales could occur; and
• other factors described elsewhere in this document and in documents that the Company files with the SEC from time to time.

When used herein, the term “includes” and “including” means, unless the context otherwise indicates, “including without limitation”. More information about potential risks and uncertainties that could affect the Company’s business and financial results is included under the heading “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2020 and other periodic reports the Company has filed and may file with the SEC from time to time.

All forward-looking statements made in this release are qualified by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation, other than as may be required by applicable law, to update or revise any forward-looking or cautionary statements to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of events, unanticipated or otherwise, or changes in future operating results over time or otherwise. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.