Coty orchestrates Calvin Klein color cosmetics relaunch

Coty has announced it has signed a licensing agreement with Calvin Klein to develop and market a new color cosmetics line in 2012.

Coty already owns the license for Calvin Klein fragrance, having acquired it for $800m from Unilever, along with its entire prestige portfolio, in 2005, however the color cosmetics license was not part of the deal.

Positive business synergy

Calvin Klein president and CEO, Tom Murry, stated he thinks it is a positive move to have the two cosmetics business managed by the same company.

“Coty has done an excellent job of growing our fragrance business around the world. We feel that there are great synergies with centralizing our fragrance and color cosmetics businesses with the same partner,” he said.

Calvin Klein fragrances have been a big hit for Coty, who claims they are amongst the most popular in the world, and CEO Bernd Beetz, see this as the natural progression to now push the boundaries of the color cosmetic category.

Beetz claims “this introduction will further strengthen both Coty’s and Calvin Klein’s dynamic positioning within the beauty arena.”

Previous launch in 2007

California-based cosmetics firm Markwins, previously had the rights to CK color cosmetics and initially rolled it out to 150 retail outlets in the US, and 100 outlets in Europe and Asia, in Spring 2007.

The Markwins line was designed to appeal to a multi-cultural, fashion-forward consumer, and featured over 300 products, in a full range of shades and textures, with an emphasis on foundations, eye shadows, lipsticks and lip glosses.

Although Coty told CosmeticsDesign.com USA that additional information could not be disclosed until a later date, it said it was planning to develop and market a ‘full range’ of products to be released in 2012.