Coty Moves Forward with Restructuring: President and CEO Step Down

Coty is overhauling its top management as the starting point for a major restructuring. The process will begin with the departure of Chairman Peter Harf and the subsequent departure of CEO Sue Nabi. The U.S. beauty company is embarking on this strategy after a downward start to the fiscal year.

According to the Financial Times, JAB Holdings, the group that owns Coty, will soon announce Harf’s replacement. His departure, which is expected imminently, comes after the 79-year-old executive also retired from his position at JAB as managing partner.

Coty started its fiscal 2026 on a downward trend. It closed the first quarter with sales of $1.58 billion, down 6% from the same period last year. On a like-for-like basis, the decline was 8%. The luxury business held up best, but FMCG cosmetics suffered a decline in sales, down 9% to $507.7 million.

The last few months have been marked by the exit of Gucci from Coty’s licensing portfolio, following the sale of the beauty catalog of the luxury group Kering to the giant L’Oréal. The alliance with the Italian brand will expire in 2028 and represents about 8% of Coty’s sales and about 11% of profit.

Coty has suffered a blow with the exit of Gucci from its licensing portfolio

Coty also announced in September that it would implement a strategic review of its business aimed at strengthening its financial situation, based on an integration of its beauty and fragrance lines, and which may include “alliances, divestitures and spin-offs.“ Coty then considered the sale of its FMCG cosmetics portfolio, with brands such as Rimmel and Max Factor.

On October, Coty suffered a major blow with L’Oréal’s purchase of Kering’s beauty business. Starting in 2028, L’Oréal will take over one of the most important assets for Coty: the exclusive license to Gucci fragrances and beauty products. Its beauty line would account for about 9% of Coty’s total revenues.

Coty’s shares, which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, have fallen about 55% in the last year, after stringing together several downward results. According to the media, its capitalization has shrunk to $2.9 billion, compared to the $10 billion it was worth two years ago.

After going through four CEOs in five years, the appointment of the current CEO, Sue Nabi, brought stability to the company. However, in recent years investors have progressively lost confidence in the group’s progress, with offerings such as Max Factor, Rimmel and Cover Girl losing sales to competitors.