Coty Thinks Social, E-Commerce with Latest Deal
Coty Inc. has entered into a partnership with Younique, an online peer-to-peer social selling platform in beauty. Under the proposed agreement, Coty will acquire 60% of the company.
Younique founder and CEO Derek Maxfield and Chief Visionary Officer Melanie Huscroft will continue to lead the business in the new partnership.
Launched in 2012 in the U.S. by siblings Maxfield and Huscroft, Younique's mission is to uplift, empower and validate women across the globe. The company’s makeup and skin care products are sold through a peer-to-peer e-commerce platform that lets Younique’s community of independent presenters leverage social media to market and distribute the products directly to consumers.
Younique’s highly scalable technology platform is built for mobile-first e-commerce and global expansion, with approximately 200,000 active presenters and over 4.1 million consumers in 10 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Mexico, France, Spain and Hong Kong. Younique expects to generate approximately $400 million in net revenues in 2016.
This partnership will combine Younique’s high growth e-commerce platform and social selling direct-to-consumer business model with Coty’s beauty product R&D and innovation know-how, as well as its extensive manufacturing and supply chain capabilities. Together, Younique and Coty expect to accelerate the product offering and geographical expansion.
Coty will acquire the 60% stake for approximately $600 million in cash, which will be funded through a combination of cash on hand and available debt facilities. The transaction is expected to close during Coty’s 2017 fiscal third quarter.
“Derek and Melanie are tremendous entrepreneurs who have built one of the most engaging and fastest growing e-commerce companies in beauty," said Camillo Pane, Coty’s chief executive officer. "We look forward to working with them to continue supporting this mission and building Younique into a leading global e-commerce beauty company.”
Derek Maxfield, Younique’s CEO and Founder, said, “We are thrilled to have Coty as a partner and expect that together we will be able to take Younique to new heights. Coty and Younique share a passion for beauty, an entrepreneurial spirit, as well as complementary missions. I am very excited about this partnership and everything it can bring to Younique’s employees, presenters and loyal consumers across the world.”
Younique will operate as a separate business within Coty’s Consumer Beauty division. It will continue to be led by its current CEO Derek Maxfield, Chief Visionary Officer Melanie Huscroft, and Younique’s management team, in partnership with Coty.
Coty, Inc. ranks 97th on CGT's list of Top 100 Consumer Goods Companies for 2016.