Coty Teams Up with LG in South Korea

• SOUTH KOREA: Coty Inc. and LG Household & Health Care have created Coty Korea, a joint venture established to expand the presence of both companies in the Korean cosmetics market.
According to Coty, the partnership marks an important move to further increase its presence in Asia and strategically build its cosmetics and skin care business worldwide. For LG H&H, the partnership demonstrates further enhancement in LG H&H’s leadership in Korean consumer market, which was built on nonstop organic growth and a continuous stream of acquisitions and new ventures.

Coty Korea will be led by a Coty executive as CEO of the new venture, according to the company.

“Korea is a key emerging market for the beauty industry, and our respective organizations have worked together extensively in our plan for success there,” said Michele Scannavini, president, Coty Prestige. “On top of growing Coty’s presence in Asia, this partnership represents an important step toward our ambitious goal of expanding our cosmetic business across the globe. Our ‘Faster. Further. Freer.’ culture, combined with LG H&H’s dynamic leadership in the marketplace, will allow us to fulfill the innovative vision we’ve set forth for the company.”

“We are very excited to be the strategic partner for Coty Inc., and be a part of Coty’s first steps in expanding its cosmetics product portfolio into this growing market. This partnership will also further increase LG H&H’s leading presence in Korea,” said Suk Cha, CEO of LG H&H. “We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Coty, which is also a major global player in beauty. It is a company whose culture and goals are complementary to our own and with whom we can potentially discuss other common projects abroad.”

This fall, Coty Korea will kick off its efforts by introducing Philosophy into the Korean marketplace. The Philosophy brand will play a key role in the expansion of Coty’s portfolio of products, particularly its skin care structure throughout Asia. The importance of skin care products cannot be overestimated in the Asian marketplace—particularly in Korea, China and Japan, where skin care is valued over color cosmetics by women who are looking for flawless skin.

Beyond the launch of Philosophy, Coty Korea will continue to look for opportunities to further expand and enhance its presence in the market.