Revlon Inc. is uniting nail polish removal brand Cutex under one roof.
The beauty brand has acquired Cutex’s international business, which has its primary operations in Australia and the U.K., from Coty Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Revlon already owned the brand’s U.S. operations and, now with the brand under singular ownership, is planning for growth — both in terms of expanding Cutex into new product categories and by redesigning existing Cutex products.
The brand makes several variations of nail product removers, including liquid, remover pads, jar nail polish remover and gel nail polish removers.
“Cutex has been a consistent source of innovation, from its invention of liquid nail polish in 1917 to its popular nail polish removers widely used today,” said Revlon chief operating officer Gianni Pieraccioni. “With this acquisition, Revlon continues to enhance our global brand portfolio and it provides us with a springboard to grow the Cutex brand worldwide.”
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For Coty, which has been on an acquisition spree of its own, the sale is a move to rationalize its product portfolio. “Coty’s sale of these Cutex businesses is another step towards our strategy,” said Coty chief financial officer Patrice de Talhouët. “Coty will continue to drive its leadership in the consumer and salon nail category as a key part of its growth strategy. The Cutex business was not a focus-brand for Coty.” Coty, which owns nail lines OPI and Sally Hansen, is close to closing a $12.5 billion deal for 41 beauty brands from Procter & Gamble.
“Coty is now fully focused on our industry leading nail brands, Sally Hansen and OPI, which offer complete solutions for consumers and salon professionals,” de Talhouët said. “The nail category will play an important role in our transformation into a new global leader and challenger in the beauty industry.”
For Revlon, the Cutex purchase comes after the business’ majority owner, MacAndrews & Forbes Inc., said it was considering strategic alternatives for the business in January. Since then, former chief executive officer Lorenzo Delpani stepped down, and new ceo Fabian Garcia stepped in. The beauty company also has a new cfo, Juan Figuereo, who was appointed in April.
Revlon has clearly indicated interest in growing its international business, which MacAndrews & Forbes chairman Ronald Perelman confirmed to WWD following Garcia’s hire: “Fabian’s deep experience and expertise in global consumer product sales will not only help enhance the growth in sales that Revlon has seen over the past year but also drive expansion into new markets across the globe.”