Coty bought a 20% stake in Kim Kardashian’s KKW Beauty line for $200 million

Obviously, I haven’t seen the Kardashian-Jenner’s tax returns or their business filings. But from the outside looking in, I kind of thought that Kim Kardashian’s cosmetics line was kind of basic and stupid and it wasn’t some huge success story? If anything, Kim’s SKIMS line of shapewear and intimates seems like the real jewel in her business empire – we’re always hearing about how SKIMS is selling out all over the place, and how it’s surprisingly well designed and good-quality. But Kim’s KKW Beauty line? Who’s checking for THAT? Kim doesn’t even have the most popular cosmetics line in her own family. Except that Coty thinks KKW Beauty is worth the investment. Coty is the same beauty brand which bought a majority stake in Kylie Cosmetics. So clearly, Coty’s CEO and Kris Jenner must have made similar deals with the devil.

Cosmetics giant Coty Inc. is doubling down on its investment in the Kardashian-Jenner clan. Shares of the Big Apple company jumped by more than 14 percent in early trading on Monday after it announced plans to sink $200 million into a 20-percent stake in Kim Kardashian’s four year-old KKW makeup brand.

The deal calls for Coty to develop new products with Kardashian, including skincare, hair and nail brands, and follows Coty’s $600 million investment last year in the fledgling makeup company of Kardashian’s half-sister, Kylie Jenner, where it now owns a majority stake.

“Kim is a true modern day global icon. She is a visionary, an entrepreneur, a mother, a philanthropist, and through social media has an unparalleled ability to connect with people around the world,” Coty chairman and chief executive, Peter Harf said in a statement. “This influence, combined with Coty’s leadership and deep expertise in prestige beauty will allow us to achieve the full potential of her brands.”

Harf said Coty, which owns CoverGirl and Max Factor brands, will be doubling down on powerful social media brands to drive its growth, which has been struggling this past year due to a heavy debt load and diminished demand for its products.

Harf showed his hand earlier this month when he told investors that he and Kris Jenner — the mom of Kim and Kylie — are “good friends” and that he had access to the family — resulting in a regulatory filing disclosing that Coty was in talks with Kim Kardashian.

[From The New York Post]

“Harf said Coty…will be doubling down on powerful social media brands to drive its growth.” I mean… I get that. Why stick with the old formula of making the same old cosmetics and just hiring a model to be the face of the line? Why do that when they could buy into two cosmetics companies which have a built-in audience and built-in “faces”? This is corporate synergy, right? Still, I’m shocked that Coty wants to get in bed with the Kardashian-Jenners even further, especially since it’s looking like the family lied and misrepresented Kylie’s business so thoroughly. Also: this means that Kim has a “billion dollar business” now too. Which is good, I guess, because Kim was SO jealous of Kylie.

Photos courtesy of Instagram.

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35 Responses to “Coty bought a 20% stake in Kim Kardashian’s KKW Beauty line for $200 million”

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  1. A says:

    This seems all kinds of shady. But what doesn’t these days?

  2. Gutterflower says:

    Jesus her hair in that bottom pic is making me want to find the girl a comb.

  3. Tiffany says:

    In the bottom pic Kim looks good. The eyebrow work, I like on her.

  4. S808 says:

    I have to give props to Skims— they’re amazing. My mom bought me a set from her cotton line and I bought another myself cause they’re so comfy and good quality. I haven’t tried any of her makeup— it looks like basic neutral shades of makeup I already have.

  5. Katie says:

    Stupid SKIMS. If we must buy these shapers, please buy from the countless minority owned stores that make these, and not from Kim, cultural appropriation, Kardashian. Thanks!

    • Sarah says:

      Don’t buy shit from the Kardashians. There are countless lists of ethical, sustainable, and Black-owned brands going around right now. Put your money into small businesses.

  6. LunaSF says:

    There are so many other make up brands that have the exact same pallets and color stories. Nothing new to see here.

  7. SomeChick says:

    I’m not a fan of Kim K, nor of Jennifer Lawrence. That said, the other night I was bouncing around youtube and came across a video with JL interviewing Kim. For some reason, I decided to watch. They are friends, and JL was being goofy (as is her wont) and friendly, but also asking some real questions.

    It turned out to be quite an interesting watch. My takeaway is that Kim is no dummy. She plays one on tee bee, but she’s way more intelligent than the role she plays. Personally, I’m still hoping she passes the bar. She could actually do some good with her life.

    • Valiantly Varnished says:

      I freely admit that I used to watch their show back in the day and one of the major takeaways I had is that Kim is actually pretty smart. She plays at being vapid- which of course she is – but she’s also just as smart about business as Kris is.

    • AMM says:

      I watched that interview too, not being a fan of either. (Especially JLaw, her antics annoy me). I was surprised at how reasonable And relatable Kim was. She’s clearly not a dumb woman. And on a shallow note, I thought she looked great. She’s actually really pretty when she’s not doing the neutral colored – latex – sex doll look.

  8. Valiantly Varnished says:

    Kim actually got a better deal with Coty than Kylie did. LOL

  9. Cat says:

    I honestly don’t understand coty wanting to partner with her kkw line. I work at a retailer that sells it & honestly it just sits on the shelf, hardly anyone ever seems interested in it. Maybe the biggest seller is a nude lip liner or two.

  10. Lara says:

    Did you see Kanye’s tweet congratulating her? It was…. odd

  11. Winnie Cooper’s Mom says:

    Somewhat off topic, but I don’t understand how they don’t donate to charitable causes. First off, it would make complete sense from a financial standpoint to have a family Foundation that would serve as a tax break, rather than giving all those millions to the govt. every year. Secondly, the PR would really help their image, showing them to be more compassionate. Would that mess with their brand too much to be seen as giving back? I don’t get it. Disclaimer: they might donate millions and we just don’t hear about it, but it seems like they would be the first ones on their social media and pushing out press releases if they were giving back.

    • ME says:

      Once in a while they will sell their used clothes (some of which they got for FREE) on Ebay and donate 10% to charity. Their fans have called them out on this. They make a huge profit off selling clothes they got for free.

      • tcbc says:

        And I believe their charity is just a Hollywood megachurch. I guess there’s nothing wrong with donating to a church (would not be my choice, but I’m an atheist), but why would you donate to one that exclusively serves wealthy celebrities?

      • ME says:

        @ tcbc

        I know their mom Kris owns a Church but not sure how much of their own money they donate to it. I do know for the Ebay auctions the 10% (actually it’s less than 10% because of administration fees) goes to a Children’s Hospital. Surely these wealthy women can do better for those sick kids especially seeing how much they profit from a “charity auction”.

      • anon says:

        Like @ tcbc mentions, they have a tax-exempt church to relay htheir profits, they dont really pay taxes to the government…

      • JustFun43 says:

        If you read the fine print the 10% goes to charity… that charity is Kris Jenners “Church”. It is a really shady tactic, that is why you think they are caring or good people but if you start doing your research it is quite the opposite. I read in an interview during Paris Hilton days that Kim was so proud to be a republican and that her mom always told her if she ever wanted to get rich than to start an organization or a church. fast forward 12 years…she has both.

  12. Charfromdarock says:

    Is that bathing suit picture supposed to be sexy?

  13. Queen Meghan's Hand says:

    Like the Kylie Cosmetics deal, this is another SCAM, Celebitches! Details:

    The AFP and The Cut report that with this (measly) 20% purchase Coty will take “overall responsibility” for the KKW brand including development of new products. That is a significant responsibility to only be worth $200M or 20% of an established company with one of the most famous people currently alive as its face.

    Now $200M is a lot of money, but for a “billion dollar” brand, Kardashian-West is selling away a lot of brand responsibility for a relatively small amount of money. If KKW was truly pulling Fenty Beauty-level sales, there is no way she would settle for only $200M and especially not $200M for Coty to take over the brand’s operations.

    This is a scam to bump up Coty’s share price and to hide the terrible business decision of spending too much on Kylie Cosmetics.

  14. Lily says:

    Kim is looking for headlines that will say she is a billionnaire. 20%=200M so 100%would be 1B. Nice try Kim, boost those numbers and hope to get in that “billionnaire” circle Kylie lol

  15. paddingtonjr says:

    At this point, these designations of “billionaire” are just meaningless and the equivalent of a diploma mill certificate. Currently, there are 2,000 documented billionaires in the world; what are the odds 3 of them (Kylie, Kim and Kanye who’s net worth as been rumored at times to be more than $3B) are from the same family? The Kardashian-Jenners have been surprisingly successful at business and licensing their names in the past 20 years since Kim’s sex tape, but I doubt they’ve been that successful.

  16. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Her line should be called Expressionless Expressions.

  17. Elizabeth says:

    Coty is known for “prestige brands”?!

    Sure. Eyeroll. More like known for drugstore cheap stuff.

  18. Becky says:

    Not a dime of my money will go to Kim’s or any other celebrity products. How much $$ do these people need? It’s disgusting. Don’t we all have more pressing concerns And uses for our own money? God knows I do!

  19. Aubrey says:

    Now she is famous for something.

  20. Sarah says:

    What a lousy investment, I swear no one be buying her ugly products in 2020 now that the recession has slowly creeped up

  21. Likeyoucare says:

    Maybe the company is buying their image and influence not their product and maybe the company are paying them with mock money. Not real money just like their product.