Despite a contract to get one of the hottest new names in makeup, beauty giant directors led by Coty Inc. had unethical concerns.
Will sales fall if the boss decides another child? Can the 22-year-old social media star reliably stay out of trouble? What role will her mother play?
Last year, Coty devised a plan to pay $ 600 million for a controlling stake in a makeup startup founded by Kylie Jenner, star of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, a business-focused move revitalizing beauty that relies on drug store staples like Cover Girl and Max Factor.
Coty’s executives eventually decided that Kylie Cosmetics’ measures — $ 200 million in annual revenue with less than a dozen employees and almost no advertising cost — outweighed their concerns. There were also strong comments from Ms Jenner’s mother, Kris Jenner, who helped launch the company in 2015 and led negotiations.
A year after closing the contract, Kylie Cosmetics has both strengthened its new parent and dealt with blows – although the company did not initially expect it.