Coty Interim CEO Markus Strobel has reaffirmed the French beauty giant’s position on its Gucci beauty and fragrance licence, which was acquired by L’Oréal as part of its Kering Beauté deal in 2025.
Strobel, speaking during a Q&A session as part of Coty’s Q3 2026 financial update, maintained that Coty is still open to an early exit, after being asked about his previous stance on disposal ahead of the licence’s maturity.
“When it comes to Gucci, yes, obviously we are open to everything — to an early exit,” said Strobel in the call.
“It needs to create value for us, and for our shareholders.
“And if anything becomes clear and fixed, we will obviously notify the public, as it is based on our requirements.”
Strobel, whose salary was recently revealed in a report by Cosmetics Business, also stated that the brand owner was “very happy” with its current portfolio.
He continued: “We are very happy with our brands on the business side, and each of them has an important role to play for us in the future.
“And if you go to this specific article, Burberry and Hugo Boss are our biggest brands, they are our global brands, and we love them, and we continue to strongly build them in the future.”
It follows Coty reporting its third quarter financial update, with revenues being impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The Kylie Cosmetics-owner reported a net revenue decrease of 1% to US$1.28bn on a reported basis, while on a like-for-like (LFL) basis net revenue declined 7%.
This included an estimated 1.4% headwind from the war in Iran.
Coty’s Gucci licence situation explained
Kering revealed its intent to sell its beauty division to L’Oréal in October 2025, which has seen the beauty giant acquire fragrance and beauty licences across a number of Kering brands, such as House of Creed.
The partnership also includes the rights to enter into a 50-year exclusive licence for the creation, development, and distribution of fragrance and beauty products for Gucci.
This will commence after the expiration of the current licence with Coty, which is set to end in 2028.
Coty has held the licence to create Gucci products for more than a decade, having acquired it through the purchase of Procter & Gamble's speciality beauty business in 2016.
L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus has also previously expressed an interest in earlier access to the Gucci beauty and fragrance licence.
Speaking during a webcast for L’Oréal’s full-year 2025 update, Hieronimus was asked about L’Oréal’s interest in closing the Gucci licence deal earlier.
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