“Playboy’s rich history of glamour, indulgence and fun, combined with a cutting-edge lifestyle creates the perfect formula for a new men’s fragrance line,” Coty CEO Bernd Beetz said. “One of the world’s most-recognized and iconic brands, Playboy is known by men and women around the world. We anticipate that this fragrance will quickly become a successful part of our lifestyle brands portfolio at Coty Beauty.”
A product launch event is being planned for this summer and the new fragrance is scheduled for global distribution beginning in the fall, with initial plans to launch in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
“With Coty’s global success and impressive fragrance industry expertise, they were clearly the right partner for our fragrance debut,” Playboy CEO and chairman Christie Hefner said. “Just as Francois Coty revolutionized the fragrance industry over 100 years ago, my father started a revolution over a half-century ago. There is no one better to work with on the development of Playboy’s first global fragrance.”
Coty was created in Paris in 1904 by Francois Coty, who is credited with founding the modern fragrance industry. Today, Coty Inc. is the world's largest fragrance company with annual net sales in excess of $3.5 billion, a company spokesperson said. Coty sells products in 91 markets worldwide, including signature products bearing the names of Celine Dion, Calvin Klein, Jennifer Lopez, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Cole, Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue, Shania Twain, Sarah Jessica Parker and Vera Wang.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.