Beauty / news
Coty Taps Kara Langan to Lead U.S. Consumer Beauty as Marketing Support Returns
Kara Langan takes over as general manager of Coty's U.S. Consumer Beauty division on October 13, as the company restores marketing support for CoverGirl and Sally Hansen and builds out its mass fragrance business.
Langan will oversee the mass-market makeup and fragrance portfolio in Coty's largest consumer beauty market, with responsibility for brands including CoverGirl and Sally Hansen. Her start date is October 13.
The move follows the arrival of Vanessa Kidd as executive vice president of Lifestyle Scenting Global Brands and New Product Development. Coty said the two appointments together support a broader push to revive its mass-market makeup and fragrance operations.
Gordon von Bretten, Coty's president of Consumer Beauty, said the division had cycled between marketing approaches in ways that left some long-established brands without enough backing. "Sally Hansen had pretty much gone dark because there was no money to support it, and we found the money to support it," he said.
Von Bretten said the nail care brand has returned to growth after renewed investment, even as its category remains broadly flat. He did not give a growth rate or specify the period covered.
The U.S. represents roughly half of Coty's Consumer Beauty business, according to von Bretten, who said Langan's hiring reflects his aim of giving the market wider management oversight. The company is also rebalancing spending between creator partnerships and traditional advertising as it expands in mass fragrance.