Kylie Cosmetics

Can Kylie Cosmetics move beyond its famous founder to achieve long-term success?

Lindsay Carlson, Jorge Guzman  | Spring 2020
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In late 2015 Kylie Jenner, the youngest Kardashian daughter, launched her first proprietary cosmetics product, The Kylie Lip Kit, to instant market success. Fueled by an already existing social media community and with the support of an outsourced production and distribution team, less than four years later, Jenner had greatly expanded the portfolio of her beauty products and her company, Kylie Cosmetics, was valued at $9000M. CEO and Kylie had become the youngest self-made billionaire in history. Yet despite this early momentum and an abundance of media buzz, customers proved to be less than loyal, and by late 2019 growth was beginning to slow. In November of that year beauty conglomerate Coty, Inc. acquired a controlling stake in Kylie Cosmetics, with Coty’s shares jumping 6% following the announcement of the deal. In this case, students will gain exposure to the unique market drivers of the cosmetics industry and will be asked to consider whether Jenner’s brand –and the products it represents—has staying power.

Case ID: 200407

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