Governor Pat McCrory, N.C. Commerce Secretary John E. Skvarla, III, and the Economic Development Partnership of N.C. announced Coty, Inc., a global leader in beauty products, will expand its manufacturing facility in Lee County and is planning to hire an additional 25 employees. Coty also plans to invest approximately $19 million at the site during the next three years.
“Manufacturing is a key component of the Carolina Comeback,” said Governor McCrory. “Coty is the latest major global company to announce plans to expand its manufacturing operations here in North Carolina.”
Since Governor McCrory took office in January of 2013, North Carolina has witnessed the net creation of more than 250,000 private-sector jobs.
Coty is a leading global beauty company with a portfolio of well-known fragrances, color cosmetics and skin & body care products sold in over 130 countries and territories. Coty's product offerings include such global brands as adidas, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Davidoff, Marc Jacobs, OPI, philosophy, Playboy, Rimmel and Sally Hansen. The company reported net revenues of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. Coty has announced an agreement, subject to customary regulatory approval, to merge with P&G's fine fragrance, color cosmetics and hair color businesses (the “P&G Specialty Beauty Business”), the successful completion of which is expected to create one of the world’s largest pure play beauty companies and double the size of Coty by revenues.
Coty’s existing Lee County workforce totals more than 750 employees, as well as several hundred contractors. Coty expanded workforce will include production line workers. The average annual payroll of the new jobs will be approximately $1.1 million.
“Manufacturing employs nearly 463,000 North Carolinians and accounts for 20 percent of our GDP,” said Secretary Skvarla. “Highly productive workers, a pro-business climate, a competitive cost-structure and great quality of life are among the many reasons our state leads the Southeast in manufacturing employment.”
Enric Prat Codina, Sanford Plant General Manager, Coty, said, “Coty is pleased to be able to expand our Sanford, North Carolina plant and bring new jobs to the state. We have had a strong presence in North Carolina for 45 years and would like to thank the State of North Carolina and Lee County for its ongoing support.”
Coty’s expansion in North Carolina was made possible in part by a performance-based grant of up to $62,000 from the One North Carolina Fund. The One NC Fund provides financial assistance in support of local governments in creating jobs and attracting economic investment. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for grant funds. All One NC grants require a local government match.
In addition to North Carolina Commerce and EDPNC, other partners in the project include the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, NCWorks, Lee County, the City of Sanford and the Sanford Area Growth Alliance.