NEW YORK, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Coty Inc. today announced that it will join DKMS, the world’s largest non-profit stem cell donor center, in its mission to save the lives of those with blood cancer.
“Through this partnership with DKMS, Coty Inc. not only will enrich the lives of its employees, but it also will benefit the community at large,” said Bernd Beetz, Coty CEO. “Coty Inc. is honored to form this alliance with DKMS and to support this innovative organization’s work to increase the donor base available to leukemia patients worldwide.”
Coty Inc. will leverage its global network of more than 6,500 employees, as well as its partners and consumer base, to raise awareness of DKMS and to increase donor numbers.
Coty Inc. selected DKMS as its cause-related partner because leukemia has touched the lives of many of its employees, including Coty Chairman, Peter Harf, who lost his wife, Mechtild, to the disease after an unsuccessful stem cell transplant. Together with his daughter, DKMS Americas CEO Katharina Harf, Harf recruits bone marrow donors around the world. In 2005 alone, DKMS successfully recruited 120,000 donors.
“The partnership between Coty Inc. and DKMS provides a unique opportunity to unite our employees behind a shared cause,” said Beetz. “Just as each individual makes a difference within the company, each donor registered by DKMS potentially may save a life.”
About DKMS
Peter Harf and his wife’s physician, Professor Gerhard Ehninger, founded DKMS, (Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei, or German Bone Marrow Donor Center), in Germany in 1991 when they were looking for a matching donor for Mechtild Harf, who died from acute leukemia.
Harf and Ehninger created DKMS to help more patients in need find their donor match. Since its inception, DKMS has facilitated more than 9,000 transplants and become the world’s largest non-profit stem cell donor center, with more than 1.4 million donors. For additional information about DKMS, please visit http://www.dkmsamericas.org .
About Coty Inc.
Coty Inc. was created in Paris in 1904 by François Coty who is credited with founding the modern fragrance industry. Coty Inc. delivers innovative products to consumers in 91 markets worldwide.
Today, Coty Inc. is the world’s largest fragrance company and a recognized leader in global beauty with annual net sales of $2.9 billion. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, passion, innovation and creativity, Coty Inc. has developed an unrivaled portfolio of over 35 designer, celebrity and lifestyle brands.
The Coty Prestige brand portfolio is distributed in prestige and ultra- prestige stores and includes designer brands -- Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Chloe, Jette Joop, Jil Sander, JOOP!, Kenneth Cole, Marc Jacobs, Nikos, Vera Wang and Vivienne Westwood; celebrity brands -- Desperate Housewives, Jennifer Lopez and Sarah Jessica Parker; and lifestyle brands -- Baby Phat, Chopard, Davidoff, Lancaster and Nautica.
The Coty Beauty brand portfolio is more widely distributed and includes designer brand -- Pierre Cardin; celebrity brands -- Celine Dion, David and Victoria Beckham, Isabella Rossellini, Kylie Minogue, mary-kateandashley and Shania Twain; and lifestyle brands -- adidas, Aspen, Astor, Calgon, Chupa Chups, Esprit, Exclamation, Jovan, Miss Sixty, Miss Sporty, Rimmel, Stetson, the healing garden and Vanilla Fields.
For additional information about Coty Inc., please visit http://www.coty.com .
Coty Inc.
CONTACT: Jessica Carlson for Coty, +1-312-751-4192 (office),+1-312-515-0501 (cell), jessica.carlson@fleishman.com
