MAM
GCMA strives to increase export sales of content in Thailand, Indonesia by 20% in three years
18th October 2016 – Global Creative and Media Agency (GCMA), Southeast Asia’s leading private media agency championing the creative industry’s trade export, continues to grow its presence in Southeast Asia the appointment of Ms. Nathamon Singhathewakul as a country manager in Thailand. Mr. Hendy Lim (former Vice President of Contents and Events at MNC Group) has also been confirmed as their partner in Indonesia.
Through the expansion, GCMA strives to increase the export sales of content in Thailand and Indonesia by 20 percent within three years. To foster the region’s trade economy in the entertainment industry to greater heights, both Ms. Singhathewakul and Mr. Lim are to act as an intermediary for GCMA; to assist in elevating the quality of content development with the possibility for co-production between Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other global players. With Ms. Singhathewakul and Mr. Lim’s vast experience, GCMA will work closely with private and government bodies as well as media players in both countries by providing an advisory role in relation to ne strategy in content, trends, and world-class markets in the region.
“As the official Southeast Asia representative of Reed Midem, the world’s leading organiser of media entertainment global markets; GCMA has successfully nurtured Malaysia’s creative industry in the past six years through the promotion of content at world-class festivals, trade events, and business-to-business engagements. In addition, GCMA has increased the participation of Southeast Asian creative companies to Mipcom 2016, especially from Thailand and Indonesia to further promote their content to the world stage,” said Adam Ham, CEO of GCMA, who also revealed that the agency seeks to expand its presence in Vietnam and the Philippines next year.
Furthermore, the expansion is in tandem with GCMA’s 10-year plan since its establishment in 2011; to assist in developing the potential of ASEAN’s creative economy and trade, particularly in content development and co-productions. Over the years, GCMA have successfully facilitate the local industry leaders such as the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia (KKMM) and others to promote Malaysian content to the world in areas such as television, film, animation, music, licensing and merchandising.
In addition, GCMA has built up its clientele base with local media players in both Thailand and Indonesia, namely MNC Media, RCTI, SCTV, Workpoint, M-COT, Thai-PBS, and government institutes, such as Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) and Department of Industry Trade and Promotion (DITP) of Thailand as well as Indonesia’s Badan Ekonomi Kreatif (BEKRAF) and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
