Brands
Mercedes-Benz India plans to expand its retail footprint with pop-up stores to connect with the youth
MUMBAI: In a bid to attract more customers and create brand consumerism, Mercedes-Benz India is coming up with 7 retail pop-up stores. One of which has already been inaugurated in Lower Parel in Mumbai, there are 6 more stores which will be opened in Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Goa.
For the year 2016, with the brand philosophy ‘Winning with Mercedes-Benz’, the company is reaching closer and making its presence felt to its esteemed and discerning customers. The idea is to win the heart and the mind of consumers based on these innovative initiatives to create more awareness, brand recall and connect with consumers on an interpersonal level. The locations of these pop up stores are selected strategically, based on consumer mapping and behavioural patterns.
These pop-up stores will be positioned in places like lounges, pubs, cafes and restaurants to reach out to a larger target audience, this way Mercedes-Benz will be able to reach to youngsters in metros and Tier I markets. These pop-up stores will see sections such as branding and audio-visuals which will enhance consumer interest towards brand Mercedes-Benz. The customers will be able to engross themselves through special Mercedes-Benz applications and merchandise available at these stores.
Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, “The pop-up stores will increase our visibility in the market as we plan to tap the young generation through it. This is a novel way to create a brand connect with youngsters who are extremely enthusiastic about cars. We are opening pop-up stores in multiple places to understand the likeability and choices of today’s outgoing generation. This further helps us in expansion of such initiatives that will give a sense of exclusivity to our customers and build a positive affinity towards the brand.”
These innovations will help to compete in a market where traditional luxury norms become lesser relevant day-by-day. The year 2016 has a strong line-up of product launches from Mercedes-Benz including 12 new offerings and 10 new dealership inaugurations across markets. Mercedes-Benz aims at a sustained double digit growth in this year too.
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.
