MAM
Castrol and bp team up with Mumbai Indians for 2024 cricket league
Mumbai: Castrol, a subsidiary of the bp group and a globally acclaimed lubricant brand, has announced its association with Mumbai Indians (MI) as the ‘official performance partner’ for the upcoming cricketing league, commencing on 22 March 2024.
This association underscores Castrol’s enduring legacy of aligning with some of the world’s most prestigious sporting extravaganzas. Notably, Castrol’s previous partnership with JioCinema for streaming the 2023 TATA Indian Premier League as an associate sponsor underscores its dedication to top-tier sports events.
As Mumbai Indians’ official performance partner, emblems of bp and Castrol will prominently be visible on the lead leg of all player’s official gear throughout the league 2024 season. With a century-long reputation for delivering performance-driven products and services, bp and Castrol’s partnership with Mumbai Indians, a global franchise renowned for its consistent and stellar performances, resonates deeply with the brand’s core values.
Castrol India Ltd VP and head of marketing Rohit Talwar expressed his delight, stating, “We are thrilled to associate with Mumbai Indians, a team synonymous with excellence in the most celebrated cricketing league. With seven championships under their belt, MI epitomizes high performance in cricket. Their relentless pursuit of excellence mirrors Castrol’s commitment to high-performance lubricants. This association underscores our dedication to offering nothing but the best to our customers, and we wholeheartedly support the team in their endeavour for the tournament.”
A spokesperson of Mumbai Indians remarked, “We are thrilled to welcome Castrol and bp join us. Their global market dominance, coupled with our expansive fan base, presents a unique opportunity for them to reach out to a captive fan base through the partnership with MI.”
This association with a storied team marks a significant milestone for Castrol as it embarks on an exciting journey anchored in innovation and technology. With a steadfast belief in the enduring demand for mobility solutions for internal combustion engines and a commitment to introducing cutting-edge products for India’s burgeoning EV segment, Castrol aims to engage with a broader audience and reaffirm their status as the preferred choice for advanced performance lubricants and services.
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.
