MAM
Rajasthan Royals eyes $1 mn revenue from ticket sales
MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals is eyeing revenues of over $1 million from its ticket sales. And, to achieve the target, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise has tied up with retail chain Suvidhaa Infoserve to be its retail ticketing partner.
Tickets for the seven Rajasthan Royals home matches will be available at Suvidhaa Infoserve’s 18,000 outlets across the country. In Rajasthan, Suvidhaa has 1,000 outlets. These include cyber cafes, mobile booths and grocery stores. Suvidhaa will get a commission on the number of tickets sold.
Rajasthan Royals CEO Sean Morris says that through the deal fans will get tickets in a convenient manner. “We do tie ups that are innovative in nature. Ticket prices range from Rs 500 to Rs 1000. We are targeting revenues of over $1 million from these ticket sales.”
Additionally, for each match, 750 hospitality seats will be available. These are priced between Rs 20,000-25,000. Morris also said that there was no truth to a report that said that the franchise has mandated PwC to find a buyer for it.
Suvidhaa Infoserve founder MD and CEO Paresh Rajde notes that the company will offer the Rajasthan Royals a vast retail network that will support the ticket sales. “Thanks to the huge fan following we believe that more and more people will access our S-platform. We also have deals with the soccer teams Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. Our aim is to make our tie up with the Rajasthan Royals a long term relationship,” says Rajde.
A sports marketing expert says that Rajasthan will earn $2.5 million from ticket sales. Mumbai will fare the best in terms of revenue from ticket sales. It could earn even $3.2 million. Bangalore and Delhi will each earn around $3 million. Delhi though is hurt by the fact that it has to give some free tickets to the DDCA. Attendance is expected to be the best in Mumbai and Delhi. Kolkata and Punjab will not earn more than $2 million. In Kolkata two stands were taken down. Punjab‘s stadium is small compared with the other centres. The ticket pricing will be the highest in Mumbai and Delhi. The ticket revenues that franchises will earn will mark around a 40- 50 per cent rise compared with the first season says the expert.
Emerging Media CMO Raghu Iyer says that a lot of attention is being paid to the hospitality facilities. In terms of sponsorships, the franchise is targeting a 50 per cent revenue growth over the second season. There are two spots remaining.
Overall, he expects that local revenues for the team will at least double given that last time around ticket revenue was not high. Marketing and promotional activities will start from 16 February 2010. There will be print, television, radio and outdoor campaign. The theme of the campaign will revolve around the never say die attitude of the team and the attributes of valour and bravery that the team stands for.
Shilpa Shetty, who owns a stake in the team, will be doing promotional events for the franchise. These will include meet and greet events with fans along with some promotional launches. Iyer also reveals that Shetty has shot another music video. “This time though we have put a spin on the concept of the music video. When people see it they will be taken by surprise,” says Iyer.
On the licensing and merchandising front, Puma has put together a comprehensive product line. “We were impressed at the effort that the company has made. It will include a host of products like footwear, bags. This will launch from 15 February 2010. Initially our focus will be on Rajasthan and Ahmedabad as that is where our core fan base is,” Iyer adds.
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.
