MAM
Synovate announces global media research services expansion
MUMBAI: Leading global research firm Synovate has announced an expansion of its media research services. The new global group will be based in London and led by Steve Garton, currently director, Media Research for Synovate in Asia Pacific.
Global CEO for Synovate, Adrian Chedore, said that the move recognised media owners and media specialists need international solutions and best practices. “Many of our media clients are global and, by mirroring their operations, Synovate will be better able to meet and anticipate their needs.
“Media audiences are changing at a spectacular speed, so this move will keep us across the fundamental shifts that are now occurring across the world, principally due to digitisation and the range of choices consumers now have.”This expansion of our services also reflects the importance Synovate places on media research – we are committed to quality and committed to providing innovative thinking to help meet the needs of our clients,” he said.
Garton has been in charge of the Synovate PAX media surveys for the past four years. These studies are now running in 19 markets across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, where they have become the currency for upscale audiences in two of the world’s fastest growing regions. In addition, he has introduced a range of syndicated and customised media surveys to meet clients’ requirements, states an official release.
The media team has been further boosted with the appointment of Craig Harvey in the role of director, Media Research – Asia Pacific. Mr Harvey joined Synovate on 3 July 2006 and is responsible for Synovate PAX in the region, as well as the continued development of the Synovate Media Atlas survey and ad hoc studies, the release adds.
Reporting to Garton and based in Hong Kong, Harvey was most recently with Publicis Groupe Media as regional director of Consumer Insights. In the past, he has held a variety of media roles with CVSC-Sofres Media, Starcom Media and Granada Media.
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.
