MAM
Marico forays into male grooming segment with hair cream
MUMBAI: In a market that currently stands at about Rs 450 million ( including hair gels), FMCG major Marico has decided to expand and capitalise the premium male grooming category with the launch of Parachute ‘After Shower Hair Cream’ for men.
This is Parachute’s first diversified product outside hair oil. And it is not going to end here. According to category head Sameer Sathpathy, Marico is looking at expanding its offering with a slew of male grooming products. “The launch of Parachute’s hair cream comes with the fact that male personal grooming segment is just about taking off. The category itself is in a nascent stage. The plan is to grow with it. So, the focus is more long term and futuristic.”
The hair cream product is being launched pan-India, after a three-month test marketing stint done in Mumbai. It is priced lower at Rs. 29 (50gm tube) and Rs 55 (100gm jar) as against rival Brylcream which costs Rs 25 (50 gm tube) and Rs 65 (150 gm jar).
If one had to look at the market dynamics of the hair cream segment, the total market stands at about Rs 200 – 250 million. Brylcream, which is a heritage brand occupies 80 per cent of the segment. Interestingly, former Indian wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer was a regular face in the “Brylcream” advertisement in the 70s.
Parachute’s ‘After Shower Hair Cream’ is being positioned as premium, international as well as high on the hair nutrition content aimed at offering solutions to everyday hair styling needs of men.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the product’s differentiating proposition, Marico Industries chief marketing Saugata Gupta explains, “The product is slightly different from the existing cream products. It contains nutritious, sensorial and non-sticky factors in tandem with the whole Parachute brand offering of healthy hair. Also, we are looking at expanding the market as penetration levels for hair creams are very low.”
During the test marketing phase conducted in Mumbai, Parachute ‘After Shower Hair Cream’ picked up 25 per cent market share of the hair cream segment, Gupta points out.
The product will be competing with all the variables in the post wash space; be it hair styling gels or hair creams, the core TG being young married men. Explains Sathpathy, “Our focus is on the young unmarried men. We are positioning the product as a look enhancer which generally is priority when men are playing the mating game.”
The nation media launch unveils on 26 March; with the metros and middle metros being the core regions.
On the advertising front, Marico has roped in cricketer, Yuvraj Singh as the brand ambassador of the product.
The ad, created by Ambience Publicis, is themed on “Style on.. everyday” showcasing Yuvraj at different moments of his day with his hair well-styled, whether it be on the field diving for a catch, or socialising with friends. Shot by fashion photographer, Atul Kasbekar, the ad also shows Yuvraj in a new avatar, with a stylish “after shower look.”
Ambience Publicis national creative director Pushpinder Singh says, “Its imperative to understand that Parachute ‘After Shower Hair Cream’ is not looking at eating into anybody’s market share but at expanding the market. The target group essentially being men who currently use water or oil to set their hair.”
Singh also said that one conclusion that was emerging, was that they needed a brand ambassador who was a hero in real life unlike film stars. “Yuvraj apart from being an ace cricketer also has his own persona with a touch of arrogance that is very enduring. He is at the right level of aspiration and style.”
Apart from TV, this new campaign will be executed across other media, including outdoor, cinema and radio. Non traditional mediums being used are content integration, tie-ups with parlours and the Internet.
The challenges that this segment offer are clearly low penetration levels of the hair cream segment. Firstly, hair grooming is not really on the priory list of males. And, there is the negative perception of the damaging effects of hair products.
Parachute, though, is hoping to ride on the back of its goodwill to break these perceptions while creating new habits.
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.
