MAM
Chris Nicholas takes charge as CEO of Walmart International
MUMBAI: The trolley just got bigger. After steering one of the world’s most influential membership retailers, Chris Nicholas is now taking the global aisle. Chris Nicholas has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Walmart International, succeeding Kathryn McLay. The move marks a significant leadership shift as Walmart sharpens its international ambitions across diverse markets.
Announcing the transition, Nicholas struck an upbeat note, pointing to the strength of Walmart’s global teams and its culture of rapid innovation. “We have strong businesses led by incredible teams across our markets, a culture of rapid innovation, and a timeless purpose to help people save money and live better,” he said, adding that he was eager to “shape the future of global retail together” and get “on the road”.
Nicholas arrives with deep institutional knowledge. Most recently, he served as president and CEO of Sam’s Club, where he led the membership-based retailer through a period of reinvention. Under his watch, Sam’s Club doubled down on exclusive value, convenience and a more integrated omnichannel ecosystem, redefining how members shop across physical and digital touchpoints.
Before that, Nicholas was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Walmart U.S., overseeing store operations and the supply chain. His remit spanned strategy, innovation, automation, distribution and fulfilment centres, last-mile delivery and real estate, a portfolio that put him at the operational heart of the retailer.
Nicholas first joined Walmart in 2018 as deputy chief financial officer, later becoming CFO of Walmart International and then CFO of Walmart U.S. That financial grounding is matched by a long global retail career: over two decades across nine countries, with senior leadership roles at Tesco, The Salling Group and Coles Group, where he played a role in major transformation across Australia’s supermarket sector.
Academically, Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Management Science from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and is a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA).
With experience that spans finance, operations and global transformation, Nicholas now takes charge of Walmart’s international businesses at a time when scale, speed and local relevance matter more than ever. For Walmart, it’s a familiar leader, just operating on a much bigger map.
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.
