Brands
KFC elevates Samir Menon as MD for MENAPakT & India; Moksh Chopra becomes GM
New Delhi: Leading QSR brand, KFC India announced key changes to its leadership in India. Moksh Chopra has been elevated as the General Manager for KFC India BMU (Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives), effective 15 July 2022.
He succeeds Samir Menon, who will take on the regional role of Managing Director of MENAPakT (Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, Turkey) and India. Samir and Moksh, along with the robust leadership team, have been instrumental in driving the stellar performance of KFC in India.
On assuming the new role, Moksh Chopra said, “We are famous for serving Finger Lickin’ good food, that’s done the right way. I’m privileged & honoured to be leading the mandate for the brand in India. We have been driving significant growth in the Indian market with disruptive products, expanding our footprint with more than 600 restaurants, strengthening our regional outreach, increasing access and enhancing customer experience. I look forward to deepening KFC’s relevance, while retaining the distinctiveness KFC is known for – in India, with India.”
Speaking about his move Samir Menon said, “I am honoured and excited to be able to galvanize the strategy for KFC’s next chapter of growth for the MENAPakT & India region. While we continue to build on the strategic roadmap for India, I look forward to driving our global strategy and delivering long-term, sustainable growth for the brand, our teams, franchisee partners and customers. With Moksh’s rich experiences and excellence in strategic thinking, he has proven to be an incredible leader for KFC India BMU; and would continue to unlock potential for the brand.”
The KFC India BMU witnessed breakthrough growth under Samir’s stewardship. Thanks to his heart-led leadership and drive for performance, the brand has emerged as a leading QSR player in every country in the region.
During his tenure as chief marketing officer, Moksh Chopra has led and executed a winning formula for success for the brand across all the markets in the region, consistently delivering sales and category-leading brand metrics. Both Samir & Moksh have been associated with the brand for over a decade now and partnering closely with the forward-thinking leadership team, they have crafted the go-forward strategy for the India business, creating the roadmap for continued growth.
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.
