Brands
Mithila Palkar comes on board as a brand ambassador for Juleo
Mumbai: Known for her poised and elegant personality and youthful characters in Little Things and The Girl in the City, Mithila Palkar is a popular face in the entertainment industry. Embarking on a new journey, she has adorned the role of brand ambassador for Juleo, a Trusted Exclusive Singles Club. She has portrayed characters reflecting her persona: authentic, go-getter, and a modern woman on a quest for real love and genuine relationships.
An avid believer in real love, Mithila feels that Milne se hi pyaar hota hai. She resonated with Juleo’s mission and campaign of helping people find real love via meeting fast. Seeking inspiration from traditional Indian matchmakers, Juleo focuses on fostering genuine, real-life meetings through an approach to making modern dating and matrimony more responsible and healthy. Onboarding Mithila is a strategic move aligned with Juleo’s long-term expansion strategy and brand-building initiatives. As a part of this association, she will feature in its upcoming marketing initiatives, including social media campaigns.
Juleo founder and CEO Varun Sud said, “From dating app burnout to mental health toll and scams, singles today face unreal challenges in their journey to find real love.”
He added, “By associating with a millennial icon like Mithila Palkar, we want to ignite a movement for responsible and safe dating/matchmaking. Her values, authenticity, and approach to finding a partner mirror Juleo’s, which made her the natural candidate for us. We are excited to welcome her onboard and wish to bring a positive paradigm shift to solve loneliness. We invite singles to apply for Juleo Membership and take a meaningful step towards finding real love.”
Mithila Palkar shared, “I am excited to partner with Juleo. When Juleo approached me, I was bowled over by their fresh approach to matchmaking. Their vision to foster meaningful relationships in real life that provide emotional support, companionship, and a sense of belonging deeply resonates with me. Juleo is on a mission to promote matchmaking in a safe and responsible manner, and encourage singles across the world to come and be a part of this transformative movement.”
Roping in Mithila is the first step in Juleo’s journey. The company has ambitious plans to become the de facto choice for finding a partner.
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.
