MAM
Jayant Kapre joins Avon as new MD India
MUMBAI: Avon announced the appointment of Jayant Kapre as the new managing director for Avon India. In his new role, Kapre will be responsible for driving the overall growth for Avon businesses in India.
Kapre is a seasoned leader with more than two decades of work experience across industries. He has spent the last 10 years building profitable businesses from the ground up in Indian as well as south-east Asian markets. Kapre has a successful track record of leading multinational organisations, while independently managing the complete business and P&L (Profit and Loss) responsibilities.
In his previous roles, he has worked with Unilever, Wrigley, PepsiCo and United Biscuits across business leadership roles. He is a specialist in starting up businesses and brands in new spaces, and further, has experience in managing various go-to-market channels viz. general trade, modern trade and e-commerce.
Commenting on his new role at AVON, Kapre said, “I am truly inspired by the work AVON has been delivering over the last 130 years to economically empower women through beauty and the commitment to making a positive social, economic and environmental impact to local communities. Together with a strong purpose-driven approach at heart, innovative and iconic products to meet the needs of Indian consumers and a highly capable team, I am looking forward to driving the next phase of growth for the business and contributing to its success.”
Kapre has done his masters in business administration from IIM Ahmedabad, one of the top B-schools of India, and BA in economics from Hindu College, Delhi University.
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.
