MAM
Harley-Davidson India launches #FreedomStoriesIndia : Social media campaign highlighting unique stories of Harley Riders
MUMBAI: Building on its approach to transform owners into brand ambassadors, Harley-Davidson India has launched an innovative campaign on social media that also inspires the new wave of riders. Harley-Davidson’s #FreedomStoriesIndia is an initiative that captures the journeys and philosophies of passionate members of the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G. ®). The first episode of the video series that went live on the brand’s social media platforms on February 20, showcases the relationship shared by the first seven Regional Directors of the H.O.G. Community with their machines & the bond within.
The first leg of #FreedomStoriesIndia is an eight-part series highlighting the brand’s affinity with seven prominent flagbearers of the community – Bikram Puri (Pune), Farooq Ahmed (Bangalore), Harpreet Singh Khurmi (Delhi), Salamat Sharieff (Bangalore), Saurin Shah (Ahmedabad), Sreedhar Raju (Mumbai) and Vinay Singh Rajput (Ahmedabad) – the first appointed Regional Directors in the H.O.G. Community who have been heavily invested in building the large Harley Owners Group network since its inception in India. Every episode delves deeper into their stories as every owner is seen narrating their own story emphasizing why riding really matters and how Harley-Davidson has changed their lives by adding the element of freedom. Throughout the year, Harley-Davidson India will be identifying interesting stories of H.O.G. members and narrating their tales as part of the #FreedomStoriesIndia initiative. Perfectly summarizing the Harley-Davidson way of life, the video series will enhance the sense of “oneness” in the community.
Speaking about the film, Sajeev Rajasekharan, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India, said, “#FreedomStoriesIndia displays a special flavor of the H.O.G. community to the world. Harley-Davidson has always stood for freedom of expression and the video series beautifully captures this. Over the last decade, Harley owners have stood by us and have helped us to grow from strength to strength and this campaign is our way of celebrating the H.O.G. community. Our focus has always been to put our riders at the forefront and with #FreedomStoriesIndia, we have nailed it.”
For Harley-Davidson India, it has been a decade of leading by example when it comes to successful community engagement through various initiatives such as Find Your Freedom, Custom Contests, India H.O.G. Rally & Zonal Rallies, strong awards and recognition programmes, Harley-Davidson Riding Academy, Harley Rock Riders and Passport to Freedom. Today, the H.O.G. community is the largest offline social network in India with 7,500 live members. Since its inception in 2012, the Harley Owners Group has attracted 20,000 members in India to define their freedom of expression through its heavy emphasis on community building.
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.
