MAM
Indian Moms prioritizing themselves: Ipsos Mothering Excellence Study 2018
MUMBAI: A typical Indian mom conjures up images of sacrificing oneself to the role of motherhood. Cut to Circa 2018, Ipsos study christened ‘Mothering Excellence’ shows that the Indian and Asian mothers are turning ‘Me Focused’ from being ‘Child Focused’ in their quest to be role model moms.
Ashwini Sirsikar, Country Service Line Head of Ipsos UU (Qualitative Research division) sees a shift 2018, from 2015, when the study was last undertaken: “With the mom playing a more active and assertive role, she wants to be the best version of herself, in all her roles, including that of being a mom. So, being a good mom is about being her best self. Along with her family’s happiness she is focusing on her own happiness, fulfilment, identity and strengths and this positive mindset is a shift from the conventional role of the mother who always puts the family first.”
Further the study shows, there is a stronger expression for the need of freedom, experimentation and exploration as moms. The conscious need to make the experience of being a mom enjoyable. We see more digitally savvy moms. They are focusing on developing kids as individuals (in their own right), at the same time looking at a life beyond being a mother and a caregiver. Interestingly, we see a backlash to the pursuit of domination, advantage and competitiveness; the need to have overperforming kids still exists, but the practice of using privilege, money or power is increasingly rejected. A level playing field is desired by all.
The study provides an insightful overview of the trends and scope around the topic of mothering motivations. The contemporary insights around mothering provide marketers the opportunity to review their market, brand and category strategy and communication, in this context to arrive at the right brand positioning. Ergo, it unravels consumer centric motivations for brand inputs.
Mothering Excellence is a qualitative study undertaken to understand mothering motivations of Asian Moms and was carried out in 11 Asian markets (India, Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines). It was a comprehensive study conducted via social listening (we looked at conversations around mothering on social media sites), netnography (where we zoned in on high traffic websites specific to each market, to understand the themes and conversations), spoke to experts like marketers, communicators, nutritionists, pediatricians, counsellors etc. and brainstormed with internal resource of Dimensionalizers (senior qualitative research staff, who are mums themselves). While the foundational work of the study was done in 2015 to derive core motivations and themes, it was reviewed in the fag-end of 2018, to monitor the shift in manifestations and expressions of mothers and their mothering motivations. This study is the update.
“While the core motivations do not undergo changes easily year on year, we believe the manifestations and expressions are always dynamic and do change and provide us rich inspiration to ensure our engagement with mums stays fresh and contemporary,” added Sirsikar.
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.
