MAM
Milestone Dentsu to handle Numero Uno duties
MUMBAI: Milestone Dentsu, the creative arm of Milestone Brandcom, the OOH agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network, has bagged the creative mandate for the leading fashion brand, Numero Uno. The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch.
Commenting on the decision Numero Uno Clothing CMD Narinder Singh Dhingra said, “We want the brand to be interesting and relevant with the changing times. The brand must evolve over time and in this quest, we need the right partner who not only understands the consumers but also knows how to disrupt their purchase decision process through path-breaking communication. We have found that partner in Milestone Dentsu. We loved their young energy and enthusiasm to work on the brand. We are quite excited about the brilliant approach and compelling storytelling that they bring on board.”
Numero Uno head of marketing Asha Esther Jaikishan said, “At Numero Uno we have been wanting to strengthen our brand in the category that’s cluttered. Our focus now is to build our brand positioning with interesting story-telling along with creative ideas to entice our TG. Milestone Dentsu came across as an agile agency, unlike the traditional creative agencies that we have met in the past. They are aggressive, young and restless, exactly what we need to take our brand to the next level. Their approach, tonality, and flexibility compliment our TG and hence, we have great confidence in the team. We are really excited to work with them.”
Milestone Dentsu country head Ujjwal Anand added, "From the moment we got the brief to the first kickass idea that we cracked, the team was charged up like never before. The category itself is so interesting and challenging that it gives you countless opportunities to do some real outstanding work. And this excitement reached another level when we met Narinder Singh Dhingra, who is the youngest and most agile client that we have met in recent times, we believe. His energy is simply contagious. Working on Numero Uno is going to be a treat for my creative team.”
Milestone Dentsu national creative director Mayank Khattar said, “This win is very special for us. The energy, the response, the promptness, the on the spot transparent discussion; it’s just been awesome. When you work with brands like Numero Uno who have absolute clarity and transparency along with immense energy, you know you have hit a goldmine and your creative team will have all the freedom to explore unchartered territories and conduct experiments that might redefine the way the category communicates. It’s going to be a great partnership, I reckon.”
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.
