Brands
A golden stroke: White Gold backs Unico as agency levels up creatively
Bengaluru: All that glitters is not just gold; sometimes it’s a good idea. White Gold has placed a confident bet on creativity, announcing a strategic investment in Unico Graphix Private Limited, which has now rebranded itself as Unico Creative Studios. The move signals not just fresh capital but also a bold expansion of the agency’s creative, digital, and immersive ambitions.
The rebrand marks a coming-of-age moment for the Bengaluru-based studio, which began life in 2020 as a boutique branding and social media outfit. Founded by Sharath D M and Akshay Kumar, Unico quickly outgrew its early brief, evolving into a full-fledged production house delivering television commercials, brand films and large-format content for a growing roster of clients. The shift from Unico Graphix to Unico Creative Studios is less reinvention and more reflection of what the agency has already become.
Adding fresh momentum to this next phase, Meghana Joseph has joined the leadership team as Director, partnering with Akshay Kumar and Sharath D M to steer the studio’s expansion.
Now operating as an integrated creative and digital studio, Unico Creative Studios offers a wide spectrum of services spanning brand storytelling, social campaigns, films, digital marketing, immersive AR and VR experiences, AI-enabled solutions, and large-scale content production. The investment from White Gold will help the studio scale these capabilities, strengthen its technology backbone and attract senior creative and strategic talent.
A key pillar of Unico’s growth strategy lies in its commitment to culturally rooted, regional storytelling. Rather than producing one-size-fits-all campaigns, the studio focuses on crafting content that reflects the humour, emotion and nuance of local languages and communities, allowing brands to connect meaningfully with audiences across India.
“Unico is entering a powerful new chapter,” said Meghana Joseph. “The ambition, culture and creative energy here are rare. I’m excited to help scale its impact and build long term value for brands nationwide.”
Akshay Kumar added that the partnership would allow the studio to deepen client relationships while strengthening its creative backbone. “This investment gives us the freedom to think bigger and deliver work that truly moves the needle for brands,” he said.
From the investor’s side, White Gold CEO and founder Rahul Joseph described the partnership as a long-term play. “Unico’s passion, pace and clarity of vision stood out from day one. Unico Creative Studios represents the future of technology-infused storytelling, and we’re excited to support their journey as they scale across India.”
With White Gold’s backing, Unico Creative Studios now sets its sights on building one of India’s most dynamic creative companies, proving that when finance meets imagination, the results can be truly golden.
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.
