Brands
Aditya Birla Fashion Q3: revenue up 8 per cent, loss widens to Rs 137 crore
Ebitda rises 13 per cent as store expansion continues
MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited reported a wider consolidated net loss in the third quarter of FY26, weighed down by the impact of new labour codes, even as revenue and operating performance improved.
Net loss from continuing operations rose to Rs 137 crore in the December quarter, compared with Rs 103 crore a year earlier. Excluding the labour-code impact, the normalised loss stood at Rs 115 crore. Revenue from operations grew 8 per cent year on year to Rs 2,374 crore from Rs 2,201 crore in Q3 FY25.
Ebitda increased 13 per cent to Rs 370 crore, up from Rs 328 crore in the year-ago quarter, reflecting tighter cost control and a stronger mix. Revenue for the nine months ended December rose 10 per cent year on year to Rs 6,187 crore.
The ethnic wear portfolio delivered another strong quarter, growing 20 per cent on year and continuing its run of sustained double-digit expansion. The segment has now crossed an annualised sales scale of over Rs 2,000 crore. Digital-first platform TMRW posted 29 per cent year-on-year growth, while the luxury business grew 27 per cent, aided by the recently opened Galeries Lafayette store.
ABFRL added around 50 gross stores during the quarter, taking its total retail footprint to more than 7.7 million square feet.
Pantaloons reported quarterly sales of Rs 1,276 crore, reflecting the shift of festive demand into Q2 and the deferral of the end-of-season sale into Q4. Adjusted for these calendar effects, like-to-like growth stood at 3 per cent. The format opened six stores and closed three, ending the quarter with 406 outlets.
Ownd delivered a standout performance, posting 54 per cent year-on-year growth and expanding its network to 67 stores. The Collective and Mono Brands business grew 16 per cent, with improving profitability, and now operates 49 stores after adding three during the quarter.
In a regulatory filing, the company said its diversified portfolio across categories and price points provides a strong base for long-term growth. While investments in select businesses will continue, the focus remains on scaling operations, improving efficiency and strengthening profitability.
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.
