Brands
Bajaj Electricals on boards Ravindra Singh Negi and Rajesh Naik; aims for aggressive growth
Mumbai:
Negi will join Bajaj Electricals in July 2022 from Havells India, where he was president of the electrical consumer durables segment. Prior to that, he spent nearly two decades in Bharti Airtel in various roles, with his final role being CEO of the Delhi and NCR telecom circle.
Additionally, the company has also announced the formation of a unified lighting business segment by combining its consumer lighting business and its professional lighting business, which will be led by Rajesh Naik. He joined Bajaj Electricals in December 2019 and in this period has led a turnaround of the illumination business taking it to the leadership position in the industry. Naik has over two decades of experience in the sector.
The reorganisation and strengthening of the company’s leadership are on the back of the ongoing and significant transformation journey. Over the last three years, Bajaj Electricals has undertaken multiple initiatives including the acquisition of further stakes in Nirlep Appliances, Starlite Lighting and the planned scheme of arrangement for a split of the entity into two independent publicly listed companies (upon a demerger of its power infrastructure business). The planned split is likely to come into effect later this fiscal. Further, the company achieved a key strategic milestone of becoming net-debt-free as of 31 March 2022. Having achieved these milestones, Bajaj Electricals is preparing for aggressive growth across its businesses in a focused manner.
Making these announcements, Bajaj Electricals executive director Anuj Poddar said, “Over the past three years, we have embarked upon a significant transformation journey at Bajaj Electricals with a clear agenda of driving growth and value creation for all stakeholders. During this period, we have consistently demonstrated our ability to deliver on the agenda with agile decisions and focused execution even amidst a tough environment. As we look forward to our next phase of this transformation, we are committed to even more aggressive growth and to driving operational excellence across our businesses. The reorganisation and strengthening of our leadership are designed to enable this. I am pleased to welcome aboard Ravindra, who comes with a stellar professional track record and strong leadership skills. I am confident that he will be able to drive the strong performance of our consumer products business. Further, in Rajesh, we already have a very strong leader who has successfully driven our lighting business to a leadership position. With his widened responsibility as head of the unified lighting business, I am sure that he will bring to fore his deep experience and a sharper focus on this overall business to re-assert Bajaj Electricals’ leadership in the Indian marketplace.”
Newly appointed Bajaj Electricals COO of consumer products business Ravindra Singh Negi added, “Bajaj Electricals is an established leader in consumer appliances with deeply entrenched brand and distribution strengths. As an industry player, I have closely watched the changes over the recent past with several new initiatives that are strengthening its competitive position as well as transforming it into a best-in-class organisation. I am excited to be joining the organisation at this juncture and to build on this momentum of transforming a strong brand legacy into a future ready consumer centric and innovative organisation. I look forward to working with the team and leaders to deliver on superior growth & competitive performance.”
Commenting on his new responsibility, Bajaj Electricals head of lighting business Rajesh Naik said “The last 2.5 years at Bajaj Electricals have been immensely challenging yet gratifying as we have successfully turned around our Illumination (professional lighting) business, driving its growth in an extremely tough market environment. We are now well poised in both the professional lighting business as well as in our consumer lighting business with several new product launches and innovations. I am confident that with this new unified Lighting Business segment we will be able to drive a much stronger go-to-market thrust, better synergies and cohesive operations. I look forward to working with our teams and channel partners to drive rapid growth for our business.”
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.
