Brands
BuyBuyCart launches smart vending machines in retail push
Firm plans up to 400 automated units across high footfall locations
NEW DELHI: BuyBuyCart is betting on convenience at the tap of a screen with the launch of its smart vending machines, marking its entry into India’s fast-evolving automated retail space.
Designed for speed and simplicity, the machines aim to bring everyday essentials closer to consumers who are increasingly short on time but high on expectations. From packaged snacks and beverages to ready-to-eat meals, personal care items and even healthier options like makhanas and dry fruits, the offering is built around daily needs with a dash of impulse buying.
Each unit comes equipped with an interactive touchscreen and supports multiple payment modes, including upi, qr code scanning, debit and credit cards, and digital wallets, making the entire purchase journey quick and contactless.
Founder Ashish Pandey said the move reflects a broader shift in consumer behaviour. “Convenience, speed and accessibility are now central to retail. Our vending machines are designed to deliver essentials round the clock while strengthening a technology-led retail ecosystem,” he noted.
The company plans to roll out between 300 and 400 machines in the first phase, targeting high footfall locations such as offices, IT parks, colleges, hospitals, fuel stations and residential complexes. It is also exploring partnerships with educational institutions to deepen its reach.
Beyond convenience, the machines double up as miniature storefronts for brands, offering a new channel for product visibility and promotions.
To scale operations, BuyBuyCart will adopt both FOCO and COCO models, allowing entrepreneurs to plug into the network while the company retains operational control in select locations.
As urban lifestyles grow busier, retail is quietly stepping out of stores and into corridors, campuses and corners, one vending machine at a time.
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.
