MAM
Consumer Superbrands’ second Indian edition launched
MUMBAI: Superbrands India Ltd has announced the launch of its second edition of Consumer Superbrands of India. This is the third project for Superbrands India, which was formulated in 2002 to promote the discipline of branding and pays tribute to outstanding brands in India.
This edition will see consumers participate in the scoring for identifying Superbrands. This is the first time in the history of Superbrands across the world that consumers have been involved in the process.
Superbrands partnered with AC Neilsen for the online consumer research. AC Neilsen designed the strategy for the online consumer opinion polls and its analysis.
The process of identifying the second edition of Consumer Superbrands was initiated by a three week online scoring campaign on for consumers, wherein 13,085 people logged on to www.superbrandsindia.com.
Collectively they scored an average of four categories each comprising a further average of 10 brands per category. More than half a million scores were registered.
The site had 169 product categories with 1699 brands up for scoring. Audiences added another 92 brands (many of them regional brands) and two categories which had a wide range from “Analgesics and Airlines” to “Edible Oils and Shampoos”. Currently the results are being validated.
Superbrands India Limited MD Anmol Dar said, “We are delighted to offer brand managers a peep into the consumers’ mind. Their scoring will help determine which brands, in their opinion, deserve the Superbrands status. When the short-listing is complete a panel of brand management experts will further score these brands.”
He added, “The highest scoring brands will then be invited to participate in the second edition of India’s Consumer Superbrands. From each category only one brand will be invited; the exception will be where the top brands have a score differential of less than half a point.”
Superbrands recently completed its edition of the Business Superbrands of India, which was its second project here. The selection procedure, which spanned over a period of one year had a high profile ‘Business Superbrands Council’ which comprised 11 of the country’s most significant business minds. The Business Superbrands were selected out of 92 categories and 834 corporate entities.
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.
