Brands
Eveready powers up with three times stronger battery and no-leak promise
MUMBAI: If your remote’s dying, your clock’s ticking offbeat, or your kid’s toy refuses to roar, Eveready’s got just the jolt you need—and then some. The battery behemoth has amped up its Carbon Zinc game with a next-gen launch boasting 3X Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) power, anti-leak tech, and a shelf life that refuses to quit for three years.
Unveiled on 7 April 2025 in Mumbai, the launch marks a full-throttle upgrade for the legacy brand that already owns over 50 per cent of India’s dry cell battery market. The new batteries undergo a jaw-dropping 300 quality tests—yes, 300—to ensure they won’t let you down when you need power the most.
Eveready also rolled out a zippy new TV campaign to back the product push, spotlighting the brand’s commitment to long-lasting, everyday power solutions that don’t quit until you do. And if that sounds like marketing fluff, there’s steel behind it.
“Eveready holds a leadership position in India’s dry cell battery industry, especially in the Carbon Zinc segment. This launch aligns with our continuous endeavour to offer dependable and durable power solutions to consumers. The latest product offering highlights Eveready’s sheer commitment towards catering to the evolving needs, adding value and becoming a trustworthy power source for various household applications,” said Eveready Industries India Ltd SVP & SBU head (batteries and flashlights) Anirban Banerjee.
Packed in a neat set of 10, these upgraded batteries retail at Rs 18 a pop. And with leak-resistant design thrown in, they’re engineered to keep devices—and your patience—intact. Designed for everything from torches to toys, these little powerhouses scream reliability with a side of budget-friendliness.
As Eveready continues to focus on sustainable, scalable, and profitable business verticals, this launch reinforces its charge to deliver not just batteries—but real, lasting value for India’s billions.
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.
