MAM
Fiat India appoints Aicar its marketing consultant
MUMBAI: Fiat India today announced the appointment of the Asian Institute of Communication and Research (Aicar) as its marketing advisor in India. Aicar, as part of the agreement, will be responsible to evolve marketing strategies with the company, design and execute market research, shape the brand genetics to enhance overall brand positioning to motivate existing sales force to push up sales.
With this appointment, Fiat India hopes to adopt a more holistic approach to the Indian car market by integrating its product strategies with market realities so as to meet diverse consumer needs effectively and become a strong player in the Indian passenger car market.
Commenting on the association, Fiat India managing director Paolo Castagna states, “Fiat in India has recognized that it is imperative to understand the complexity of the Indian car market and streamline our marketing processes accordingly in order to make Fiat the most preferred choice. Aicar is one of the best marketing institutes in the country producing some of the best marketing talent that the industry has today.
“With renewed commitment towards the Indian market, appointing Aicar as our marketing advisors is an important step towards comprehending the intricacies of the fast changing lifestyles of Indian consumers and adapting the insights to become a strong player in this market.”
Commenting on the association, Aicar business school chairman and managing trustee Walter Saldanha says,”We strongly believe that the integration of corporates with the educational world is a unique combination through which we will offer senior strategic planning minds and our students’ strength to help the company understand the market better and thereby plan more effectively.”
The agreement between Fiat and Aicar is for three years.
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.
