MAM
Firstandsecond.com in expansion mode with Hughes Escorts deal
BANGALORE: Online bookstore Firstandsecond.com has tied up with with satellite service provider Hughes Escorts Communications Limited (HECL). Under this tie-up, customers across India can access and purchase books from firstandsecond.com directly through 66 HECL Direcway Fusion centres spread across 49 cities.
Speaking on the occasion, Firstandsecond.com CEO Misha Dange said, “Firstandsecond.com offers a wide selection of books at competitive prices. The tie up with Direcway will allow consumers across these 49 cities get access to purchasing books online from our site. With this tie up we will be able to reach the consumer even at the smallest city through the Direcway Fusion centre and consumers in any corner of the country will have access to the option of purchasing books, music and movies online.”
“Direcway will be providing us with a turnkey service and the payment MIS will be made available to us the same day, allowing us to ship the products faster. Also customer will get a Receipt of his payment with the order details and this is also expected to help in sorting out payment related problems faced by our customers. This is a positive step in our endeavour to provide great service to our clients” Dange added.
Says HECL director Pranav Roach, “Hughes is looking at this tie up with Firstandsecond as a first step on the path to help boost e-commerce in the country, especially in tier-B and tier – C cities. Consumers can now pay through the Direcway Fusion model, even if he does not possess a credit card or an online account. This easy and convenient access through the Direcway Fusion model will make many more services possible for him. In the near future, we are looking at many more tie ups of a similar nature which will help Hughes propel personalized e-commerce in India.”
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.
