MAM
ICICI Prudential MF launches a campaign to promote “Investment hi hai Savings ka Naya Tareeka”
Mumbai: Diwali is one of the most awaited festivals in India and is special in many ways—from buying new clothes to making special food and indulging in festivities. However, one of the things that excites everyone the most is the anticipation of receiving the Diwali bonus.
But what if someone refuses to take that bonus?
This Diwali, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a campaign which shows how interesting the arc of refusal of the Diwali bonus is and why an individual chooses to do so. The fund house’s entertaining Diwali campaign humorously extends a strong message, thereby leaving a lasting impact on the viewer.
The campaign addresses the message of why it is important to invest and not just save your money. The campaign shows how a house help (Ramu Kaka) is disappointed in getting the same amount of Diwali bonus every year from his employer (Ramesh). The house help further explains to his employer the benefits of investing across various available mutual fund options. He also points out how his other employer invests in mutual funds and can give him expensive shoes as a Diwali bonus. The house help believes that if Ramesh had invested in mutual funds, he would have also earned good returns and in turn would have been able to give a higher bonus to him. He suggests to his employer to start his investment journey through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP).
ICICI Prudential AMC head marketing, digital and customer experience Abhijit Shah said, “Indians are known for their savings habit; however, this habit does not create wealth for them. This Diwali, our focus is to bring a shift in the savings habit to that of investing, thus creating wealth over the long term. Through this campaign, we intend to spread more awareness about the importance of investing among those who do not invest in mutual funds. We aim to nudge people to invest in mutual funds to generate better returns on their hard-earned money.”
By investing in mutual funds, an investor can allocate his or her resources among several asset classes including debt, equity, commodities, and several others per their risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial objectives. Over time, a long-term, disciplined investment strategy can help investors achieve their financial goals and systematically create wealth.
The campaign will reach the masses via the company’s multiple digital channels like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
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.
