Brands
Kimberly-Clark relaunches its iconic diaper brand Huggies
Mumbai: Kimberly Clark brings a fresh new identity for its iconic brand Huggies with the relaunch of Huggies Complete Comfort in India. Based on extensive consumer research, the relaunch focuses on the core proposition of 5-in-1 comfort which includes key attributes like softness and absorption. The brand is going to embrace an all-new visual language via its packaging design across the range that spotlights the brand’s key attributes and consumer benefits.
To mark the relaunch, Huggies has rolled out its new campaign, ‘We got you, baby’ that promises to make the world a more comfortable place for babies. Conceptualized by Ogilvy India, the endearing launch film uses the baby’s voice as a creative device to highlight their discomforts with diapers. Huggies comes to their rescue by providing five comforts in one diaper that includes bubble bed softness, 12-hour absorption, triple leak guard, breathable material, and a comfy fit waistband.
Kimberly Clark India marketing director Saakshi Verma Menon said, “Huggies as a brand has always strived to go the extra mile to make the world a more comfortable place for babies. Through extensive consumer research, we realized that babies need complete comfort with multiple benefits in one product. We are proud to introduce the new ‘Huggies Complete Comfort’ to our Indian consumers to help babies and their parents navigate the unknowns of babyhood. Our research showed that nine out of 10 moms feel that Huggies is more comfortable than their regular diaper which reinforces the trust that consumers have in this iconic brand.”
On the campaign, she added, “We are launching a digital-first campaign across platforms where mums today are spending most of their time. The content is hyper-personalised and contextualised to specific consumer cohorts for heightened relevance and engagement.
Also, as a challenger brand in India, it is imperative for us to break the clutter and stand out as a preferred brand. Our creative partners at Ogilvy have cracked an enjoyable and distinctive way of landing the key message which is sure to cement our position in the hearts of our consumers.”
Commenting on the film, Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Kumar Nayak said, “To get the attention of parents, in our new campaign for Huggies, babies go on a protest to boycott incomplete diapers that do not have full comfort. Voicing their displeasure in a disruptive narrative, babies seek a diaper that provides more than the usual fare of dryness, for one which actually gives complete comfort.
As the baby’s wingman, Huggies helps babies word their unspoken needs with a message that is playfully irreverent and memorable to ensure their problems are heard loud and clear. And solved with the new Huggies Complete Comfort diapers which will never allow babies to settle for incomplete comfort.”
The Huggies Complete Comfort range is now available in offline stores and on e-commerce platforms.
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.
