MAM
lobal foreign exchange currency firm Travelex ties up with McEnroe
MUMBAI: Travelex, a global foreign exchange company, has launched its first US focussed integrated advertising and promotion campaign, featuring tennis legend and Travelex brand ambassador John McEnroe. Travelex sponsors the Australian cricket team.
The multi-million dollar, multi-year campaign, created by the New York office of global advertising firm M & C Saatchi, will kick off today in conjunction with this year’s US Open Tennis Championship, being held in New York City from 29 August to 11 September. Half-page advertisements will run in major publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Financial Times.
The campaign will ultimately feature a mix of print, online, outdoor and direct-mail promotion, with the potential for television and video opportunities. It represents a concerted and far-reaching effort to promote the Travelex brand and its leading service offerings to customers, principally in the commercial foreign exchange sector.
The creative will explore the global tennis icon’s varied personal dimensions, including that of tennis champion, expert commentator, art collector and world traveler. As part of the campaign, Travelex retail
locations will feature McEnroe imagery and McEnroe himself will participate in a series of activities, including client hospitality and an exclusive Travelex press event to be held in Manhattan tonight.
The goal of the campaign is to raise Travelex’s profile in the Americas, comprised of the US, Canada and Latin America, which is a significant growth market for the company. Travelex says that it is particularly focused on broadening its reach in the commercial foreign exchange services arena, which includes international payments and management of foreign exchange risk.
Travelex Americas CEO Larry Taylor said, “We are thrilled to be launching this advertising campaign featuring John McEnroe in the US, underscoring our commitment to actively growing our brand awareness in the Americas. John’s approach to winning on and off the court through hard work, determination and an unwavering commitment to excellence are key traits that embody Travelex’s approach to delivering valuable products and services to our customers. With this campaign, we’re looking forward to telling our unique story through this dynamic partnership.”
Travelex’s relationship with McEnroe is a part of its ongoing brand ambassador programme, which saw vice captain of the Australian Cricket team Adam Gilchrist appointed in 2001 and England rugby international and Great Britain and Ireland Lions tour member Jonny Wilkinson appointed in May .
McEnroe said, “Every real champion has a winning strategy for being the best in their field, and Travelex is no exception. While their specialization and commitment to offering the best service sets the company apart, it’s time to showcase that on a larger scale. With this campaign, I am excited to be a part of the game plan to raise the overall awareness of
Travelex and its unique offering.”
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.
