Brands
Mangaldeep’s conversation with God with Bhumika Chawla
MUMBAI: ITC’s leading incense stick brand, Mangaldeep, has launched a unique ‘slice of life’ campaign that depicts everyday conversations with God.
With Bhumika Chawla as the protagonist, the brand delves into moments amidst the daily hustle and bustle of life that essentially provides an opportunity for a serene prayer and an intimate conversation with the almighty. The campaign also highlights the unique positioning of ITC’s Mangaldeep, which through its range of divinely fragranced incense sticks brings about a sense of calm and comfort when the mind is anxious.
The film opens with Bhumika Chawla amidst the daily morning rush at home, handling myriad aspects of a household and yet making time for a short but anxious prayer. The moment she lights the fragranced Mangaldeep incense sticks, a sense of calm prevails for a natural and peaceful conversation with God.
ITC Ltd chief executive for agarbatti and safety matches business Ravi Rayavaram says, “Mangaldeep’s ‘Conversation with God’ campaign reflects the spiritual core of every Indian. Devotion, prayer and invoking good for everyone, is a way of life for many. This simple life truth promoted by Mangaldeep through its recent campaign is rooted in its core brand philosophy of enabling every individual’s pursuit of devotion. Bhumika Chawla personifies the life of every Indian woman and the challenging morning moments in her life.”
R K SWAMY BBDO principal consultant Vivek Shenoy adds, “Unlike in a temple where there is a devotional ambience, in her everyday prayer space, the consumer struggles to connect with god unperturbed. In today’s day and age, prayer is often rushed, distracted and mechanical…even when we sit down to do it, a parallel monologue runs in the head that has nothing to do with connecting with the divine. The right fragrance can transform the mental state, creating the climate for that connection.”
Available across retail outlets in India, ITC Mangaldeep is the second largest agarbatti brand in India and the only agarbatti brand with a large national presence.
The Mangaldeep brand was launched and marketed by ITC’s Matches and Agarbattis Business Division since 2003. Within a decade of its launch, the brand achieved market leadership in the Dhoop category and a strong No.2 position in Agarbatti category with a combined consumer spend of over 750 crores.
Mangaldeep’s vision is to be the most loved enabler and partner in people’s pursuit of devotion and spirituality. In this regard, the brand has extended beyond quality incense products into services such as devotional content and religious tourism through its Mobile app. By enabling the daily pursuit of devotion of over 4 lakh users, it is among the highest rated devotional apps 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.
