MAM
Marico Limited partners with Future Retail Limited to launch Plastic Recycling Program
MUMBAI: Marico Limited, in line with its commitment to sustainability, has announced its partnership with Future Retail’s format Big Bazaar to launch a plastic recycling program ‘Plastic Lao Paise Kamao’. Aligned with the national agenda on plastic waste management, this initiative is aimed at building awareness amongst consumers around plastic recycling and encourages them to take an active role.
The program enables consumers to submit plastic bottles across 21 key Big Bazaar outlets in and around Mumbai. For each bottle that is submitted, Marico Limited in association with Future Retail offers INR 10 to consumers, which is instantly credited to their Future Pay wallet and can be redeemed against their purchase. The incentive provided is for all products of Marico Limited and also for products of Future Consumer Limited, irrespective of the size of the bottle. The program will be supported by in-store announcements through radio jingles, shelf wobblers, collection units, posters, as well as promotional messages that will be shared with customers.
The Government of India has embarked upon several projects to increase awareness around plastic recycling and to curb the negative environmental impact of plastic waste. This initiative is in line with the Government’s efforts and echoes the sentiments of its “Swachhatha Hi Seva” mission.
Commenting on the partnership with Future Retail, Jitendra Mahajan, Chief Operating Officer- Supply Chain & IT, Marico Limited, said, “This initiative is part of Marico’s broader vision and commitment to address plastic waste management. While 94 percent of Marico’s packaging material used is recyclable, we need to do more. Managing plastic waste is a complex challenge and needs collective action engaging consumers and other stakeholders. We are very happy to join hands with Future Retail to drive the plastic circular economy agenda aligned to the “Swachhatha Hi Seva” mission of the Government. Through this initiative, we wish to create awareness about plastic waste pollution and drive change in the consumers’ behaviour”.
Speaking about the partnership, Sadashiv Nayak, Business Head, Big Bazaar, said, “Every material has a value through-out its life cycle, it is this circular economy approach that encourages customers, businesses and the industry to participate as champions of change. The Plastic Lao Paise Kamao – a closed loop plastic recycling campaign, initiated in September 2018 is part of our wider sustainability agenda to reduce our ecological footprint. The program launched in Big Bazaar stores in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra has seen increasing number of customers bring back bottles to stores and gain a financial reward in their Future Pay wallets. As a retailer, Big Bazaar is aligned with the Government’s Swachh Bharat Mission and is taking necessary actions in keeping with the Prime Minister’s call for a plastic free India.”
Marico’s sustainability agenda aims to maximise resource efficiency and mitigate negative ecological impact. With our stated purpose to always ‘Make a Difference’, the organisation ensures its action creates a positive impact on all stakeholders.
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.
