Brands
McDonald’s India launches crispy fried chicken
Mumbai: To expand its fried chicken offerings in the South market, McDonald’s India (W&S), owned by Westlife Foodworld, has launched crispy fried chicken, enhancing its chicken portfolio in the region. McDonald’s India has also partnered with Kannada movie star Kiccha Sudeep as the face of its new campaign, ‘Let the Crunch Takeover’.
The campaign features a TVC, conceptualised by DDB Mudra Group starring Kiccha Sudeep. These TVCs showcase the Kannada star relishing the crispy fried chicken and highlighting the product’s defining crispy texture.
The TVC opens with a comical scene of the police interrogating Kiccha Sudeep at his home, which appears a bit ransacked. As the officers scribble in their notepad, asking “if they remember anything else?” Kiccha is seen calmly enjoying a McDonald’s crispy fried chicken. A family member then exclaims, “Yes, Crunch sound! We were eating crispy fried chicken,” before grabbing a piece and biting into it with an exaggerated crunch sound. The police officer tries the same as well, repeating “Oh…like this!” as the family continues debating the perfect “this” crunch sound. The spot closes with a showcase of the mouth-watering crispy fried chicken bucket.
McDonald’s India (W&S) chief marketing officer Arvind R.P. said, “At McDonald’s, we are constantly strengthening our menu portfolio to offer a variety of chicken products for our customers in the Southern markets. Our new crispy fried chicken with the campaign featuring Kiccha Sudeep is a testament to this strategy. His expansive fan base and connection with our core audience in this region will drive strong consumer engagement and preference for our offerings.”
Kiccha Sudeep said, “I am truly excited to partner with McDonald’s India (W&S) for the launch of their new Crispy Fried Chicken. Glad to see the brand truly capturing the essence of crunch and flavour in this new offering. I cannot wait for my fans and food lovers across the South to experience its mouth-watering taste. The crispy fried chicken is sure to get everyone hooked on the same satisfying crunch that I love”.
Over the years, McDonald’s India has leveraged the influence of South Indian movie stars to strengthen its brand presence in the region. Alongside the partnership with Kiccha Sudeep for the crispy fried chicken launch, the brand has previously collaborated with stars like Rashmika Mandanna and Jr. NTR. These partnerships have helped McDonald’s India connect with its core audience and build brand loyalty in the South Indian market.
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.
