MAM
Pantaloon launches new format store – ‘aLL’ or plus size men & women
MUMBAI: Pantaloon Retail India Limited (PRIL) has launched yet another lifestyle retail format store in Mumbai called aLL,’ which stands for A Little Larger.
PRIL’s first ‘aLL’ store for plus size women is located Vashi and this is the first time that an exclusive store dedicated to the fashion needs of both plus size men and women has been launched as a single dedicated stand-alone store.
The ‘all’ store will house a wide range of ready-to-wear fashionable clothes and accessories that are otherwise not easily available for plus size customers.
The store has a wide collection to select from – Western wear, Indo-western and Ethnic wear in both formal and casual categories. Matching accessories like belts, ties, and handbags will also be available. To complement the collection, the store layout is designed keeping in mind the requirements of its customers. The sales staff are trained to provide a comfortable shopping experience to this new segment of customers.
PRIL head – new business development Hemang Savla said, “Pantaloon Retail has always been at the forefront of new store formats in this country and the all store is yet another first of its kind. All is designed keeping in mind the fashion needs of plus size men and women, who are fashion conscious and are looking for a dedicated collection. There is a need for a specialty store in the plus size category and we aim to be the first organized retailer to cater to this requirement. It is our endeavour to have a one stop shop that will provide a complete shopping experience to our plus size customers.”
In addition to the planned expansion of stand alone all stores, on the anvil is the introduction of all at PRIL’s various formats like Central, Pantaloons and Fashion Station.
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.
