Brands
Parle-G reminisces about India’s journey on 73rd Republic Day
Mumbai: Reminiscing the yesteryears of India’s redefining moments, food company Parle Products celebrates the spirit of a sovereign India in its Republic Day film. Tracing the journey of its flagship brand Parle-G, the film depicts the journey of the homegrown brand as the country evolved from penning the history with its independence movement to the present era of new normal, over a span of seven decades.
Voicing the narrative is veteran thespian Piyush Mishra, whose earthy tone adds a whole new dimension to the film. To create this special film, Parle Products sourced various footage through different sources ranging from Getty to the Films Division and took special permissions from Getty and Films divisions. “The film has been released on digital platforms and garnered over 12 million views across all platforms already,” said the company.
Conceptualised by creative agency Please See in partnership with Reliance Entertainment, the film uses archival footage of major milestones and glorious moments to talk about the freedom movement in the 1930s, 1971 war, India’s first World Cup win in the 1980s, iconic Bollywood characters ‘Raj and Simran’ to the successful space mission and then India’s successful creation of Covid-19 vaccines.
All of these are interspersed with a perfect amalgamation of Parle-G from its launch in the 1930’s (Parle Gluco) to the pack version of today, which has been present at different intervals of history with the message ‘years changed, but we stayed the same,’ depicting its unchanged taste and popularity.
“Just as Parle Products stands for a swadeshi brand, our brand Parle-G is often referred to as ‘Desh Ka Apna Biscuit.’ We feel extremely proud and fortunate to be a part of India’s journey from pre-Independence time to the present day,” said Parle Products senior category head Mayank Shah. “The film carries a degree of nostalgia as important events from the past play out in front of viewers. Just as the country crossed milestones over the years, so did Parle Products and gradually Parle-G has retained itself as the go-to product when one thinks of a biscuit.”
“In circulation for 79 years, we have kept the taste intact with no change in the flavor of the Parle-G ever since it was first sold in 1939. Parle shall continue to remain an integral part of the nation and with the coming years we hope to be a part of many such achievements – furthering our course with the country,” he further said.
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.
