Brands
Puma becomes official kit partner of Revenant Esports in India
Mumbai: Homegrown esports organisation, Revenant Esports, has announced sports brand Puma as their official kit partner for the upcoming season. This association came as one of the major non-endemic brand collaborations in the Indian esports industry. Under the terms of the partnership, Revenant’s creators and esports roster will don the exclusive kits produced by Puma.
With both brands sharing similar ideologies in terms of propelling esports to greater heights, they will leverage this association to make their presence felt among the community in India, said the company in a statement.
“Puma is one of the most successful sports brands in the world and it makes us extremely proud to be the first esports team in India to be associated with them. This partnership is a step in the right direction for Revenant Esports and a testament to our aim of enriching the experience of the community and our fans. Esports merchandise has become an integral part of the industry in the last few years, and seeing our athletes, creators, and fans wear the apparel produced by one of the world’s best is a privilege. Together, we hope to achieve immense success in the coming years and capitalise on the growing esports culture in the country,” said Revenant Esports founder and CEO Rohit Jagasia.
Puma has emerged as one of the top sports brands in India after generating record revenues last year and is also familiar with the esports industry, having partnered with numerous international organisations. By joining forces with Revenant Esports and their massive fanbase, they will look to maximise their potential in the Indian esports market.
Commenting on the occasion, Puma India executive director-retail Vishal Gupta said, “We are extremely excited to be associated with Revenant Esports as their official kit partner and become the first leading sportswear brand in the country to enter the deeply engaging space of esports. India is one of the biggest markets for the video gaming community and competitive esports is immensely influencing our youth across tiers.”
“That esports gets incorporated as a medal sport into the Asian Games next year is evidence of its huge popularity & potential today. As a brand, Puma strongly supports influences on youth culture such as sports, fitness, art, cinema, music, and now new age sports, i.e., esports. With this association, Puma & Revenant will leverage each other’s huge audience base and wide reach to connect with esports athletes in the country and penetrate deeper into the market,” he further added.
According to the recent Ficci-EY report, 100 brands have invested in Indian esports this year, compared to 72 in 2021. Similar to traditional sports, esports merchandise is an essential part of any organisation’s growth in the industry by raising brand awareness and cultivating fan loyalty among their ardent following.
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.
