MAM
Raj targets global audiences with new design positioning
MUMBAI: Chennai-based Raj Television Network has made an effort to break away from the typical regional look and feel that most Tamil channels possess when it comes to channel design. The new design change it has unveiled on 5 June is an attempt to project a more globally accepted appearance.
The move is part of the network’s strategy to strengthen its hold on the Tamil-speaking diaspora spread all over the world. The network has a global expansion plan in mind as well.
“The change in the design strategy is part of the network’s plans to tap more global audiences. Currently we are available in the Europe. We have just made an entry in Sri Lanka on the Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform. Raj has plans to enter Latin America and North America in the next phase,” says Raj TV executive vice-president, programming and production, V Chandrasekaar.
Raj Network channels Raj TV and Raj Digital Plus were launched in Sri Lanka on the country’s only DTH platform CBNSat last week, with an eye on the country’s significant Tamil population.
“The attempt is to change that regional feeling. We wanted to give it an internationally accepted look. We wanted the new design to match the channel’s quality content, adds G Raja Ganapathy, who heads RMG David Chennai, the agency that handles the network’s creative account.
Apart from launching new logos, the network has introduced fresh animation, graphics, promos, break-bumpers and music for its channels Raj TV, Raj Digital Plus, Raj Musix and Vissa TV. The Network has used contemporary colours to project a fresh look. The way programming transitions were conveyed has also undergone a change.
“All the network channels have got new logos now. The interface designs have also been re-worked. We have also got a freshly composed music,” says Chandrasekaar.
When queried whether the network’s core audience would accept the design change, Ganapathy said the core elements hadn’t been disturbed. “Everything cannot change. We have made sure that our loyal viewers are able to relate to this new look.”
Ganapathy adds that the process is not over. “This is just the first step. Or we can say, this is the beginning of a new look. At least a year will take for the network to complete the process. What is in store is, a lot of fresh programming initiatives that will change the face of the channel,” he says.
Sony shows CID and Aahat in Raj TV
An interesting development on the programming front is that Sony Entertainment Television’s popular shows Aahat and CID taking their Tamil avtars on Raj TV from today. While Aahat, renamed in Tamil as Osai, is slotted for 10:05 pm, CID is placed in the 9:30 pm slot. Both the shows will air Monday to Thursday. A Raj TV executive refused to comment when queried whether more such associations were being considered.
Elaborating further on the programming activities, Chandrasekaar says Raj TV has now revamped its afternoon band by packing it with four soaps which are re-runs. “Earlier there were no soaps in this band. Now we are bringing some of the highly successful soaps Raj TV has in its library in this time band. We have plans to launch fresh programming here in the near future,” says Chandrasekaar.
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.
