Brands
Red Chief ropes in Vicky Kaushal as Brand Ambassador
MUMBAI: Leayan Global Pvt. Ltd., has roped in Vicky Kaushal, the iconic Bollywood actor, as the Brand ambassador for its leading leather footwear brand Red Chief. Red Chief has been consistently providing best quality, comfortable and stylish footwear for over 21 years now to its nationwide base of loyal customers. Today, Red Chief has robust distribution network and is available through 3000 plus multi-brand outlets, over 170 exclusive stores and all leading e-commerce platforms.
Manoj Gyanchandani, Managing Director, Leayan Global, said “We are delighted to have Vicky Kaushal as the Brand Ambassador for our leading leather footwear brand Red Chief. Vicky gels very well with our Red Chief brand image, which is rugged, tough and confidently stylish. We are quite confident of taking our brand to next level of growth and expansion across the country, with better penetration among the youth.”
“It feels great to be associated with Red Chief, a home-grown footwear brand that enjoys mass appeal” Vicky Kaushal said.
Rahul Sharma, General Manager – Marketing, Leayan Global, added “To continue leveraging our association, Vicky Kaushal would be part of our campaign ‘Khel Gaye Chief’ which will be launched very soon through mass media and digital platforms. Thereafter, many more brand campaigns have been planned back to back for the next few seasons.”
Vicky Kaushal is one of the most celebrated actors in Indian cinema and is renowned for his powerhouse performances in films such as Masaan, Raazi, Sanju and Uri, which became one of the biggest hits of 2019.
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.
