MAM
Reid & Taylor is a superbrand
MUMBAI: The UK-based Superbrands Council has ranked S Kumars’ Reid & Taylor amongst the top Indian super brands chosen from 711 Indian brands.
The selection is made across 98 categories and chairs Reid & Taylor among 800 global brands.
S Kumars Nationwide managing director Nitin Kasliwal was quoted in an official release, as saying, “To be ranked amongst the top brands by a team of world-renowned experts in advertising and marketing, for a brand that has entered India less than five years ago is indeed a privilege. It also vindicates our branding strategy for the world’s premium suiting that “bonds with the best”.
The Indian panel of judges for Superbrand Council comprised 11 eminent personalities from media communications field that included . ITC chairman Yogi C Deveshwar, Ogilvy and Mather’s creative director Piyush Pandey, TV 18 managing director Raghav Bahl.
A super brand must offer consumers significant emotional and physical advantages over its competitors which – consciously or subconsciously – consumers want, recognize, and are willing to pay a premium for, the release said. The selection influencers were the brands’ mind dominance, goodwill, consumer loyalty, trust and emotional bonding.
The Superbrands concept started 10 years ago in the UK to chronicle case studies of exceptional brands – to pay tribute to them and their brand guardians. Since then it has been replicated in 26 countries. Some brands like Coke and American Express have appeared in almost all the editions. The release added that in every country where Superbrands has been launched, it is seen as the ‘branding Bible’ – the ultimate source for drawing inspiration and learning how brands fight back.
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.
