Brands
Sharad Gupta launches brand advisory firm WNN-WHYNOTNOW
Mumbai: Sharad Gupta, former vice president & lead-corporate communications at Escorts Kubota Ltd, has unveiled his new venture, WNN-WHYNOTNOW, a brand advisory firm dedicated to transforming the landscape of marketing and strategic brand development.
Drawing upon a distinguished career spanning more than 25 years in brand strategy, integrated marketing, and public relations, Gupta has occupied significant leadership positions at reputable organizations such as Escorts Kubota Ltd, TATA Infomedia, Xerox India, Wunderman, Solutions, and 141 Worldwide. Before launching his new venture, Gupta spent nearly a decade at Escorts Kubota, formerly known as Escorts Limited, leading brand strategy, end-to-end communication campaigns, integrating marketing, PR, and digital efforts to achieve cohesive and impactful brand messaging.
In addition to his various brand & marketing roles with corporates, Gupta served as the ex co-chair of CII Regional Start-up Council, demonstrating his commitment to fostering entrepreneurship.
With a wealth of experience advising various mainframe and SME brands in sectors like advertising, media, public relations, manufacturing, IT, FMCG, consumer durables, education, and peripherals, Gupta positions WNN uniquely to address the specific needs of Start-ups, SMEs, and Unicorns. The firm offers strategic branding, MarTech solutions, and PR strategies to enhance their optimal value. Gupta asserts that strategic, cost-effective branding can empower these businesses to not only appear appealing but also contribute positively and propagate goodness.
Speaking on the new venture, Gupta stated, “With WNN, our unwavering commitment is rooted in empowering businesses to transcend their potential by offering unparalleled expertise in marketing, strategic communication, and creative innovation. WNN hopes to be a beacon for start-ups, SMEs, and unicorns, catalysing their journey towards success. As India emerges as one of the largest ecosystems for startups globally, boasting over one lakh startups, WNN is poised to play a pivotal role in supporting their GoToMarket and business journey, specifically focusing on marketing push and brand development to ensure their success. Our mission is to foster a collaborative synergy that propels our clients’ business goals, ensuring they not only survive but thrive in today’s fiercely competitive marketplace.”
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.
