Brands
Springfit ropes in Kareena Kapoor Khan as its brand ambassador
Mumbai: Springfit has onboarded Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan as its brand ambassador. With a series of campaigns, the association aims to promote and make people aware of the importance of choosing the right mattress to ensure a peaceful sleep.
She will be seen spearheading the multi-media campaigns spanning digital, and over-the-top platforms for the brand & raising awareness through direct consumer outreach.
Speaking of this development, Springfit executive director Nitin Gupta said, “We are absolutely happy and excited to have Kareena Kapoor Khan on board as our brand ambassador for Springfit. We, as a brand firmly believe that the power of better sleep can rejuvenate you, uplift your mood, and act as a tonic for your overall wellbeing. We were exactly looking for a face who could identify with our motto and help us spread the right message among the masses of prioritizing sleep for your own good health. Khan is not only a youth icon but also a fitness enthusiast who believes that it is important to adopt a correct sleep pattern for a healthy state of mind”
Commenting on the association, Kareena Kapoor Khan said, “Ensuring a good night’s sleep is important for our physical and mental wellbeing and there is a comforting feeling when you sink into a luxuriously designed mattress, which is designed just as per the need of our body requirement. A night of good sleep is an important part of my fitness routine and this is why I am thrilled to associate with Springfit Mattress, a brand that has been innovating sleep solutions through its range of mattresses, for over a decade. My power naps and peaceful night’s sleep have a new meaning now, all thanks to Springfit.”
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.
