MAM
Star Sports ropes in Anil Kapoor, Jaaved Jaaferi to campaign for #IndVsAus
MUMBAI: Star Sports has roped in the Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Jaaved Jaaferi for the upcoming Paytm India Vs Australia ODI Series campaign that begins on 14 January 2020.
According to a press statement, the campaign has been conceptualised by the in-house creative team at Star Sports, depicts the two actors as friends, who live in India and Australia respectively.
The actors would be seen taking a dig at each other for the upcoming clash between the two cricketing rivals and supporters of opposing teams, the release said.
Ahead of the campaign to go on air, Jaaved Jaaferi nudged Anil Kapoor with a nostalgic Tweet that read “Pehle humne jung ki, phir total dhamaal – ab aa rahe hain phirse dikhaane apna kamaal! Anil Kapoor bhai, bach ke rehna, it’s going to be the #BattleofEquals this time.”
Pehle humne jung ki, phir total dhamaal – ab aa rahe hain phirse dikhaane apna kamaal! @AnilKapoor bhai, bach ke rehna, it's going to be the #BattleOfEquals this time.
— Jaaved Jaaferi (@jaavedjaaferi) December 29, 2019
Anil Kapoor was quick to respond with a comeback that read, “#BattleofEquals toh hoga Javed Jaaferi, par film mein ‘Hero’ ek hi hota hai, aur jeet ussi ki hoti hai! So watch out”
#BattleOfEquals toh hoga @jaavedjaaferi bhai, par har film mein 'Hero' ek hi hota hai, aur jeet ussi ki hoti hai!
So, watch out! https://t.co/dvWs3BbCKb— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) December 29, 2019
The Paytm India vs Australia ODI series will consist of three ODI’s starting 14 January 2020 and will be broadcast exclusively on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar. The two rivals are keen on starting the new decade of their rivalry with another eventful series.
The series will also see the clash of two in-form bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins as the world’s two best bowlers jostle for supremacy in what seems like #BattleOfEquals.
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.
