MAM
Stovekraft hands over digital & creative duties to Team Pumpkin
Mumbai: The 360-degree marketing agency, Team Pumpkin, has won the digital and creative mandate for Stovekraft. With this new partnership, Team Pumpkin will be at the forefront of all the digital activities for Stovekraft’s brands Pigeon, Gilma, Skava, and Black+Decker.
The account was won following a multi-agency bid. Team Pumpkin will handle the account from its Mumbai office.
The agency will be in charge of developing and strengthening the brand’s digital presence by creating innovative social communication strategies through cutting-edge innovation, ideation, execution, and promotion.
Speaking on the collaboration, Team Pumpkin co-founder Swati Nathani said, “We are thrilled to have secured the digital and creative mandate for Stovekraft, India’s leading kitchen appliance brand, established on pioneering energy and innovative culture. It aligns perfectly with our goals and philosophy, making us a perfect match. As a leading agency in crafting and delivering digital innovations and solutions, our unique, cutting-edge digital offering based on brand vision will expand the brand love onto new-age digital platforms and generate significant customer experiences.”
Stovekraft managing director Rajendra Gandhi said, “As one of the pioneering companies in kitchen appliances, our constant endeavour is to provide the best range of products catering to the needs of every homemaker in the country. Stovekraft has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, and we look forward to expanding our business more. Hence, digital has become an important aspect of expanding our business. It is impressive what Team Pumpkin has in mind for our brand. We are confident that Team Pumpkin’s expertise and nuanced understanding of digital media will help us achieve our vision.”
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.
