MAM
Synovate acquires majority stake in COMCON to expand in Russia
MUMBAI: Market research company Synovate has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the independent market research agency COMCON in Russia.
With this, Synovate becomes Russia‘s second largest research firm.
Synovate said in a statement that in the coming months, the management, operations and research capabilities of both the companies in Russia will be integrated into a single Synovate branded business.
Established in 1991, COMCON is among the four biggest research companies in Russia with offices in Moscow and St Petersburg. The business, which is currently wholly owned by COMCON management, has custom and syndicated research capabilities and an established customer base in a number of key industry sectors, including healthcare, FMCG, financial services and media.
Synovate Global CEO Robert Philpott said, “The acquisition of COMCON will make Synovate the leading market research company in Russia, with increased scale and resources, a wider range of management expertise and a more diverse client base.”
Philpott also said that the combination of COMCON‘s Russian business and Synovate‘s existing Russian operation creates an opportunity for them to be number one in the Russian market.
“Looking ahead, our significantly broader footprint in Russia will enable us to assist domestic clients to expand internationally and to support global clients in gaining access to the Russian market. This transaction therefore consolidates Synovate‘s position as a leading market research provider within the Eastern European region,” he added.
COMCON general director and founder Elena Koneva will become managing director of the new combined business with immediate effect.
Koneva said, “We have many complementary features, including our staff, services, methodologies and client sectors. This will be an exciting opportunity for us, becoming part of a leading global company and integrating the best of what we already have – great clients, great people and a great culture.”
The current managing director of Synovate Russia Panicos Ioannides will assist Koneva in her new role.
“We will integrate the business to create an even stronger team and ensuring our people is recognised as our most valuable business resource”, Koneva said.
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.
