Brands
Tecno Mobile India renews partnership with Ayushmann Khurrana
Mumbai: The global premium smartphone brand Tecno from Transsion India has announced the renewal of its brand association with the Bollywood superstar Ayushmann Khurrana, according to the company statement released on Friday.
“The recommencement of the partnership with the star is based on mutual trust and admiration and is expected to reiterate the brand’s motto ‘Stop at Nothing’. The premium brand will stand tall with its consistent efforts to deliver highly perceptible technology and innovative devices for consumers. With this continuation, TECNO Mobile aims to strengthen the earned trust among consumers and keep up with its robust growth trajectory,” the statement said.
The company also said in its statement, “Being a ground-breaking actor, who has disrupted the age-old, monotonous narratives of the Indian film industry, Ayushmann Khurrana has positively influenced the Indian youth. His movie choices and relatable characters resonate with Tecno Mobile’s brand philosophy of offering something innovative and best-in-class. While Ayushmann brings novelty through his content, Tecno does that with its diverse set of offerings with advanced and premium technology across its five product lines. Over the last year, the actor has extensively been a part of product launches and campaigns of the smartphone brand across electronic and social media platforms.”
Commenting on the continued brand relationship, Ayushmann Khurrana said, “Whether it’s my performance in front of the camera or Tecno’s performance in the smartphone segment, we have always believed in the motto of ‘Stop at Nothing’. Individually, the brand and I have grown in our respective fields within the last year and I wish to bring forth the same growth via my partnership with Tecno Mobile. With this continued association, we look forward to an even more exciting journey going forward.”
Speaking about the revived union, Tecno Mobile India’s CEO Arijeet Talapatra said, “Currently, Tecno Mobile is the 3rd largest smartphone player in the sub-10k segment according to Counterpoint Market Share Report, April 2022. We’ve earned this feat on the back of our India-first and segment-first approach and as we move ahead in our journey, we aim to cater to consumers across all price points. With a focus on the mid to high segment for the coming year, the alliance with Ayushmann is going to play a pivotal role. Particularly, considering his fandom, among the GenZs and millennials; a focused cohort for the brand as well. Similar to the consumer’s evolving taste in films and entertainment content, they are also evolving as smartphone consumers, with expectations around variety, high-end features and technology. Therefore, this extended association will allow us to expand our target base and further solidify our position as a leading premium smartphone brand.”
Tecno views this alliance to set off this year’s company focus on the mid-high segment and to leap the extra mile for technology democratisation and make new-age technology accessible to people at disruptive price points. Ayushmann Khurrana will be seen featuring in the upcoming brand campaigns across channels and platforms for product lines Pop, Spark, Pova, Camon and Phantom.
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.
