MAM
Vijay Chauhan to become general manager of adidas India
MUMBAI: adidas has appointed Vijay Chauhan as general manager of adidas India, effective 1 August 2025. Vijay will oversee operations in India and be based in the Gurugram office.
Vijay succeeds Neelendra Singh, who will be stepping down after more than two decades with the adidas brand. Under Neelendra’s leadership, adidas India made remarkable progress, notably establishing cricket as a high-impact category for the brand. Neelendra played a pivotal role in transforming the cricket jersey culture in India, driving brand affinity and commercial success.
Vijay Chauhan rejoins adidas from his most recent role as SVP International at American Eagle Outfitters in New York and brings over 25 years of industry experience across the sporting goods and fashion lifestyle. Vijay first joined adidas in 1999 and during his tenure he served in leadership roles including VP of Retail/Franchise for SEAPAC and general manager of Thailand.
Emerging Markets managing director, Dave Thomas said, “We’re grateful to Neel for his strong leadership of the India business over the past six years, during which he significantly strengthened adidas’ brand presence, accelerated business growth, and deepened our connection with consumers across India. We also look forward to welcoming Vijay back to the three stripes. With his strong commercial acumen and growth mindset, I’m confident he will continue to drive the adidas brand and business forward in India.”
Neelendra will remain in his role until August 2025 to ensure a seamless transition.
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.
