
As the beauty conglomerate battles falling sales and stiff competition, new CEO Stéphane de La Faverie is overhauling company strategy. The Debrief unpacks how family-controlled structure, market shifts and consumer expectations complicate his task.
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Brian Baskin
Hello and welcome to the Debrief from the business of fashion, where each week we delve into Our most popular BoF professional stories with the correspondents who created them. I'm executive editor Brian Baskin.
Sheena Butler Young
And I'm senior correspondent Sheena Butler. Young.
Daniela Morrisini
Simply said we lost our agility. We did not capitalize on the higher growth opportunities quickly enough in channels, markets, media and prestige price tiers, nor fuel.
Ryan Reynolds
New consumer acquisition aggressively enough.
Brian Baskin
That's how Estee Lauder's new CEO, Stephane de la Favore started his first earnings call, a stark acknowledgment of the challenges the beauty giant faces. After years of dominance in the prestige market, Estee Lauder now finds itself scrambling to regain relevance and return brands such as Mac and Clinique to their former glory.
Sheena Butler Young
But Estee Lauder isn't alone in these challenges. We're recording on Friday, February 7, and just yesterday, L'Oreal and Elf cosmetics, two brands that have both benefited from and fueled Estee Lauder's decline, also also reported fairly dismal results today. ELF stock is down more than 25% and L'Oreal just announced a minority investment in the French fashion label Jacques Mousse. Did the bottom just fall out of Big Beauty Today? We're breaking it all down with BoF Beauty Correspondent Daniela Morrisini. Hi, Daniela. Welcome back to the Debrief podcast.
Daniela Morrisini
Thank you for having me back. The times are charm, I hope.
Brian Baskin
Thank you for joining us. Daniela, why don't we start with you telling us how bad is it at Estee Lauder? Why would the CEO feel the need to open an earnings call with investors analyst with something like that, I think.
Daniela Morrisini
A little bit is just scene setting. So Stefan is their brand new CEO. He was just appointed at the end of last year and his appointment was the capstone on a really turbulent time for the company, they were growing very well. They were adding brands, they were growing sales for quite a long time. And sort of around 2021, 2022, like Sheila says, the bottom just seemed to kind of fall out of it. And they were having issues in a lot of companies were having issues coming out of COVID but their issues continued to compound. And what's happening a couple of is the comparison base, after some point you would imagine would become favorable and then the losses would start to narrow, and that's just not happening. And I think now that he is in place and he is the new leader, he wants to lay it all on the table and say this is the mistakes that were made and kind of set the scene for what he wants to do differently and how he wants to try and right size the business.
Sheena Butler Young
And as you just kind of alluded to, it wasn't always like this. The brand was founded in the 1940s by Estee and her husband Joseph in New York. And by the 80s and 90s, it had become recognized as one of the top cosmetic in the world. Back then, you couldn't walk through a department store without interacting with Estee Lauder in some capacity. And that's probably still true today. But I want to talk about those golden years and what that winning formula was like.
Daniela Morrisini
Estee Lauder, the woman was a powerhouse. I think there is an argument like she essentially invented guerrilla marketing. There's this story, it's potentially apocryphal. I choose to believe it's true that Galerie Lafayette in Paris wouldn't stock her used to bath oil. So she took it into the store and purposely smashed a bottle on the floor that people would smell it and be like, what is that wonderful smell? And then that they would want to stock it. So she was a really tenacious, very inspirational woman. And then as time went on, they started to add more premium brands. They didn't buy all of them. They did buy a lot. We'll get to that later. But some of them they created in house and they did so successfully. So they created the Clinique line with a Vogue editor at the time, Carol Phillips. And this was really groundbreaking. The idea of dermatologists backed skincare. You know, they really invented that category a long, long time ago. They absolutely had department stores on lock. They really excelled in that environment. And then as they got into the noughties, they were quick with indie brands. They bought a lot of these sort of hot, trendy social media brands. They were very, very acquisitive, and they were riding High for a long time.
Brian Baskin
I think you're starting to touch on what has gone wrong there because all of what you're talking about with them riding high dates back 20, 30, 40 years ago. I mean, when was the last time they really were at the forefront of an emerging beauty trend?
Daniela Morrisini
This is such an interesting point because I've covered the company for a long time and they have really been able to do this right. So Clinique historic, yes, but that is a big moment. Aveda, one of their hair care brands, has been doing scalp scans for at least 10 years. This is now a hot buzzy trend. Right. Mac has one of the first setting sprays that was available to consumers. And this is like a huge Gen Z moment, I think where their core brands like your Cliniques and La Mers were perhaps not so much on the innovation front. That was fine because they could afford to buy these new brands that would sort of do it for. But as we have seen and we've examined on this show before, a lot of these indie brands, their growth was not sustainable. They were not going to continue to grow and continue to be the hot new thing. And I think that's part of the problem is they spent a lot, I mean they spent I think $1.4 billion on Too Faced, which is like a really Instagram first buzzy social media brand and the growth has just slowed.
Sheena Butler Young
That's interesting because Too Faced is a buzzier, more current brand. And I liked how your story mentioned Aveda, which was I remember doing a scalp scan there in the early aughts. Now that the textured care conversations evolving, they're really not current. Like a lot of these brands are not up to speed with current trends as Too Faced was, which was an over investment.
Daniela Morrisini
Agreed. And I think this feeds into when you look at the company structure of Lauder. So this is, it's still a family owned company and the Lauder family have about 86% of the voting rights. So they exercise a lot of control over the company. If you compare that against Pooj or L'Oreal, whatever, there's founding families there, but typically they tend to control like 30% of the voting rights. I think that actually might be different for puj, but so the Lauder family have been able to really hold onto their beliefs and kind of mold the company in their image and a lot of their beliefs are around that beauty is a prestige category and a prestige experience and that is the way to win things around. Travel, retail and the power of sort of luxury and all of Those signatures and that message in the wider beauty consumer base has been sort of diluted a little bit. People are much more open to shopping for products in different ways and from different kinds of founders, and they didn't really let go of the values.
Brian Baskin
And do we feel like the new CEO represents any kind of break from that? I find the contrast with Nike quite interesting because they also brought back a veteran executive who really lived and breathed that brand to lead it. And that move was celebrated last year. Elliot Hill. I get the sense that there's been more of a mixed reception with this appointment.
Daniela Morrisini
So, yeah, Stefan has been at Estee lauder for over 13 years, so he has been there for quite a long time, but he's not a lifer by any means. He was previously at L'Oreal. He has presided over for some of the buzziest brands. He was sort of quite a leader on Decien, which is the parent company of the Ordinary, which is far and away one of their more successful brands at the moment. I think the expression that comes to mind is that if you use the same bricks, you'll build the same house. Right. And they haven't changed much of their C suite. There have been a few folks who have stepped down or retired, but they announced a raft of promotions in the last week. And generally it was essentially promotions putting people who'd already been in the company into new positions in the company. I think within Lauder, he seems to be quite well liked, and I think there is a sense that people are excited for change and that he will bring a fresh agility. The investor community obviously favored an outside hire, but hard to push through a sort of activist motion when you have a family that controls essentially all of the voting rights.
Brian Baskin
And the other component of Estee Lauder's decline is this big bet on China that they made a few years ago that really seems to have blown up in their face. Tell us about that.
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah. So, like a lot of Western companies, Lauder identified China as a really big growth area, and we've seen this across the luxury fashion sector as well. So they got to the point where, you know, over 25% of their sales were coming from China. For L'Oreal, it was about 20%. Puj and Coty, it was even less. And for a long time, having a lot of sales through China and specifically through travel, retail, and this practice known as Daigo, where people basically buy things on the gray market outside of China, where it's cheaper, and then bring it back into China for their friends and family at Home for a long time this was really working and it sustained a little bit throughout Covid and then it really, really sharply fell off. And not only did the China business really, really sharply decline and we see this across pretty much all beauty companies earnings. They are all seeing real softness there. But when the Chinese market took a really big hit, it exposed just how much they had neglected their home market of the US and just how much market share they had seeded I think without anyone really realizing.
Sheena Butler Young
So the earnings call, Stefan had his first go at kind of laying out some strategy. What did we learn around like performance and cuts and the plans to get this back on track? I mean, I think there's a lot expectation that maybe this is too big of a company to truly pivot. What is he saying?
Daniela Morrisini
So he's saying quite a lot of things. They've laid out this new plan called Beauty Reimagined. The thing that people have really hooked on is the fact that they're going to extend the amount of job cuts. So previously they said they were going to do about 3,000. That could go all the way up to 7,000. They're now saying over the course of about a year they are looking at finding incremental savings. They're talking a lot about optimizing their supply chain and the pace of innovation. But the main thing that struck me on the earnings call is how much they were trying to reassure folks that they really are investing in their core brands and that they are not simply going to strip everything down to the bare bones in order to try and drive profitable growth in the next quarter. They are taking a longer term view. So they talked about tripling the pace of innovation. That would be a lot more launches across all of their brands, really heavily investing in their marketing. And I think if you go on their website, there's a video you can watch where they talk about the Beauty Reimagined plan and everything they're going to do. And something that they say or Stefan says is that he says we need to be obsessed with our consumer. To me the subtext of that is we're going to do some things that maybe we haven't done before and maybe we don't really want to do. And one of those is in the last six months or so they started selling on Amazon and I think previously to them this was unthinkable. Amazon is not a luxury beauty environment. I think that's what they would have felt. But now they are going to do it.
Sheena Butler Young
You say 7,000 job cuts potentially. Is that coming through? Divesting brands, you think, is there any hint around that?
Daniela Morrisini
So they've been on the earnings. Of course, this was something that came up and they gave us sort of an answer saying that they are always undertaking strategic portfolio reviews. You know, they're constantly looking at strengths and weaknesses.
Sheena Butler Young
I've heard that one before.
Daniela Morrisini
You know, there's a few thoughts around this. You know, the hair care division is the one that is most visibly struggling. It's lost money, I think, for about the last five years and those brands are not growing especially well. Then there's another school of thought that, you know, some of the smaller makeup brands like Smashbox, which has already greatly reduced its presence in quite a lot of or Too Faced or Becker, which they actually took an impairment on in 2021, but I think they still technically own, you know, a private equity buyer might want to buy the three of those together. There's even a school of thought that if they want to do something really big, they could sell off Mac cosmetics because even though it's such a well recognized brand, and I think it is over a billion dollars in sales, they have a lot of stores which is quite margin dilutive and there's so much competition in cosmetics and Mac could still.
Sheena Butler Young
Thrive under new or independent private equity or something like that.
Daniela Morrisini
But for what it's worth, I personally don't think they will sell off Mac. It's just, it's one of the many theories I've heard bandied around. And I think there is an understanding that they might want to keep the hair care brands because then that allows them to not just be a skin and cosmetics and fragrance pure player. I think they would definitely hang on to all their fragrance brands because fragrance is such a buoyant category and they do actually have some very popular fragrance brands. And so another thing that was announced this week as part of their new beauty reimagine plan is they have simplified their corporate structure. And previously it was a little bit confusing in terms of which brands were grouped together and why, but they've simplified that. They've created more of a skincare brand cluster, a makeup brand cluster, and they've also really simplified the geographic way that they're dividing up the markets and who's overseeing them. And I think that could lead to greater agility and better sort of more targeted marketing for each region.
Brian Baskin
So it sounds like they're talking a lot about innovation, but I'm not hearing a lot of real. It doesn't sound like they're shaking things up all that much from the sound of it here.
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah. I think your kind of analysis is how a lot of people seem to feel. I think what is different is if they genuinely do commit to fresh innovation on the products. And one thing they've also talked about doing is they have really changed their corporate structure and they've got rid of a lot of the silos. So if you take Procter and Gamble as an example, about 10 years ago, they had a very messy corporate structure with two kind of conflicting layers. There was like a global team and then a category team and it wasn't clear who had the final say so on different products and different launches. And historically, Lauder have had a similarly kind of we're going to group brands by price point or by who's based in which part of the U.S. you know, the West coast brands versus this or that. They are now devolving more power, more geographically, and they have simplified the management structure because a big part of the reason that they have lost market share in places like the US is because they've lost agility. So you look at the Tom Ford brand, for example. I mean, I can remember within the last 10 years, this was a really aspirational luxury makeup brand that people really wanted wanted to buy. It was very desirable. I'm not sure when they last put out a big launch. I certainly didn't hear about it. They've had organic viral moments on TikTok and they've not capitalized on them. And I can't help but feel that that could be because they're lacking some internal agility.
Sheena Butler Young
I have to give that Nike hedging statement where when we say a brand or a big conglomerate is struggling, we're talking about Estee Lauder, which has a $24 billion market cap. And it's obviously there's some areas of strength. I wanted to talk about some of the areas where they are strong. I think fragrance is one you mentioned that they will not probably get rid of because there is a lot of streng and then Mac, they're doing interesting campaigns. They're trying some things and they're not exactly flailing.
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah. And the brands that they have launched onto Amazon, for example, I think are performing really well. Clinique in particular, Clinique obviously was the original dermatologist brand and they stopped showing it at some of the dermatology trade shows. They've taken it back to those trade shows. They're investing quite a lot in kind of really re upping those credentials. The ordinary, as we discussed, is a really, really successful brand. They're launching that into some new markets. They're trying to bring out some of the other brands that are under the DES umbrella. And I think also, you know, Mac, for example, and La Mer, like these are really well loved brands that do have great name recognition and people know them. So it's not that they've completely fallen off the face of the earth. It's more that the competition has really increased.
Brian Baskin
And speaking of market cap, I mean, yeah, they have a $24 billion market cap. That was 80 billion two years ago. I mean, they used to be kind of, if not neck and neck with L'Oreal. They were basically in the same league as them. And if you're going purely by how investors are valuing that company, they're no longer considered a beauty giant at that global level. I think they could be there again someday. But I think that's quite a worrying sign when a company has fallen that far, at least in the market. We'll be back with more of the debrief right after this.
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Brian Baskin
Okay, we've beaten up on Estee Lauder enough. Let's talk about their competitors who aren't looking so hot this week. They're themselves, I think, L'Oreal. I mean, to me that feels like a very typical. Like they've had, they've had a good run and they're, they're having a bit of a slowdown. I don't see a huge crisis there. We should talk about those acquisitions. But first I want to hear what is going on with ELF because for the whole time that BoF has been covering beauty since 2018, the story has been ELF on this relentless rise and a lot of it coming at the expense of Estee Lauder. And now it suddenly seems like they hit this brick wall yesterday.
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah. So I think what is interesting, because you mentioned BoF, we've been covering this brand since 2018. They were actually in huge decline then. They were not a successful company.
Brian Baskin
Oh, that's right. That's right.
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah. They had way too many products. They were not sort of like doing market research to make sure the products were like a really good fit for the market. And then they had this incredible comeback kind of by almost becoming an entertainment company. Right. Like these big splashy ads and everything. They had all these stores, they closed them down, they invested more in wholesale. But they have found themselves in a little bit of a difficult spot right now. And this is partly to do with the tariff situation. So they source a lot of their product from China. They were hit with tariffs under the last Trump administration and they were able to, they did some price increases. I mean, a lot of their products are under 10, $15. Right. So a dollar price increase is not making a huge difference for the end consumer. They shared some of the cost of those tariffs with their suppliers and so on and so forth. And they have started to diversify their production away from China exclusively and also increase their global business. So it not all being made in China shipped to the US but what they signaled this morning was that there has just been some softened demand even for mass cosmetics in the US and that they might not be able to keep growing at the absolute sort of rocket ship levels that they have been in the last four to five years.
Brian Baskin
Okay, so let's talk about the other big news of the week, which was those two very interesting investments that L'Oreal made. I mean, they've never been shy about investing in other companies and even buying brands a lot like Estee Lauderdale. But these two at this particular moment seemed quite interesting. Tell us what they did and why it matters.
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah, two really interesting moves that they made this week. So one of them is in amouage, which is a luxury Armani fragrance house, and then the other one, of course, being in Jacmu, and they've invested in the overall business. So the fashion house, with a view that they then can produce a beauty line under the Jacquemou name, they have been fairly acquisitive in recent years. They did pay $2 billion for Aesop a couple of years ago, so nothing quite, you know, a full buyout since. But on their earnings call this morning, their chief financial officer, there was a wonderful moment where he described the business as being in conquest mode and on the offensive and said that there are plenty of acquisitions that are being worked and looked at and that they have plenty of white space, but they don't have to do anything if they don't want to. They will choose the companies that will fit within their strategic vision. So, yeah, L'Oreal, much like Lauder, has been adding lots of brands in the last few years. I think the most notable one would have been Aesop, which they purchased a couple of years ago, because I believe it was the most they'd ever spent on a single brand, and that that was north of $2 billion. They have also, through their new business development, like they have a corporate venture capital and they're able to write some smaller checks. So like this morning, they announced that they've made a minority investment in amouage, which is an Armani sort of luxury fragrance house. They also add licenses. So Estee Lauder has done this historically as well. I mean, at one point they even had a Donald Trump perfume. And they also said they've added beauty licenses from, you know, Prada, Limi, Valentino, and these are really, really successful franchises, sort of beauty. The fashion house licenses continue to grow for them. I think some of the most successful acquisitions they've made would have been, for example, CeraVe. This has been such a powerful brand for them. It was really quite small when they bought it. They paid a really big multiple to acquire it, and that became $1 billion brand, I think, last year. So that is an example of a brand that they made a bet on that they really invested in, and they timed well, and it's been a huge success. The success has started to cool somewhat, I think. It's, you know, perhaps it's unreasonable to expect the brand to continue to at that same rate forever, but that has been a real success story for them.
Sheena Butler Young
I have to say, this playbook sounds very similar. It sounds like what Estee Lauder was doing about 30 years ago.
Brian Baskin
Yeah, but L'Oreal's bets actually work. Seems to be the difference here.
Sheena Butler Young
But how long does it work if it's the same? Are they investing in the right brands in a way that Estee Lauder didn't? Is it timing? Is it what they're putting into the brand once they acquire it? Because it's a very similar playbook, but it's working for one large conglomerate and not the other. Right now, L'Oreal is cooling a little bit. Is it on the same trajectory?
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah, I think all of the above. Right. I think bear in mind, L'Oreal have previously acquired brands and had to shutter them. Not every single brand they have acquired has been a huge success. So for example, they had these brands called Declure and Saniflor and they were both sort of like quite natural, essential oil inspired skincare brands. Those have both gone. They realized, you know, the trend was trending towards dermatological beauty and Cerave and Skinceuticals, which they also own, were just going to be much bigger brands than that, I think, also because L'Oreal has always had a variety of price points. Points. You know, you can get something from Garnier for less than $10 or something from Helena Rubinstein for several hundred. Right. So they've not been so restricted in terms of we're only going to invest in brands in a certain price bracket. So I think that's probably some of it as well. And also the scale of L'Oreal, it's hard to comprehend just how big this company is. I mean, I think it's $185 billion market cap. It's a much bigger company with much more touch points and places and channels that people can experience the brand.
Sheena Butler Young
So back to Estee Lauder. So, you know, they have some positive things in their direction right now. A new CEO, for all intents and purposes, has a fair shot at. Right. Sizing this company. What is your overall assessment of Estee Lauder at this current moment? And where can they go from here?
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah, I think when Estee started to have some difficulties a couple of years ago, I was really, really bullish about the overall value of the brands and the prestige and the name recognition that they have. I can remember as a child and As a young teenager, Clinique in particular, I remember they had this ad campaign that was shot by the photographer Richard Pierce for the Chubby Sticks. And if you're not familiar with that, I would encourage you to go and look up those images because they really are incredible. And those images have stayed with me for what, 15, 20 years. I just felt that they were sort of not too big to fail, but the roots were too deep and that there was still this innovation thing. I think as time has gone on, it's just got harder and harder because the competition, especially in the US in their domestic market, has really, really ramped up. And they. They don't seem able to accurately forecast what's going to happen next. They. They completely withdrew their fiscal guidance at the end of last year. When they had their earnings last week, they gave an outlook for the following quarter, which was predicting more declines. And some analysts think that even that is a touch conservative. So it's just such a difficult climate for them because really, they need to be able to buy brands to grow. This is historically how they have grown, and they can't do that right now. And it's really hard to convince people something that's been around for a long time is actually cool. Again, they're big effort with Mac, and I'll be. I'll be interested to see how that shakes out for them.
Brian Baskin
I do think that's a point in their credit, though, that they haven't gone out and overpaid on some hot brand. And, I mean, you can just totally see a company like this doing that and buying something that's just like a, you know, a flash in the pan and spending $2 billion on it and having nothing to show for it.
Daniela Morrisini
Well, I mean, there is an argument say that they kind of did that. You know, we mentioned Becca earlier, they paid a pretty penny for that brand and they had to shutter it. They launched the Estee Edit, and this was meant to be the millennial version of the Estee Lauder Corps brand. Kendall Jenner was the face. I remember going to the launch in Selfridges. It was very buzzy. I don't think that lasted three years. I think there's an argument to say actually they've kind of had enough missteps on the incubation acquisition front.
Brian Baskin
You try to say something nice and then this is where it gets you.
Sheena Butler Young
I was just thinking that I was. And by the way, Clinique is a good, I think a good prism for Estee Lauder and sort of where they are now. I remember in high school, every single girl's prom makeup was the Clinique, like, startup pack. Like, you have the foundation, you had to have the powder and the whole thing. And none of my friends use it now. It's just not in the conversation. So, I mean, is it gone from the conversation forever? I don't know. But it is a powerful testament for where the company has been, where it can go, unfortunately, or maybe, or maybe fortunately. You never know.
Daniela Morrisini
Yeah. I mean, think about the Clinique Even better Dark spot eye cream. Do you remember this? It was one of the first products I saw that was in this style of packaging where it had this metallic tip. So it was like you put it under your eye and it was cooling. It was like a new kind of applicator. I think they can still deliver on innovation. I think that there are folks within the company who probably are, like, chomping at the bit to push through their big ideas. And perhaps that wasn't possible under the old leadership, and perhaps it will be under the new leadership. But I agree with you, Sheena. Like, there is something that feels a touch dated about some of the brands and figuring out how to modernize that whilst not alienating the people who. I mean, my mom has been buying Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation for as long as I've been alive. And anytime they have an earnings, she will text me and say, can you tell them to not get rid of it? And I think she thinks. Thinks that I have a direct line to Stefan. I don't, but Stephane, if you're listening, please keep Double Wear for my mum.
Sheena Butler Young
I love that. And that's a great and positive note, I think, to end on Daniella, thank you so much for joining us today.
Daniela Morrisini
Thank you so much for having me.
Sheena Butler Young
Please be sure to check out Daniella's articles. Estee Lauder Company's makeover begins and Estee Lauder knows how to cut cost. Can it also Rebuild growth@businessofashion.com these and other stories are available to BoF Professional subscribers only and you can find the links in the episode Episode notes. You've been listening to the debrief, produced by Olivia Davies, mixed and mastered by Eric Brea. I'm Sheena Butler Young. We'll be back next week with a new episode. Thanks so much for joining us and be sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts.
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The Business of Fashion Podcast: "Can Estée Lauder Win Over the Modern Beauty Consumer?"
Release Date: February 11, 2025
Host/Author: The Business of Fashion
Speakers:
In the February 11, 2025 episode of The Business of Fashion Podcast, host Brian Baskin, along with correspondents Sheena Butler Young and Daniela Morrisini, delve into the current state of Estée Lauder amidst a challenging landscape in the beauty industry. The discussion centers on whether Estée Lauder can reclaim its dominance and appeal to the modern beauty consumer.
The episode opens with Estée Lauder’s new CEO, Stéphane de la Favière, addressing investors with a candid acknowledgment of the company's struggles. Daniela Morrisini explains that the brand has faced a significant decline in agility, failing to capitalize on growth opportunities across various channels and markets.
Quote:
“Simply said we lost our agility. We did not capitalize on the higher growth opportunities quickly enough in channels, markets, media and prestige price tiers, nor fuel new consumer acquisition aggressively enough.”
— Daniela Morrisini [01:05]
This admission marks a pivotal moment for Estée Lauder as it grapples with regaining relevance and revitalizing iconic brands like MAC and Clinique.
Sheena Butler Young provides a historical context, highlighting Estée Lauder's illustrious past. Founded in the 1940s, the company became a dominant force in the cosmetics industry by the 1980s and 1990s, known for its innovative marketing and strategic acquisitions.
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“Estée Lauder, the woman was a powerhouse. I think there is an argument like she essentially invented guerrilla marketing.”
— Daniela Morrisini [03:44]
However, despite its rich legacy, the company has struggled to maintain its innovative edge in recent years, leading to a stagnation in growth and market relevance.
Stéphane de la Favière, who has been with Estée Lauder for over 13 years and previously held a significant role at L'Oréal, is brought in to steer the company through its current turmoil. Daniela Morrisini notes that under his leadership, the company is attempting to reclaim its agility and drive innovation.
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“Stefan is their brand new CEO... he wants to lay it all on the table and say this is the mistakes that were made and kind of set the scene for what he wants to do differently.”
— Daniela Morrisini [02:17]
The company has introduced the "Beauty Reimagined" plan, which includes potential job cuts and strategic restructuring aimed at optimizing the supply chain and accelerating innovation.
A significant factor in Estée Lauder’s decline has been its heavy reliance on the Chinese market, which once accounted for over 25% of its sales. However, recent geopolitical tensions and a shift in consumer behavior have led to a sharp decline in this region.
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“They got to the point where, you know, over 25% of their sales were coming from China... when the Chinese market took a really big hit, it exposed just how much they had neglected their home market of the US.”
— Daniela Morrisini [08:35]
The downturn in China has not only affected Estée Lauder but also its competitors like L'Oréal and ELF Cosmetics, indicating broader struggles within the beauty industry.
The podcast shifts focus to Estée Lauder’s competitors, particularly L'Oréal and ELF Cosmetics, both of which have recently reported disappointing results. ELF’s stock has plummeted over 25%, and L'Oréal announced a minority investment in the French fashion label Jacques Mousse, signaling strategic shifts amidst market softness.
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“ELF stock is down more than 25% and L'Oreal just announced a minority investment in the French fashion label Jacques Mousse.”
— Sheena Butler Young [01:43]
Daniela Morrisini contrasts L'Oréal's strategic investments with Estée Lauder’s struggles, noting that while both companies employ similar acquisition strategies, L'Oréal appears to be managing them more effectively.
Stéphane de la Favière unveiled the "Beauty Reimagined" plan during the earnings call, outlining steps to streamline operations and focus on core brands. The plan includes:
Quote:
“We need to be obsessed with our consumer.”
— Stéphane de la Favière [11:08]
This strategic pivot aims to modernize Estée Lauder’s approach, making it more responsive to current market trends and consumer preferences.
Daniela Morrisini discusses the restructuring efforts aimed at breaking down internal silos and fostering greater agility. By simplifying the corporate hierarchy and grouping brands by category and geography, Estée Lauder hopes to enhance targeted marketing and accelerate decision-making processes.
Quote:
“They have simplified their corporate structure... which could lead to greater agility and better sort of more targeted marketing for each region.”
— Daniela Morrisini [12:18]
However, skepticism remains about whether these changes will sufficiently rejuvenate the brand’s innovative capabilities and market responsiveness.
In contrast to Estée Lauder's struggles, L'Oréal has been actively investing in strategic acquisitions and partnerships. Recent investments include luxury fragrance house Amouage and a minority stake in Jacques Mousse. These moves are part of L'Oréal's aggressive expansion and innovation strategy, which Daniela Morrisini argues is yielding positive results.
Quote:
“L'Oreal... described the business as being in conquest mode and on the offensive.”
— Daniela Morrisini [20:15]
This proactive approach has allowed L'Oréal to maintain its status as a global beauty giant, whereas Estée Lauder is still grappling with internal challenges.
As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on Estée Lauder's potential to rebound under new leadership. While the company has a strong brand portfolio and deep-rooted legacy, the competitive landscape and internal inefficiencies pose significant hurdles.
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“They need to be able to buy brands to grow. This is historically how they have grown, and they can't do that right now.”
— Daniela Morrisini [24:04]
The success of Estée Lauder’s "Beauty Reimagined" plan hinges on its ability to implement strategic changes swiftly and effectively. The future remains uncertain, but there is cautious optimism that the new CEO's initiatives could steer the company back toward growth and innovation.
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This comprehensive analysis provides an in-depth look at Estée Lauder’s current predicament, contrasting it with competitor strategies, and assesses the potential pathways for recovery and growth in the ever-evolving beauty industry.