Estee Lauder Companies Inc. overview

Estee Lauder Companies

Based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is an American global cosmetics firm that produces and markets cosmetics for the skin, hair, and nails. The business has a broad portfolio of brands that are sold all over the world through retail and internet platforms. Estée Lauder is your one-stop shop for all of your beauty requirements with more than 70 years of experience in the development of luxury skincare, makeup, and scent. Estée Lauder has always been at the forefront of innovation, from creating the first serum to creating Youth Dew for women. Now, the company offers a variety of high-tech, ingredient-focused products, from moisturizing lotions and treatment creams to long-lasting foundations and uplifting scents like Bronze Goddess.

History

When Estee Lauder and her husband Joseph started making cosmetics in New York City in1946, the firm was born. At first, they only offered four items: Creme Pack, Super Rich All-purpose Creme, Skin Lotion, and Cleansing Oil. They opened their first department store account with Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan two years later, in 1948. They increased the selection and kept selling their goods in the US for the following 15 years. The business opened its first foreign account in the London department store Harrods in 1960. The office in Hong Kong was inaugurated the following year.

A range of scent and grooming products for men called Aramis, named after a rare Turkish root once regarded as an aphrodisiac, was created in 1964. Business and finance editors named Estée Lauder one of the ten Outstanding Women in Business in the United States in 1967. The Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University then presented him with the Spirit of Achievement Award in 1968. The business opened Clinique in that year, a dermatologist-led, allergy-tested, fragrance-free cosmetic brand under the direction of Dr. Norman Orentreich.

In1976, Estée Lauder’s Clinique brand launched a separate line for men called “Skin Supplies for Men,” which is still offered at Clinique counters all over the world. This made them the first women’s cosmetic company to do so. The company’s goods started to be sold in the Soviet Union in 1981.

In the 1990s, as the corporation evolved from a family-owned business to a publicly traded, family-controlled enterprise, brand acquisitions and licensing deals helped fuel its spectacular growth. Origins was the first wellness brand to appear in American department stores, and it marked the start of the decade. The first fragrance licensing deal was made with fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger in1993. Kiton[6], an Italian fashion house, and American fashion designer Donna Karan then followed in 1995 and1996, respectively (1997).

Evelyn Lauder, Estée’s daughter-in-law and co-creator of the “Pink Ribbon”, a representation of breast health—launched the BCA campaign in October 1992. Evelyn Lauder, Estée’s daughter-in-law and co-creator of the “Pink Ribbon”[26]—a representation of breast health—launched the BCA campaign in October 1992. All 19 of the brands that make up the Estée Lauder Companies participate in the annual Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. They represent the first and largest business donor to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign has raised more than $89 million worldwide since 1992 for vital medical services, research, and education.

Estee Lauder Company acquisitions

The first brand acquisition was a 1994 investment in Toronto-based MAC Cosmetics, which the business later bought in 1998. The renowned makeup artist bought Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in1995, along with La Mer, which included the original recipe for its most luxurious product, Creme de la Mer, which contains the nutrient-rich Miracle BrothTM. In1997, the business launched Aveda, a hair care and holistic beauty brand. In1999, the famed Jo Malone London fragrance company was purchased.

The Estee Lauder Companies bought the majority of the trendy hair salon Bumble and bumble in the 2000s, and in 2006 they completed the acquisition. Exclusive global licensing was also agreed upon with fashion designer Michael Kors (2003). After starting a project with the business, designer Tom Ford and the company later came to an agreement to create and market cosmetics and fragrances under the Tom Ford Beauty brand.

On July1,2010, the business bought Smashbox Beauty Cosmetics, Inc., a firm founded by brothers Dean and Davis Factor in Culver City, California’s Smashbox Studios (as in Max).

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.’s Aramis and Designer Fragrances and Tory Burch LLC announced the signing of a multiyear agreement for the exclusive worldwide license of the Tory Burch fragrance business on October28, 2011. This collaboration was Tory Burch’s entry into the beauty sector. 2013 saw the debut of the first Tory Burch fragrance items.

AERIN Beauty, a luxury lifestyle beauty and fragrance brand inspired by the distinctive style of its founder, Aerin Lauder, was introduced by the firm in 2012.

The company purchased Le Labo, a fragrance and sensory lifestyle brand, and RODIN olio lusso, a skin care company known for its “Luxury Face Oil,” in 2014. Later that year, the business also made its first investment in India when it acquired a small part in Forest Essentials, a high-end cosmetics business that specializes in Ayurvedic goods. Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, a fragrance brand, and GLAMGLOW, a Hollywood face care brand, were both purchased by the business in 2015. The business bought Becca Cosmetics in2016, their first acquisition of a color cosmetics group since Smashbox in 2010.

With the $1.45 billion purchase of California-based cosmetics company Too Faced in November2016, the corporation completed its largest acquisition to date.

In 2019, the business bought Dr. Jart, which was established in Korea in 2004 and pioneered the development of the BB Cream, established the benchmark for multipurpose beauty.

The Estee Lauder Companies announced on August20,2020, a reduction in their employment of between 1,500 and 2,000 people worldwide, or about 3 percent of all employees, in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Support staff and shop employees will comprise the majority of the reductions. Additionally, the firm announced that it would focus more on digital operations and close 10 to 15 percent of its physical locations as well as in-store beauty counters.

The business bought the Canadian company Deciem Beauty Group Inc. in 2021 in Galgenen, Switzerland, Estee Lauder unveiled a 300,000 square foot distribution facility in 2022.

Estee Lauder is one of the many brands owned by the Estee Lauder corporation. It has occasionally used well-known spokesmodels, also known as “faces.” Karen Graham, Bruce Boxleitner, Shaun Casey, Willow Bay, Paulina Porizkova, Elizabeth Hurley, Carolyn Murphy, supermodel Liya Kebede, Anja Rubik, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow are just a few of the past “faces” of Estee Lauder. Supermodel Hilary Rhoda served as Estee Lauder’s primary spokesmodel as of 2008. In2010, the agency welcomed Joan Smalls, a Puerto Rican model, Liu Wen, a Chinese model, and Constance Jablonski, a French model, to its roster.

Model Kendall Jenner was signed by Estée Lauder in 2015 to represent the company.

The business named Violette Serrat as its Global Beauty Director in 2017.

The Estee Lauder Companies reported net sales of $11.26 billion for the 2016 fiscal year, an increase of 4% over the $10.78 billion in the previous year. Net income for the year increased by 2% to $1.11 billion from $1.09 billion the previous year, while diluted net income per common share increased by 5% to $2.96 from $2.82 in the preceding year. According to revenue, Estée Lauder Companies was placed 258 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest American companies as of 2018.

Controversies

Children were reportedly seen manufacturing goods for Origins, one of Estee Lauder’s natural product lines, in a facility in Cambridge, New York, in 2001. Common Sense Natural Soap & Bodycare, which was hired, was run by a cult led by Yoneq Gene Spriggs. Estee Lauder said that after the initial inspection it was completely uninformed and decided to immediately terminate the contract with the manufacturer with whom it had been doing business for five years.

The Estee Lauder Companies conduct non-animal and volunteer human testing to evaluate the efficacy and safety of their products. Animal testing is conducted on products made by the Estee Lauder Companies as required by local legislation. Numerous cosmetic goods must undergo animal testing in China, according to the government. Smaller companies that were acquired by Estee Lauder but are “cruelty free” are upset by this.

Estee Lauder and its brands have been the target of a boycott campaign since at least February2001, spearheaded by pro-Palestine activists who dislike the company because Ronald Lauder supports Israel. With their “Estee Slaughter” campaign, the San Francisco-based Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT) took up the boycott in June 2003. Israel supporters have launched an anti-boycott campaign in response to the boycott.