| Type | Public group of companies (NYSE: EL) S&P 500 Component |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cosmetics, Perfumes |
| Founded | New York City, USA (1946) |
| Headquarters | General Motors Building New York City, USA |
| Key people | Charlene Barshefsky, Rose Bravo, Lynn de Rothschild, Mellody Hobson, Irvine Hockaday, Aerin Lauder, Leonard Lauder, Ronald Lauder, William P. Lauder, Richard Parsons, Marshall Rose, Barry Sternlicht, Fabrizio Freda |
| Revenue | US$7.32 billion (FY 2009)[1] |
| Operating income | US$418 million (FY 2009)[1] |
| Net income | US$218 million (FY 2009)[1] |
| Total assets | US$5.18 billion (FY 2009)[2] |
| Total equity | US$1.64 billion (FY 2009)[2] |
| Employees | 31,000 |
| Website | www.esteelauder.com |
Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. (pronounced /ˈɛsteɪ ˈlɔːdər/) is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.[3]
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The company began in 1946 when Joseph Lauder and his wife Estée Lauder began producing cosmetics in New York City. At first, they only had four products: Super-Rich All Purpose Creme, Creme Pack, Cleansing Oil and Skin Lotion. Two years later they established their first department store account with Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.
Over the next fifteen years they expanded the range and continued to sell their products in the United States. In 1960 the company started its first international account in the London department store Harrods. The following year it opened an office in Hong Kong.
In 1964 they started Aramis Inc., which produced fragrances and grooming products for men. In 1967 Estée Lauder herself was named one of ten Outstanding Women in Business in the United States by business and financial editors. This was followed by a Spirit of Achievement Award from Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in 1968. In that year the company expanded again, opening Clinique Laboratories, Inc. Clinique was the first dermatologist guided (Dr. Norman Orentreich), allergy tested, fragrance free cosmetic brand created by Estée Lauder.
Estée Lauder's Clinique brand became the first women's cosmetic company to introduce a second line for men when, in 1976, they began a separate line called "Skin Supplies for Men". In 1981 the company's products became available in the Soviet Union.
In February 2004 the company's teen-oriented jane business was sold; in April 2006, the professional-quality Stila brand, which Estée Lauder purchased in 1999, was sold.
The company has had sometimes iconic spokesmodels, sometimes referred to simply as 'faces'. Past 'faces' for Estée Lauder include Karen Graham, Bruce Boxleitner, Shaun Casey, Willow Bay, Paulina Porizkova, Elizabeth Hurley, Carolyn Murphy, Anja Rubik, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow. As of 2008[update] the main spokesmodel for Estée Lauder is supermodel Hilary Rhoda. In 2010, the company added 2 more faces to the roster, Chinese model Liu Wen and French model Constance Jablonski. Their first campaigns will come out June 2010, and will be shot by Craig McDean.[4]
As of 2010[update] Estée Lauder sells its products in department stores across the world and has a chain of freestanding retail outlets. On July 1, 2010, the company acquired Smashbox Beauty Cosmetics, Inc., a brand created in Smashbox Studios in Culver City, California by brothers Dean and Davis Factor (as in Max). [5]
On October 28, 2011, Aramis and Designer Fragrances, a division of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., and Tory Burch LLC announced the signing of a multi-year agreement for the exclusive worldwide license of the Tory Burch fragrance business. This partnership marks Tory Burch's first step into the beauty industry. The first Tory Burch fragrance products are expected to be introduced in 2013. [6]
Current members of the Board of Directors of Estée Lauder Companies Inc. are: Charlene Barshefsky, Rose Marie Bravo, Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Fabrizio Freda, Paul J. Fribourg, Mellody Hobson, Irvine Hockaday, Aerin Lauder, Jane Lauder, Leonard Lauder, William P. Lauder, Richard Parsons, Barry Sternlicht and Richard F. Zannino.
The company is still controlled by the Lauder family, which controls about 70% of voting shares, and Estée's son Leonard Lauder is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors. William P. Lauder, a grandson, is Chairman of the Board and Executive Chairman. On July 1, 2009, Fabrizio Freda became President and CEO.[7]
The Estée Lauder Companies’ annual Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign involves all of the 18 brands that make up The Estée Lauder Companies. They collectively represent The Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s first and largest corporate supporter. Estée's daughter-in-law created BCRF's signature pink ribbon.
Over $10 million was raised for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation between 1993 and summer 2003. Another $1 million was raised from their retail partners between July 2002 and summer 2003.[8]
Estée Lauder has a total of 27 brands which include:
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Since at least February, 2001, Estée Lauder and its brands have been the target of a boycott campaign. The boycott has been led by pro-Palestinian actvists who have targeted the corporation because of the pro-Israel activities of Ronald Lauder.[10][11] In June 2003, the San Francisco-based Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT) took up the boycott with their "Estee Slaughter" campaign.[12] The boycott has generated an anti-boycott campaign by supporters of Israel.[13]
Estée Lauder's boutique brand, M.A.C, aired an internet commercial starring M.A.C spokesperson Sandra Bernhard. Ms. Bernhard referred to someone who might not approve of her outspokenness as "...little, freaked out, intimidated, frightened, right-wing Republican thin-lipped bitch" in this now infamous internet ad. Many Estee Lauder brand customers contacted the company to complain, asking that be removed and a public apology made. The company apologized for the ad, and the video was removed from the official site, although it is still available on YouTube.