Estée Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder-owned cosmetics label’s latest campaign casts Amelia Gray, Francesca Scorsese and Zaya Wade to promote “Lipglass Air,” a follow-up to MAC’s best-selling Lipglass.

The company’s latest results show progress in cutting costs, but projects a steeper slide in sales this year than previously anticipated.

This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Turkish high-street giant LC Waikiki, investment in India’s Pilgrim and the impact of the US-China trade war on factories in Bangladesh and Honduras.

Aware of the backlash other fashion and beauty players have faced, Estée Lauder is taking a slow and cautious approach to AI by putting restrictions on what it will — and won't — do with the technology.

The four biggest beauty conglomerates all recently reported disappointing sales, and consumers are tiring even of once white-hot brands like Cerave and Drunk Elephant. A rebound will require agility and adjusted expectations.

Tuesday’s second-quarter earnings detailed the conglomerate’s plans to streamline the business, with more job cuts and corporate restructuring to come. Getting the company back to growth will mean closing the intention gap.

In order to reverse its sales decline, the company is reportedly considering selling off poorer-performing, lower-margin brands and cutting other costs. Investors want to see the fat trimmed, and more room created for future growth.

While nowhere near as dire as luxury fashion, beauty is seeing consumer momentum wane globally.

Amid a luxury fashion slowdown, brands are launching full beauty lines at a record pace as they jostle to find their position in a crowded market.

From cutting costs, rebuilding brand equity and right-sizing its exposure to volatile markets, incoming chief executive Stéphane de La Faverie has a lot to accomplish if he wants to reassure investors that the company’s best days are still to come.