The Estée Lauder Companies (EL) Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference 2025 summary

Progress on strategic pillars

• Significant momentum in consumer coverage, innovation, and increased investment in consumer-facing activities, with rapid expansion across Amazon, Shopee, TikTok Shop, and pharmacy channels globally.

• Innovation now represents over 25% of sales, with notable product launches and a focus on accelerating new product development across all categories.

• Workforce restructuring underway, with over 4,000 positions eliminated and ongoing efforts in outsourcing and procurement to support profit recovery and growth.

• Cultural transformation is ongoing, with a focus on agility, accountability, and evolving leadership to support long-term growth.

• Board and executive team refreshed, with over 70% of the executive team new or in new roles, and new board members added to enhance expertise.

Marketing and digital transformation

• Media investment is shifting toward brand building and awareness, with a focus on increasing ROI and lowering acquisition costs through data-driven strategies.

• Personalization is a key priority, leveraging AI and data to deliver tailored content and improve consumer engagement across platforms.

• Content strategy is being overhauled to create thousands of campaign versions for different platforms, ensuring every piece of content is shoppable.

• Partnerships with agencies are being refocused on brand relevance and delivering the right content in the right place.

• Integration with Shopify and other tech partners is enhancing direct-to-consumer capabilities and omnichannel experiences.

Channel and ecosystem development

• Social selling and emerging channels like TikTok Shop and Douyin are driving new customer acquisition and complementing traditional retail.

• Ecosystem approach is yielding results, with cross-channel synergies boosting traffic and sales across Amazon, freestanding stores, and department stores.

• U.S. market is showing signs of turnaround, with unit market share gains in key categories and strong performance in direct-to-consumer channels.

• China has delivered three consecutive quarters of market share gains, with strong brand momentum and innovation tailored for the local market.

• Western Europe and the U.K. remain challenging, but new channel launches and emerging market investments are driving growth in regions like Mexico and India.