 Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of skin care, cosmetics, perfume and hair care products.
History
The company began in 1946, when Joseph Lauder and wife Estee Lauder began producing cosmetics in New York City, New York. At first, they only had four products: super rich all purpose cream, 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 went international. Its first international account was 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, Estee Lauder was rewarded for her efforts by being 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, allergy tested, fragrance free cosmetic brand created by Estee Lauder.
Estee 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 achieved another breakthrough when their products became available in the Soviet Union.
Estee Lauder now sells its products in department stores across the world, as well as having a chain of freestanding retail outlets. It employs over 20,000 people, and in 2003, its sales topped $5 billion. In February 2004, the company's teen-oriented jane business was sold; in April 2006, the professional-quality Stila brand, which Estee Lauder purchased in 1999, was sold.
The company has been known for its sometimes iconic spokesmodels, sometimes referred to simply as 'faces'. Past 'faces' for Estee Lauder include Karen Graham, Bruce Boxleitner, Shaun Casey, Willow Bay and Paulina Porizkova. Currently, the public spokesmodels for Estee Lauder are Carolyn Murphy, Liya Kebede, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elizabeth Hurley, and Hilary Rhoda.
Operations
Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of Estee Lauder Companies Inc. are: Charlene Barshefsky, Rose Bravo, Lynn de Rothschild, Mellody Hobson, Irvine Hockaday, Aerin Lauder, Leonard Lauder, Ronald Lauder, William P. Lauder, Richard Parsons, Marshall Rose, and Barry Sternlicht.
Management
The company is still controlled by the Lauder family, which controls about 70% of voting shares, and Estee's son Leonard Lauder chairs the board of directors. William P. Lauder, a grandson, is CEO. Dan Brestle is president. Fabrizio Freda will become president and chief operating officer in March 2008.
Breast cancer activist
The Estee Lauder Companies' annual Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign involves all of the 18 brands that make up The Estee Lauder Companies. They collectively represent The Breast Cancer Research Foundation's first and largest corporate supporter. Estee's daughter-in-law was the creator of BCRF's signature pink ribbon.
Over $10 million has been raised for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation since 1993. Another $1 million was raised from their retail partners since July 2002.
Brands
Estee Lauder brands include:
American Beauty, Aramis, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Bumble and bumble, Clinique, Coach, Daisy Fuentes, Darphin, Donald Trump The Fragrance (discontinued), Donna Karan, Estee Lauder, Flirt!, Good Skin, Grassroots, Jo Malone, Kate Spade (divested), Lab Series, La Mer, Kiton, MAC Cosmetics, Michael Kors, Missoni, Ojon, Origins, Prescriptives, Sean John Fragrances, Stila (sold), Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford Beauty.
Controversies
Boycott - Since at least February, 2001, Estee 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. In June 2003, the San Francisco-based Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT) took up the boycott with their "Estee Slaughter" campaign. The boycott has generated an anti-boycott campaign by supporters of Israel.
Sandra Bernhard - Estee Lauder's boutique brand, M.A.C, aired an internet commercial starring M.A.C spokesperson Sandra Bernhard. Ms. Bernhard referred to theoretical individuals unlike herself (who presumably did not use the product) 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.
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