Estée Lauder unveils 'One ELC' strategy as recovery plan advances

The Estée Lauder Companies has introduced an operating model called "One ELC", designed to enhance speed, consistency and execution across the organisation.

As part of implementing One ELC, the company has also reached a "significant milestone" in its Profit Recovery & Growth Plan (PRGP) restructuring programme, which is a central component of its "Beauty Reimagined" strategy.

Since expanding its restructuring programme in February 2025, the company has implemented changes aimed at reducing costs and reallocating resources toward consumer-focused investments.

According to President and CEO, Stéphane de La Faverie, the One ELC model is now fully in place and is expected to further support improved operational efficiency and future growth.

The One ELC model is built on three components:

• One Team: Introduced in July 2025, this initiative simplifies the organisational structure by reducing layers and silos, clarifying responsibilities and aiming to accelerate decision-making.
• One Culture: Launched in February 2026, this focuses on shaping workplace behaviours, emphasising accountability, adaptability and entrepreneurial thinking.
• One Operating Ecosystem: Developed over the past year, this integrates shared platforms, data and external partners to support more consistent and scalable operations across brands and regions.

"Building on our strong fiscal 2026 first half results, which included increased consumer-facing investments to restore sustainable sales growth, today we announced an important milestone in the Profit Recovery and Growth Plan’s Restructuring Programme," said de La Faverie.

"We have now approved initiatives to achieve the high-end of the target gross savings range and affirmed we are on track to realise the vast majority of PRGP’s full run-rate benefits in fiscal 2027. The PRGP has instilled a strong sense of cost discipline into our organisation that is now embedded in our ways of working."

It comes as Estée Lauder enters discussions with Puig regarding a potential business combination that could see the two companies merge.

In a statement last week, the company said no final decision has been made and no agreement has been reached. The company added that there can be no assurance a deal will proceed or what its terms might be unless a formal agreement is signed.

A potential deal would mark a major transaction in the global beauty industry, bringing together two major players and their extensive portfolios. While specific details remain undisclosed, reports suggest the combined value of the merger could reach approximately $40 billion.

Read TheIndustry.beauty's analysis on what an Estée Lauder-Puig merger could mean for beauty.