and chief executive officer Stéphane de La Faverie. “We are raising our fiscal 2027 outlook, reflecting both our strong start and our conviction in the future we are creating.” La Faverie has every right to be bullish. Estée Lauder’s first-quarter numbers, released on Monday, showed that sales increased across key categories, including skin care and fragrance, with brands such as La Mer and Tom Ford performing strongly. In total, net sales rose by 6.7 per cent to $3.72 billion, up from $3.48 billion a year earlier and ahead of Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. What is Estée Lauder’s “Beauty Reimagined” strategy? The centerpiece of the turnaround has been Estée Lauder’s “Beauty Reimagined” strategy, launched in February 2025. It was introduced under de La Faverie, who had taken over as president and CEO the previous month. The plan was designed to transform the company’s operating model, making it “leaner, faster and more agile”, while expanding consumer reach, accelerating innovation and increasing consumer-facing investment to drive growth and profitability. Among the initiatives was an expansion of its brands’ presence on platforms such as Amazon Premium Beauty and TikTok Shop, alongside new multi-brand retail partnerships. Mac Cosmetics, for example, entered US Sephora stores in March 2026. The strategy also placed greater emphasis on technology and AI, including the introduction of AI-powered fragrance finders and tools to improve customer search and the shopping experience. That focus was reinforced on November 2, when Estée Lauder announced a partnership with Microsoft to strengthen its cloud infrastructure, data management and AI capabilities. The agreement will support Estée Lauder’s Unified Data Platform, connecting information across brands, markets and business functions to improve efficiency and decision-making. It will focus on three areas: consumer engagement, AI-powered business intelligence and workplace automation. What experts have to say about the “Beauty Reimagined” plan Retail experts believe the strategy is beginning to deliver on its promise to revive Estée Lauder’s profitability. Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, told Inside Retail, “After a period of softness, Estée Lauder has been pulling out all the stops to drive better performance. As well as increasing product innovation and refreshing some of its key brands, the company has also been focusing on how to reach customers.” Saunders pointed to the company’s expansion into new retail channels as a key driver of its recovery. “By expanding into Amazon, launching into retailers like Boots and Sephora, and being present on TikTok Shop, Estée has put itself in front of a much wider audience and this has been helpful for customer acquisition and sales. While these are common sense moves, Estée deserves credit for moving with speed and agility.” Barney Stacher, CEO of consultancy Retail OCD, agreed that the strategy was beginning to bear fruit. “Estée Lauder’s results suggest that Beauty Reimagined is becoming more than a turnaround slogan,” he said. “We’re beginning to see the benefits of a company that is getting back to understanding its consumers, investing in brand relevance and becoming more disciplined about how it goes to market.” What Estée Lauder is getting right For Stacher, the recovery is about more than simply selling more products. It reflects Estée Lauder’s improving ability to connect its brands with the consumers most likely to buy them. “The company appears to be moving from relying on the strength of its legacy brands to actively earning consumer attention and engagement,” said Stacher. “The strength in fragrance is particularly telling. Fragrance is personal, emotional and experiential. It’s a category where storytelling, discovery and brand identity can create real differentiation. Estée Lauderr’s 20 per cent organic fragrance growth suggests that consumers are responding to that combination.” Stacher also argued that prestige alone is no longer enough if a brand is absent from the channels where its customers shop. By expanding into digital channels and creating new opportunities for discovery, Estée Lauder is adapting to changes in the luxury beauty customer journey. The challenge now is to broaden accessibility without undermining the desirability that supports its premium pricing. The company must also turn its recovery into sustained growth. “Cost discipline can improve margins, and stronger distribution can increase sales, but neither guarantees lasting consumer loyalty,” warned Stacher. “Estée Lauder needs to keep investing in innovation, product relevance and the experiences that give consumers a reason to return.” Finally, Kimber Maderazzo, professor of marketing at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, echoed Stacher’s assessment that Estée Lauder’s comeback is gathering momentum, although its success is far from guaranteed. “Estée Lauder’s latest results suggest that its Beauty Reimagined strategy is gaining traction. What makes this turnaround particularly interesting is that the company is doing more than improving its financial performance. It is rethinking how a legacy beauty powerhouse competes in a rapidly changing industry,” said Maderazzo. The challenge now is to translate that financial recovery into sustained consumer demand and brand loyalty. “Estée Lauder has an extraordinary portfolio of iconic brands, but heritage alone does not guarantee relevance. The company must continue attracting younger consumers through meaningful product innovation, authentic engagement, and cultural relevance. It also needs to balance expanded distribution with maintaining the prestige positioning that makes its brands desirable,” Maderazzo said. Improved financial discipline may help stabilise the business, but lasting growth will depend on whether Estée Lauder can reignite consumer desire. “The real test of this turnaround is not whether Estée Lauder can return to its former position in the beauty industry, but whether it can redefine what leadership in prestige beauty looks like for the next generation,” Maderazzo concluded. Further reading: Estée Lauder restructures its brand leadership team