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The origins of counter chic In 1946, a Queens businesswoman named Josephine Esther Mentzer started a small business to sell her uncle's skin care products. Two years later, the success of Mentzer's makeup sent them across the East River to Manhattan, where they were sold from the counters of Saks Fifth Avenue. Over the next several decades, Mentzer crisscrossed the country, placing her makeup in more and more stores and training counter staff as she went along. Her makeup soon gained tremendous name recognition, and so did she; by the 1960s, both were known as Estee Lauder. Hot lines In 1964, the company introduced Aramis, a men's fragrance that soon dominated the market. Four years later, the company introduced Clinique, a popular line of skin care products. The company has snagged younger and trendier consumers by acquiring the Sassaby, M.A.C., Aveda, and Bobbi Brown Essentials lines. The Origins and Aveda lines of natural, botanical skin care are aimed at eco-friendly consumers, while Bobbi Brown is a very upscale line that caters to the needs of urban fortysomethings. Sassaby produces the jane line, a young, cheap drugstore brand popular with teens. The company acquired Stila Cosmetics, which targets highbrow twentysomethings, in 1999. With over 700 products, these brands combine to claim a whopping 45 percent of all American department and specialty store cosmetics sales. A scent of green The future looks bright for the skin care giant. With the acquisitions of Bumble & Bumble LLC, an upscale New York hair salon and products company, and Jo Malone, a British skincare and fragrance marketer, Lauder continues to build its empire. New fragrances like Lauder Pleasures For Men and Clinique Happy are wafting off the shelves, and the company's popular mainstays have helped it turn in record sales of $4 billion for fiscal 1999. Nearly 39 percent of those revenues come from international sales. In order to boost those sales even more (and continue to maintain 45 years of consecutive growth), Estee Lauder bought Gloss.com in April 2000. Gloss is already one of the top three leading beauty sites, but Lauder's web exposure won't end there. The company has also made e-partnerships with department stores.
Estee Lauder does not publicize its job openings, but it does accept resumes mailed to its corporate headquarters. Resumes are reviewed for current openings and then kept on file for future opportunities. For its international management personnel, Estee Lauder recruits extensively from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School. Applicants can mail their resume to the company's human resources department on Fifth Avenue in New York. Those interested in being a counter representative should apply directly to the store.
Movin' on up... Insiders praise Estee Lauder's corporate flexibility, opportunities for women, and big-time cosmetics discounts that have many making out (or up) like bandits. Corporate workers say the atmosphere is "very professional," in the firm's business offices, and "not as hectic" as other corporate offices in New York. One veteran in Information Services praises the company's flexibility in letting her choose her own career path. "I knew I didn't enjoy management positions, and the company had enough flexibility to let me pursue my own path. I've never felt the need to look elsewhere." Big Lauder is watching Not surprisingly, the company that sets the image for so many women is "very image-conscious" itself. Retail workers are required to adhere to a strict dress code, and corporate workers are expected to wear business dress, though "not necessarily a suit," and are allowed to go somewhat casual ("but never sloppy") on Fridays. The company's image-conscious attitude extends to its offices. One insider notes, "The floors are polished regularly and there are pictures of the models from the Est?ee Lauder ads on the walls. If a picture is moved and a new one is a different size, then the wall is repainted so that the area behind the picture will not be a different color than the rest of the wall!" Work hours for most fit the 9 to 5 mold, though longer hours are typical towards the end of the month. Women: the red carpet treatment Most insiders say opportunities for women abound at the makeup giant. One insider at Estee Lauder reports, "I can safely say that because many of the executives are women, Estee Lauder is quite different from most corporations. This is a great place to work." Another notes, "Lauder chooses the best people - gender and ethnicity isn't an issue. I am a minority, but my ethnicity has nothing to do with my qualifications as far as Lauder is concerned." A "socially conscious company which gives generously to charities," Estee Lauder is praised by employees for its breast cancer awareness program. "Employees volunteer time and effort to make each October a successful Breast Cancer Awareness month," one reports, "Mrs. Evelyn Lauder is very active in the detection, prevention, and treatment of breast cancer through her Breast Cancer Research Foundation." Upsize your medicine cabinet Employees in the retail division make out like bandits, typically receiving "more than $500 worth of free product each year" (one reports getting to try at least $200 of product each quarter). Meanwhile, corporate level workers shop at discounted rates in the company's stores and boutiques, and some receive quarterly allowances for merchandise (gift certificates for Estee Lauder products). Other perks include special admission rates to many of New York's museums, including the Museum of Natural History (Lauder donates to these institutions), a tuition refund program, and an excellent medical plan that includes reduced prescription rates. The company also offers a prescription plan under which "we only pay $5 for a prescription and a medical plan that covers 80 percent of our medical bill once the deductible is met ($200 per person, $400 per family). And, says one employee: "We usually have a couple of training classes a year for the beauty advisors and/or the counter managers at luxurious hotels in which Lauder provides hotel accommodations and travel perks when necessary."
Human Resources
Aramis;Aveda;Bobbi Brown essentials;Clinique;Creme de la Mer;Estee Lauder;jane;Lab Series for Men;M.A.C.;Origins;Prescriptives;Tommy Hilfiger Cosmetics;Donna Karan Cosmetics
L'Oreal ; LVMH ;Revlon; Body Shop;Chanel More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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