Remembering Mrs. Estée Lauder
The Estée Lauder Companies’ founding Chairman, Estée Lauder, was a visionary and a beauty-industry icon who literally changed the face of the cosmetics industry.
By the time she passed away in April 2004, Mrs. Lauder had seen her start up mature to a worldwide corporation with annual revenues of more than $5 billion. Most important, she was proud of the fact that the Company went public in 1995 and yet continued – and continues -- to be led by her children and grandchildren.
Born Josephine Esther Mentzer, Estée Lauder was raised in Corona, Queens, by her Hungarian mother, Rose, and Czech father, Max. The name Estée was a variation on her family nickname, Esty. Always interested in beauty, she was mentored by her chemist uncle, John Schotz, and began her business by selling the skin care products he developed to beauty salons and hotels. In 1930 she married Joseph Lauder, who became her partner in the business.
Her talent for sales led to a counter at New York City’s Saks Fifth Avenue in 1948, followed by agreements with other leading department and specialty stores, such as Neiman Marcus, which began selling Estée Lauder products in 1950. In 1960, the company opened its first international account at Harrods in London.
Although skin care was her first enterprise, Mrs. Lauder also became a world-renowned fragrance nose. Under her direction, the company introduced Youth Dew in 1953, followed by launches including Aramis in 1965, Aliage in 1972, Private Collection in 1973, White Linen in 1978, JHL in 1981 and Beautiful in 1985. The Estée Lauder Companies now markets more than 70 fragrances.
Over the years Mrs. Lauder and her team of executives developed four more brands for the company’s portfolio: Aramis, a line of prestige fragrance and grooming products for men, was launched in 1964. Clinique, the first dermatologist-guided, allergy-tested, fragrance-free cosmetics brand, followed in 1968. Prescriptives, a color authority with an advanced collection of highly individualized products, was founded in 1979. Origins Natural Resources, a line of skin care, makeup, bath and body and Sensory TherapyTM products combining age-old remedies from nature with advanced science, was introduced in 1990.
Although skin care was her first enterprise, Mrs. Lauder also became a world-renowned fragrance nose. Under her direction, the company introduced Youth Dew in 1953, followed by launches including Aramis in 1965, Aliage in 1972, Private Collection in 1973, White Linen in 1978, JHL in 1981 and Beautiful in 1985. The Estée Lauder Companies now markets more than 70 fragrances.
Over the years Mrs. Lauder and her team of executives developed four more brands for the company’s portfolio: Aramis, a line of prestige fragrance and grooming products for men, was launched in 1964. Clinique, the first dermatologist-guided, allergy-tested, fragrance-free cosmetics brand, followed in 1968. Prescriptives, a color authority with an advanced collection of highly individualized products, was founded in 1979. Origins Natural Resources, a line of skin care, makeup, bath and body and Sensory TherapyTM products combining age-old remedies from nature with advanced science, was introduced in 1990.
Perhaps Mrs. Lauder’s most important legacy was her belief that in order to make a sale, you must touch the customer. She rarely missed the opening of a new company door and spent a great deal of time behind the counter, advising customers and teaching the Company’s Beauty Advisors her philosophy and sales techniques. "I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it," she often reminded her sales force. Mrs. Lauder traveled near and far in pursuit of her goals, from Manhattan’s SoHo, where she would visit the Origins store overseen by her grandson William, now President and Chief Executive Officer of The Estée Lauder Companies, to Moscow, where the Company opened a store in 1981.
A passionate advocate of sampling, Mrs. Lauder used her early promotional budgets to entice customers to the Estée Lauder counter for a free gift and to distribute samples at fashion shows. She also pioneered the idea of "gift with purchase" by giving customers who bought Lauder products free samples of other offerings they might like. One of her favorite quotes was "Tell-A-Phone, Tell-A-Graph, Tell-A-Woman", based on her conviction that once a woman tried a product, she would like it and then share it with her friends.
A passionate advocate of sampling, Mrs. Lauder used her early promotional budgets to entice customers to the Estée Lauder counter for a free gift and to distribute samples at fashion shows. She also pioneered the idea of "gift with purchase" by giving customers who bought Lauder products free samples of other offerings they might like. One of her favorite quotes was "Tell-A-Phone, Tell-A-Graph, Tell-A-Woman", based on her conviction that once a woman tried a product, she would like it and then share it with her friends.
When the Company began to advertise, Mrs. Lauder insisted that its print images portray beauty that was both aspirational and approachable. In 1962, Estée Lauder began the practice of selecting one model to be the "face" of the brand. Over the years, supermodels Karen Graham, Willow Bay, Paulina Porizkova and now Elizabeth Hurley, Carolyn Murphy, Liya Kebede, Hillary Rhoda and Anja Rubik, have represented Estée Lauder. Mrs. Lauder was also deeply involved with the Company’s package design. Among her many contributions was the choice of Estée Lauder’s signature blue, which she believed would coordinate with the décor of most bathrooms and bedrooms.
Family was as important to Mrs. Lauder as business, and family and business unite in the company. Her son, Leonard, officially joined her in 1958, serving as President from 1972 to 1995 and as Chief Executive Officer from 1982 to 1999. He has been Chairman since 1995. Her son, Ronald, now Chairman of Clinique Laboratories, Inc., and Leonard’s wife, Evelyn, now Senior Corporate Vice President, also became involved early on. Today, several of Mrs. Lauder’s grandchildren are active, powerful partners in growing the business. In addition to William, Aerin Lauder is Senior Vice President, Global Creative Directions, for the flagship Estée Lauder brand, while Jane Lauder is Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for Clinique. Gary Lauder, Mrs. Lauder’s other grandson, is Managing Director of Lauder Partners, LLC.
Family was as important to Mrs. Lauder as business, and family and business unite in the company. Her son, Leonard, officially joined her in 1958, serving as President from 1972 to 1995 and as Chief Executive Officer from 1982 to 1999. He has been Chairman since 1995. Her son, Ronald, now Chairman of Clinique Laboratories, Inc., and Leonard’s wife, Evelyn, now Senior Corporate Vice President, also became involved early on. Today, several of Mrs. Lauder’s grandchildren are active, powerful partners in growing the business. In addition to William, Aerin Lauder is Senior Vice President, Global Creative Directions, for the flagship Estée Lauder brand, while Jane Lauder is Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for Clinique. Gary Lauder, Mrs. Lauder’s other grandson, is Managing Director of Lauder Partners, LLC.
That her family should continue in the company was one of her key wishes.
When looking back on competitors like Max Factor, Helena Rubinstein, Revlon and Elizabeth Arden, in which family members were no longer involved, Mrs. Lauder commented that “...the personal love and involvement are gone (from them). They’re companies now, not a family’s heart and soul. It won’t happen to Estée Lauder.”
Mrs. Lauder received numerous honors through the years, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, the French government’s Legion of Honor in 1978 and the Gold Medal of the City of Paris in 1979. In 1967, the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) named her one of 10 Outstanding Women in Business in the United States. She also received the Cosmetic Executive Women’s President’s Award for excellence in her field in 1989, and the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion in 1962 and again in 1992. The American Society of Perfumers gave her its first Living Legend award in 1994. In 2002, the United States Department of Commerce named her the International Business Leader of the Year through its New York Export Assistance Center and New York International Trade Alliance.
Mrs. Lauder supported numerous charitable causes, including many civic and cultural programs, such as the restoration of the palace at Versailles, as well as the projects of The Lauder Foundation, including the building of several playgrounds for children in New York City’s Central Park.
Mrs. Lauder gradually began to withdraw from the day-to-day activities of the company between 1985 and her retirement in 1995 but still enjoyed some memorable occassions. In December 1988, Mrs. Lauder triumphantly welcomed Raisa Gorbachev, who had been First Lady of the former Soviet Union, to the company’s Fifth Avenue headquarters. Mrs. Lauder kept a picture in her office of the two powerful women standing side by side, their hands locked and raised in a victorious wave. True to form, it was she who grabbed Mrs. Gorbachev’s hand and lifted their arms. It was a day she treasured. “She was someone I’ve always wanted to meet,” Mrs. Lauder remarked later. Even so, she could not resist offering a little advice to Mrs. Gorbachev, encouraging her to take off her chic purple leather coat for the crowds because “she looked so pretty in her chalk-striped navy suit.”
One of Mrs. Lauder’s last public appearances was in 1991 when she made one of her famous personal visits to Saks Fifth Avenue’s New York store to promote her new SpellBound fragrance. Her commanding presence made itself known as she strode into the store as if leading a victory parade, while sales associates and customers lined the aisles, Cheering. She knew the power of her dynamic personality and used it for the Company’s benefit.
Mrs. Lauder formally retired from The Estée Lauder Companies in 1995, but remained deeply devoted to the Company, its products and its people. She continued to derive extraordinary satisfaction from its achievements and was delighted to see it evolve into a global enterprise. She was proud of every new brand the company developed as well as its many acquisitions, which included MAC, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone, Aveda and Bumble and bumble, as well as the licenses for Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan. New fragrance launches such as the Estée Lauder brand’s world-famous Beautiful and Knowing reflected her influence.
Ultimately, Mrs. Lauder’s first and deepest passion was beauty. "In a perfect world, we’d all be judged on the sweetness of our souls, but in our less than perfect world, the woman who looks pretty has a distinct advantage and, usually, the last word," she wrote in her autobiography, "Estée: A Success Story" (Random House, 1985). "You may have great inner resources, but they don’t show up as confidence when you don’t feel pretty. People are more apt to believe you and like you when you know you look fine. And when the world approves, self-respect is just a little easier."
All of us will miss Estée Lauder. As we move forward into the future, we will always honor her memory by Bringing the Best to Everyone We Touch.
