Business

Heritage   Estée Lauder founded this Company in 1946 armed with four products and an unshakeable belief—that every woman can be beautiful. By the time she passed away in April 2004, that simple notion had literally changed the face of the beauty business.

Part of Mrs. Lauder’s legacy are the products and brands she invented. A skin care pioneer, she later became one of the world’s leading fragrance noses, creating a host of best-selling scents, including the legendary Youth-Dew. At the same time, Mrs. Lauder was a visionary businesswoman developing globally successful brands such as Aramis and Clinique, and pioneering marketing techniques, including Gift-With-Purchase.

But her real impact was personal. Mrs. Lauder’s leadership inspired thousands of people. She won great respect both within and outside our industry, and received scores of honors, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and France’s Legion of Honor. However, Mrs. Lauder was happiest during her in-store appearances and loved to advise her customers. One of her favorite quotes was “Telephone, Telegraph, Tell-A-Woman,” based on her conviction that once a woman tried a product, she would like it and share it with her friends.   Mrs. Lauder formally retired from The Estée Lauder Companies in 1995 but remained deeply devoted to its products and its people. Each brand the Company developed was as important to her as her namesake line, and she was proud to watch us grow into a global enterprise that now exceeds $7.9 billion in annual net sales.

That her family should continue in the Company was one of her key wishes, now fulfilled by her sons Leonard, Chairman and Ronald, Chairman, Clinique Laboratories, Inc. as well as her grandson, William, who became Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2004, and her granddaughters, Aerin, who is Senior Vice President, Creative Director for Estée Lauder, and Jane, who is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Origins. Her fourth grandchild,...