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Estée Lauder Is Falling Behind Rivals Like L’Oréal, Even on Its Home Turf

The company’s sluggish sales in Asia and supply-chain missteps have left it trailing behind the French beauty giant.
Estée Lauder is falling behind rivals like L’Oréal, even on its home turf.
Estée Lauder is falling behind rivals like L’Oréal. (Shutterstock)

To reach new customers across Asia, Estée Lauder Cos. has spent the past two years beefing up its global supply chain. Executives have heralded these investments as positioning the company for accelerated growth in a crucial region. While analysts applaud the buildout — a manufacturing plant in Japan, an innovation centre in China and a distribution facility in Switzerland for its duty-free business — they bemoan that it’s years overdue.

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