INDEPTH: ESTÉE LAUDER
Queen of cosmetics
CBC News Online | April 26, 2004
(AP Photo)
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The story of Estée Lauder sounds like a fairy tale: the young daughter of immigrants who lives in a small apartment above the family business in Queens, N.Y., starts a business that becomes one of the beauty icons of the world. But the reality is, it's a tale of hard work and perseverance.
Josephine Esther Mentzer never gave away the date of her birth but it is known that she was born in the early years of the 20th century, and her company said she was 97 when she died. Her parents used to call her Esty and a misspelling by a school official led to the name Estée. In 1930, she married Joseph Lauter and later changed her name to Lauder.
Lauder's uncle, John Schotz, was the chemist who made the first face creams that Lauder sold. She peddled them, legend has it, on beaches, in beauty clubs and at resorts. She hounded executives at top New York retail stores until eventually she landed a spot on the counters at the esteemed Saks Fifth Avenue in 1948.
Estée Lauder in 1988 (AP Photo)
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And she never stopped selling.
Even in her late 90s, Lauder was reported to go to her grandson's shop in SoHo every Saturday to help promote her creams and perfumes. She would tell sales clerks to watch her and learn how to give customers personal attention.
Lauder was said to be a genius of a saleswoman and is credited with starting the idea of free samples. She used to give them away to celebrities and other influential people in order to get her products known. And she gave free make-up lessons to women who were sitting under dryers in hair salons.
In 1998, Lauder was the only woman on Time magazine's list of the top 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century. Her company was ranked number 349 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest companies in the U.S., with revenue of around $4.7 billion.
Lauder's company also produces other well-known names such as Clinique, Aramis and Aveda, as well as fragrances for labels such as Tommy Hilfiger, M.A.C. and Donna Karan.
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ESTÉE LAUDER
COMPANY TIMELINE: |
1946: Founds company with husband Joseph and begins to market four products.
1948: First counter space in department store in New York.
1953: Introduces "revolutionary" product: combined bath oil and perfume.
1964: Launches men's fragrance Aramis.
1968: Founds Clinique laboratory.
1976: Becomes first women's beauty company to launch separate men's skin-care line.
1981: Introduces product line in Moscow, Leningrad and Kyiv.
1989: Opens first freestanding store (in Budapest).
1994: American Society of Perfumers honours Estée Lauder with its first Living Legend Award.
– Source: Estée Lauder company
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