2. Background
• Born in 1908, daughter of European immigrants
• Grew up in Queens, New York
• At a young age worked at her father’s store and got a
sense of entrepreneurship and business
• Recognized her true path in life when started working
for Uncle Schotz, a chemist trying to make facial
creams
• Selling her uncle’s creams helped her experience the
world of marketing and merchandising
4. Business Strategies
• Made wise marketing decision to sell products at well
known department stores
• First big break: Saks Fifth Avenue‐ her creams sold out
immediately
• Targeted big department stores‐ became a “traveling
salesperson dedicated to penetrate every fine
department store in the United States.”
5. Business Strategies Cont.
• Persuaded store owners to feature
her cosmetic products
• Set up counters at each store with
elegant and refined salespeople to
attract customers
• Enticed clients and buyers by
offering free gift with any purchase
• Gave makeovers at counters to
convince buyers of her products’
great quality‐personal selling
approach
• Traveled around stores praising her
products
“To sell a cream, you sold a
dream in the early days.”-
Estee Lauder
6. “Free Gift with a
Purchase”
• Revolutionized selling
by her concept of free
gift with each
purchase‐ later
became a common
business practice
• Accounted for her
success‐ became
company trademark
• Attracted many
customers and clients
7. Turning Point
• Introduced first
fragrance‐Youth Dew
• Was affordable for
women and yet
luxurious
• Sales grew‐in 1950’s
Youth Dew was 80%
of total sales
• Became multimillion
dollar industry
9. Sweet Success
• Company grew in 1980’s and 1990’s to become
third largest cosmetics industry in U.S.
• Controls 45% of U.S. cosmetics market
• Sells in more than 118 countries
• $3.6 billion in sales in the last year alone
• Owns shares worth $6 billion
10. Aim and Ambition
• Wanted to inspire
women‐ send the
message that every
woman could be
beautiful with Lauder’s
beauty creams
• Lauder’s creams
symbolized “jars of
hope” for women
trying to find
everlasting youth
• Wanted her products
to be used by the very
“best”‐celebrities,
famous and important
people
11. Estee Lauder: Queen of
Cosmetics
• “I was a woman with a mission
and single‐minded in the pursuit
of my dream”‐Estee Lauder
• Named as a classic entrepreneur
• Driven by ambition to become
successful and inspire women
around the world
• Known as one of the cosmetics
industry’s most influential people
• Known as the “Queen of Beauty”
13. Work Cited
• Epstein, Rachel. Estee Lauder: Beauty Business
Success. New York: Franklin Watts, 2000.
• Estee Lauder. The Sweet Smell of Success. 8 Feb.
2010 <http://www.entrepeneur.com>
• Grace, Mirabella. "Beauty Queen: Estee Lauder."
Time, 8 Feb. 2010; 155‐156
• Severo, Richard. "Estee Lauder, Pursuer of Beauty
and Cosmetics Titan, Dies at 97." New York Times.
26 April 2004:A1
