• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, August 27, 2024

MAC Cosmetics has hired Emily Bromfield, an exec whose experience includes Charlotte Tilbury and Lancôme, as senior vice president, global marketing.

Most recently, she had been the chief marketing officer and managing director at Dr. Barbara Sturm, a beauty brand acquired by Puig, the Spanish beauty conglomerate, earlier this year. MAC says it hopes she’ll bring her “disruptor mindset” to the 40-year-old cosmetic brand.

She reports to Aïda Moudachirou-Rébois, MAC’s senior vice president, global general manager. "Emily's proven track record of building brands and driving breakthrough consumer-led marketing strategies will be invaluable to our team,” says Moudachirou-Rébois in the announcement. “With her extensive experience and innovative mindset, we are confident that together, we will achieve remarkable milestones for MAC."

The announcement comes days after Estee Lauder reported results for fiscal 2024, with sales slumping 2% to $15.61 billion, down from $15.91 billion in the prior year. And with efforts to turn the company around stalling, it also said longtime chief executive officer Fabrizio Freda will retire, and that a search is underway for his successor.

Skincare sales, its largest segment, fell 3%, while makeup brands dipped 1%, including declines at MAC.

While the beauty giant’s sales and profits beat expectations, even in what it called a “difficult” and “volatile” year, industry observers were disappointed with its less optimistic outlook for the year ahead, now calling for sales in the range of a 1% decline to 2% gain, primarily due to “softening market demand in North America, persistent weakness in mainland China, and resurfaced inventory imbalances,” writes Steve Powers, an analyst who covers the company for Deutsche Bank.

In the first quarter, it expects sales declines of between 3% to 5%. While Powers describes the company’s turnaround as “nominally” on track, he also sees “potential risks amidst management transition.” He currently rates the company’s stock as a hold.