Estee Lauder 2011 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Dear Fellow Stockholders,
Fiscal 2011 was a tremendous year for The Estée Lauder Companies. Thanks to the efforts of our talented
employees and leaders, and guided by the superb management of our President and Chief Executive Officer,
Fabrizio Freda, we successfully grew our business, recorded strong sales gains across all of our regions and
significantly increased our stockholder value. In fact, we broke many of our historical financial records,
demonstrating what can happen when great brands and great people deliver their very best.
Throughout our history, we have been a growth company and this year was no exception. Guided by a
strong strategy, we grew share in many key markets and advanced our Strategic Modernization Initiative,
an important step forward in ensuring that we are an integrated and successful company. We also
continued to exercise financial discipline and produced significant cost savings, a portion of which were
re-invested into our areas of greatest opportunity.
One of the ways that we grow is by expanding
our portfolio of brands so that we can
continue to delight and increase the loyalty
of our global consumers.
One of the ways that we grow is by expanding our portfolio of brands so that we can continue to delight
and increase the loyalty of our global consumers. When it comes to acquiring new brands, we at The Estée
Lauder Companies are highly selective. Last year, we acquired the Hollywood photo studio-inspired brand,
Smashbox. I am happy to report that for the last year we have been successfully integrating the brand into
our organization and have planned an exciting relaunch to consumers in the fall of 2011. In addition,
we recently acquired the fragrance license for the luxury Italian brand, Ermenegildo Zegna, which is one of
the fastest growing men’s luxury brands in China. We look forward to growing the brand and expanding
its global business.
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