Estee Lauder 2009 Annual Report Download - page 7

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6
Dear Fellow Stockholders:
For The Estée Lauder Companies, fi scal 2009 was a year of change and opportunity. Although the diffi cult global
economic conditions impacted our fi nancial results, our employees showed tremendous resourcefulness
during this challenging time and I am extremely appreciative of their dedication, hard work, fl exibility and skill.
The worldwide recession impacted sales in all regions and brands to varying degrees, which is refl ected in
our lower sales and earnings. Retail sales of consumer goods, including beauty products, fell sharply, due to
the decline in consumer spending. In the face of these external forces, we took many defensive steps that
made us stronger, smarter and better able to tackle competitive challenges that may come our way.
To protect our earnings we moved quickly to cut costs, reducing planned spending by $250 million. By
doing so, we remained profi table, enjoyed a healthy balance sheet and generated strong cash fl ow from
operations. We announced salary and hiring freezes and the unfortunate, but necessary, decision to reduce
our workforce by six percent over the next two years.
WILLIAM P. LAUDER
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN’S LETTER