Estee Lauder cites headwinds facing Asia travel retail for lowered FY outlook

CEO Freda said, "As the shape of recovery from the pandemic for Asia travel retail comes into better focus, it is proving to be both far more volatile than we expected and more gradual relative to what we experienced in other regions. We are, therefore, lowering our organic sales and EPS outlook for fiscal 2023 to reflect significantly greater headwinds in our fourth quarter than we expected in February." Freda concluded, "While we work through the serious but we believe temporary headwinds facing Asia travel retail, we are encouraged by the strong momentum in the rest of our business. Indeed, consumer demand is robust for our diverse portfolio of brands in developed and emerging markets around the world, evidenced in both organic sales growth and retail sales trends, which drives our confidence in the long-term. What is more, we are thrilled to have acquired the TOM FORD brand last week and are optimistic about its promising growth opportunities."