Estée Lauder entrusts Northern and Western Europe to Franck Besnard

The American cosmetics group Estée Lauder, owner of M.A.C, Clinique and La Mer, continues its reorganization with the promotion of Franck Besnard. At the beginning of July, the group’s general manager for France since 2020, was promoted to senior vice president and general manager for Northern and Western Europe, a move he himself shared on his LinkedIn profile.

Besnard, who has been with the beauty group for twenty years, had already seen his scope extended last May with the supervision of the Benelux market. This appointment is part of the transformation plan launched by Stéphane de La Faverie, the group’s CEO, with the aim of boosting sales against a backdrop of slowing consumer spending.

As a reminder, Estée Lauder has redefined its geographic zones into four major clusters. Last April, Nadine Graf, already head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, saw her responsibilities extended to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and a new entity covering emerging markets such as India, the Middle East, South-East Asia, and Africa.

This structural overhaul comes at a time when the group recorded a 10% drop in quarterly sales, to $3.55 billion, a performance that exceeded expectations but confirmed unfavorable dynamics in several markets, notably China.

With this new organization and the focus on experienced profiles, Estée Lauder intends to return to a sustainable growth dynamic.