All the while, Jane was rising through the ranks, though Ronald – William’s uncle – was cautious about his daughter one day taking the top job. “I don’t know if I’d wish it on her,” he said in 2008.
But the company’s falling fortunes seemingly galvanised her to step in. While Freda’s reign was profitable for his first decade largely thanks to betting big on China, that well has dried up. The company’s affection for US department stores has fallen flat too, with flagging performance piling on the pressure behind closed doors.
“The company used to be known for listening to changing consumer tastes and responding effectively,” says Milton Pedraza, the CEO of the Luxury Institute. “Today it is seen as slow to listen and to respond effectively to its different generations and customer tastes, needs and wants. It has lost its way in its premium and luxury brands and credentials.” Its brands, including Estée Lauder, Clinique and La Mer, “have not delivered new and innovative benefits,” Pedraza says. “They feel dated. They are not resonating with consumers globally. You can blame China only so much.”
The right kind of leadership is vital to ensuring the firm returns to its glory days, he adds – but trying to make business decisions in the midst of a family maelstrom is no small task. Pedraza adds that “succession battles within family-controlled companies often happen when results are poor. This is a story of a great company but with failed leadership and failed opportunities”. Blame and conflict, he says, are the inevitable conclusion.
Last year Leonard gave up his board seat over disagreements with his son, according to the Wall Street Journal (he remains chairman emeritus). He was unimpressed by Freda; while William, who joined the company in 1986, wanted him to orchestrate a revival plan. When Freda announced that he would retire, it was decreed that de La Faverie would take over.
That point next year will also mark the first time in decades that neither Jane nor William, who has stepped aside as executive chair, will be involved in the day-to-day running of the 78-year-old company their grandmother built. Last week, they sat side-by-side on a Zoom shareholder meeting (formerly gala-esque affairs held overlooking Central Park, with attendees feasting on gourmet platters and leaving with goody bags packed with creams and lipsticks), assuring those present that they were “deeply invested” in upholding family values. William promised that they would “continue to champion a culture that inspires the entrepreneurial spirit of our grandmother”.
This apparent show of togetherness – despite the turmoil behind the scenes – struck a more conciliatory note than he had 16 years earlier, when he was ousted the first time around. “Leading a public company is a sentence,” he said, “but leading a publicly held, family-controlled business is a life sentence.”