Fashion
Estée Lauder names Nia Long first ambassador for North America
Published
October 9, 2025
U.S. beauty giant Estée Lauder announced on Thursday the appointment of actor, producer and author Nia Long as its first brand ambassador for the North America region.
In this role, the award-winning actor, producer and author will appear in campaigns across digital, TV, and print for the New York-brand’s skincare and makeup franchises.
“Beauty starts with confidence and honoring your authentic self,” said Long. “I’m excited to partner with Estée Lauder, a storied brand founded by a woman who believed beauty should uplift and empower us to celebrate ourselves every day.”
Long is an acclaimed American film and television actress who rose to fame in the 1990s, through roles in culturally significant films like “Boyz n the Hood”, and “Love Jones”. On television, she gained further recognition with her role as Lisa Wilkes on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and later with “Third Watch”.
More recently, the actress stars as Katherine Jackson in “Michael”, the highly anticipated biopic about Michael Jackson directed by Antoine Fuqua, as well as leading and executive producing “Dreams of the Moon”, a period drama set in 1971 about a young African-American girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut.
“We are proud to welcome Nia to the Estée Lauder family,” said Fiona Sainty, SVP/GM, Estée Lauder & Aerin Beauty & Bobbi Brown North America.
“She is a powerhouse and a cultural force whose authenticity, confidence, and modern point of view on beauty resonate deeply with our brand values. As a longtime advocate for the brand with a deep understanding of beauty as an expression of self-love, she is the perfect choice to serve as our new Brand Ambassador for the North America region.”
While Long is the company’s debut ambassador for North America, she joins Estée Lauder’s roster of other celebrity ambassadors including Paulina Porizkova, Ana de Armas, Amanda Gorman, Bianca Brandolini D’Adda, Carolyn Murphy, Grace Elizabeth, Karlie Kloss, Yang Mi, and Kōki.
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Wholesale revenue dropped 12.8 per cent on a currency-adjusted basis to €4.9 billion, while direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales increased 3.4 per cent, lifting the DTC share to 32.4 per cent from 28.9 per cent.
Regionally, sales fell 6.9 per cent in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 7.4 per cent in Asia-Pacific and 10 per cent in the Americas, with North America driving much of the decline.
Puma has reported sales of €7.3 billion (~$8.61 billion) in FY25, with currency-adjusted revenue down 8.1 per cent amid strategic reset actions.
Wholesale declined while DTC share increased.
Margins contracted and EBIT turned negative, leading to a net loss.
Q4 saw sharper declines across regions and categories.
Puma expects further sales softness and negative EBIT in FY26.
By product segment, footwear sales decreased 7.1 per cent, apparel declined 9.7 per cent and accessories fell 8.5 per cent, although selective growth was observed in running, training and premium sport style lines, Puma said in a press release.
Profitability weakened significantly during the year. Gross margin contracted 260 basis points to 45.0 per cent, impacted by promotional activity, inventory reserves, unfavourable mix and currency effects. Adjusted EBIT turned negative at €165.6 million, while reported EBIT declined to -€357.2 million after €191.6 million in one-off costs related mainly to the cost efficiency programme and goodwill impairments.
Loss from continuing operations widened to -€643.6 million, translating to earnings per share of -€4.37 versus €1.88 in the prior year.
From a balance sheet perspective, inventories rose 2.3 per cent to €2.06 billion as inventory takebacks from wholesale partners supported distribution clean-up. Working capital increased 20.2 per cent, while trade receivables and payables declined sharply in line with reduced sales and purchasing activity. Puma ended the year with additional financing capacity, including €1,202.2 million in unutilised credit lines.
Fourth quarter (Q4) performance reflected the peak impact of the strategic reset. Currency-adjusted sales declined 20.7 per cent to €1,564.9 million, with reported revenue down 27.2 per cent due to currency headwinds. The decline was driven by deliberate reductions in wholesale exposure, inventory clearance actions and lower promotional intensity.
Wholesale sales fell 27.7 per cent in Q4, while DTC revenue decreased 8.0 per cent, although DTC share increased to 41.1 per cent from 35.5 per cent. Regionally, sales dropped 12.6 per cent in Asia-Pacific, 22.2 per cent in the Americas and 24.3 per cent in EMEA.
Across product divisions, footwear sales declined 25.4 per cent, apparel fell 13.7 per cent and accessories dropped 18.2 per cent, with selective resilience in training and performance running categories.
Profitability deteriorated sharply. Gross margin declined to 40.2 per cent from 47.7 per cent due to promotions, inventory provisions and currency effects. Adjusted EBIT fell to -€228.8 million, while reported EBIT reached -€307.7 million following one-off costs linked to restructuring and impairment charges. The quarter ended with a loss from continuing operations of -€335 million.
Arthur Hoeld, CEO of Puma, said: “2025 was a reset year for us. We want to establish Puma as a top 3 sports brand globally, return to above-industry growth and generate healthy profits in the medium term. It is crucial to make the Puma brand less commercial and ensure we once again excite our consumers with attractive products, compelling storytelling and distribution in the right channels. I am satisfied with the progress we have made so far. We cleaned up most of our distribution by reducing promotions in our own channels and cutting our exposure to those wholesale channels that damage our brand’s desirability. To better position our product icons and our performance offering and tell more engaging product stories, we created the right structures inside our company. We also addressed operational inefficiencies and further optimised our cost base.”
Looking ahead, Puma expects currency-adjusted sales in fiscal 2026 to decline in the low- to mid-single-digit percentage range, with EBIT projected between -€50 million and -€150 million. Capital expenditure of around €200 million is planned as the company continues investments in brand repositioning and digital capabilities, added the release.
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