- published: 23 Jun 2014
- views: 938314
Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. (pronounced /ˈɛsteɪ ˈlɔːdər/) is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The company began in 1946 when Joseph Lauder and his wife Estée Lauder began producing cosmetics in New York City. They first carried only four products: Super-Rich All Purpose Creme, Creme Pack, Cleansing Oil, and Skin Lotion. Two years later they established their first department store account with Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.
Over the next fifteen years they expanded the range and continued to sell their products in the United States. In 1960 the company started its first international account in the London department store Harrods. The following year it opened an office in Hong Kong.
In 1964 they started Aramis Inc., which produced fragrances and grooming products for men. In 1967 Estée Lauder herself was named one of ten Outstanding Women in Business in the United States by business and financial editors[citation needed]. This was followed by a Spirit of Achievement Award from Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in 1968. In that year the company expanded again, opening Clinique Laboratories, Inc. Clinique was the first dermatologist guided (Dr. Norman Orentreich), allergy tested, fragrance free cosmetic brand created by Estée Lauder.