‘Boxing Clever’ with Chris Good & David Waters
On Tuesday 5th April, CEW presented ‘Boxing Clever’ the latest in their series of interviews with senior beauty industry executives. More than 130 beauty industry insiders attended in the stunning surroundings of the new Estée Lauder Companies’ London office, to listen to an interview with Chris Good, President of The Estée Lauder Companies UK and Ireland, by the influential journalist and lecturer, David Waters. ‘Boxing Clever’ was chosen as a title by Chris Good as he has recently taken up white collar boxing. Always a keen sportsman, Chris believes there are many parallels between the skills needed for boxing and for success in business today: focus, agility and strategy.  
With extensive experience in the global beauty industry with The Estée Lauder Companies, Chris has held positions in markets such as Geneva, New York and Shanghai, he knows about global emerging markets. He cited California and Korea as hugely influential in the beauty industry today. Korea is innovative in packaging and design and California in cosmetics and skincare innovation.  The beauty industry is no longer centred in the traditional centres such as Paris, London, Milan and New York but focuses on where the new creativity is. The UK still remains The Estée Lauder Companies’ second biggest market and London plays an increasing role as a creative hub. It also has become a tourist centre where there is a flow of consumers travelling from around the world.
In terms of beauty trends Chris comments on the huge rise in the men’s grooming category with the new ‘spornosexual’ male consumer; “These are social media savvy men who enjoy going to the gym, taking selfies and meticulously looking after their appearance”. Chris believes that the UK beauty market will continue to develop new and exciting male beauty products to feed this trend. Especially since now with digital technology, male consumers are much more knowledgeable about the products they want to purchase. 
CEW President Caroline Neville added “tonight we have heard from a true beauty professional, Chris Good. He is a first class leader who can inspire his teams to greater things, working within a first class company. The Lauder family have always been brilliant at what they do, they are beauty industry “royalty”.
While The Estée Lauder Companies is adapting to current market trends, Chris credits those on the shop floor as key to a beauty brand’s success. The Estée Lauder Companies hires over 10,000 sales assistants in the UK alone and their job is one of the toughest in the business. Many of the counter staff have grown within the business to senior management level, a true testament to the excellent career progression at The Estée Lauder Companies. The business is also very proud to have a first class training academy which ensures their beauty advisors are fully equipped to do their job. Chris also thought it important to note that 92% of their workforce are women which are spread across all levels, including the board. 
As David commented on the fabulous new Estée Lauder Companies’ London headquarters on Mortimer Street, Chris said that the new office was conceived with the help of his staff. 70% of their headquarters workforce are millennials and the office was essentially designed for them. Chris believes that with such a bespoke and efficient hub their team will be fully equipped and extremely motivated in their roles.  
When discussing the global beauty industry, Chris said he believes the global beauty industry has seen a huge shift in most recent years for two reasons: 
1 – The Interconnected Environment: what happens in one part of the world can affect the market on a global scale, modern consumers are very aware of worldwide current affairs2 – The Removal of Barriers: in today’s fast-moving digital age, a beauty brand can become a global sensation overnight
The digital world has turned the beauty industry on its head because now more than ever a customer’s experience needs to be completely 360 degrees with so many different components to manage whilst everything continues to grow at a massive rate. 
CEW would like to thank The Estée Lauder Companies for hosting this CEW business event.
Click here to watch the video.