Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP (“Labaton”) announces that, on January 22, 2024, it filed a securities class action lawsuit (the “Complaint”) on behalf of its client West Virginia Laborers Pension Trust Fund (“West Virginia Laborers”) against The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (“Estée” or the “Company”) (NYSE: EL) and certain Estée officers (collectively, “Defendants”). The action, which is captioned West Virginia Laborers Pension Trust Fund v. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., No. 24-cv-00468 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 22, 2024) asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Estée common stock between February 3, 2022 and October 31, 2023, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
The Complaint expands upon the related action against Estée captioned McAlice v. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., No. 23-cv-10669 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 7, 2023) (the “First Complaint”) by extending the initial class period of August 18, 2022 to May 2, 2023 in the First Complaint to an expanded Class Period of February 3, 2022 to October 31, 2023 in the newly filed Complaint.
Pursuant to the notice published on December 7, 2023, in connection with the filing of the First Complaint, as required by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, investors wishing to serve as Lead Plaintiff in these related securities actions pending against Defendants are required to file a motion for appointment as Lead Plaintiff by no later than February 5, 2024.
Defendant Estée is a leading manufacturer and seller of luxury cosmetics, skincare products, and other related goods. Asian markets, such as China and Korea, are critical for the Company’s sales growth. In particular, “travel retail,” which includes duty-free stores found in airports, cruise ships, and the like, is an important sales area for Estée in its Asian markets. For years, Estée’s business in Asia has been reliant on a specialized reselling industry which is prevalent in China and Korea.
The new Complaint expands on the fraud claims in the First Complaint. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants misled investors by touting Estée’s revenue growth and issuing favorable financial guidance while failing to disclose that: (1) Estée’s revenue growth prior to the Class Period was largely driven by purchases made by resellers; (2) stricter regulations on resellers were causing them to purchase fewer Estée products, which was resulting in elevated inventories throughout the supply chain and a sales slowdown for the Company; and (3) these elevated inventory levels were forcing Estée to discount its products in an attempt to reduce inventory, leading to lower revenues and profit margins.
The truth began to emerge through a series of disclosures in late 2022 and 2023. As Estée’s product sales to resellers slowed down, inventory piled up forcing the Company to repeatedly lower its revenue forecasts which partially exposed the Company’s supply chain and inventory issues to investors. The full truth about Estée’s issues was revealed on November 1, 2023, when Estée lowered its financial outlook citing a slower pace of recovery in net sales and profit margins. On this news, the price of Estée common stock declined $24.36, or nearly 19 percent, to close at $104.51 on November 1, 2023.
If you purchased or acquired Estée common stock during the Class Period and were damaged thereby, you are a member of the “Class” and may be able to seek appointment as Lead Plaintiff. Lead Plaintiff motion papers must be filed no later than February 5, 2024. The Lead Plaintiff is a court-appointed representative for absent members of the Class. You do not need to seek appointment as Lead Plaintiff to share in any Class recovery in this action. If you are a Class member and there is a recovery for the Class, you can share in that recovery as an absent Class member. You may retain counsel of your choice to represent you in this action.
If you would like to consider serving as Lead Plaintiff or have any questions about this lawsuit, you may contact Francis P. McConville, Esq. of Labaton Keller Sucharow, at (212) 907-0650, or via email at fmcconville@labaton.com. You can view a copy of the Complaint online here.
Plaintiff West Virginia Laborers is represented by Labaton Keller Sucharow, which represents many of the largest pension funds in the United States and internationally with combined assets under management of more than $3 trillion. Labaton Keller Sucharow’s litigation reputation is built on its half-century of securities litigation experience, more than seventy full-time attorneys, and in-house team of investigators, financial analysts, and forensic accountants. Labaton Keller Sucharow has been recognized for its excellence by the courts and peers, and it is consistently ranked in leading industry publications. Offices are located in New York, NY, Wilmington, DE, and Washington, D.C. More information about Labaton Keller Sucharow is available at www.labaton.com.
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