Estee Lauder Sued by Beauty Tech Startup for Alleged Theft

Estee Lauder was sued by a startup that accused the cosmetics company of effectively putting it out of business by stealing technology to boost sales from travelers in hotels. Nomi said its “secret sauce” was intended to help the parent of Clinique and MAC lipstick generate more revenue from luxury hotel duty-free shops and in-room purchases, and become less dependent on traditional retail stores. Rather than honor its contracts or follow through on discussions to purchase Nomi outright, Estee Lauder allegedly starved Nomi’s hotel partners of products, while rolling out competing programs in China, Costa Rica, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, click here.