Estee Lauder exec sees U.S. sales normalizing

By Aarthi Sivaraman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cosmetics company Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. (EL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is seeing U.S. sales beginning to "normalize," Group President John Demsey told Reuters on Tuesday.

Estee Lauder, like several other retailers, has battled weak sales in the past year after Macy's Inc. (M.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), formerly known as Federated Department Stores Inc., shut stores to consolidate after its acquisition of May Department Stores -- leaving it with fewer sales outlets.

Weakness in core Estee Lauder and Clinique brands added to its woes.

"It's true that (those) businesses have been more challenging in the United States, particularly during this consolidation phase," Demsey said at the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit in New York.

"We've seen a normalization in the past couple of weeks, now that we're cycling through everything."

Although the company's U.S. sales failed expectations, strength in international markets including Europe and Asia pulled up revenue in the quarter that ended March 31.

Over half its sales come from those markets, and there was potential to make that share bigger, Demsey said.

"Most multinational companies run anywhere from 65 percent to 80 percent (sales) outside the United States. The Estee Lauder company has potential to do the same," Demsey said.  Continued...