Estée Lauder is in its flop era—skincare sales are down, brands are fading, and they’re cutting jobs. The biggest issue? Zero agility. Once-iconic names feel stale, and new launches aren’t hitting.

For years, an image supposedly taken at a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest that showed a white man in a wheelchair with a sign reading, "I'm sorry I'm late. I had a lot to learn" has spread online. In ...