Estée Lauder in talks to buy luxury brand Tom Ford
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Estee Lauder Cos. is in talks to buy luxury fashion brand Tom Ford, people familiar with the matter say, in what could be a $3 billion or more deal representing the cosmetics giant’s biggest-ever acquisition .
Based in New York, Estée Lauder primarily sells skin care products, cosmetics and fragrances. Its brands include MAC, Clinique, La Mer and Aveda. With a market value of nearly $100 billion, he has the wherewithal to make such a deal.
There is no guarantee that the two parties will reach an agreement. Estée Lauder isn’t the only contender for Tom Ford, one of the people claimed.
| Teleprinter | Security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE | ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES INC. | 273.51 | +0.41 | +0.15% |
The privately held Tom Ford is best known for its menswear, although it also sells womenswear and accessories, as well as a fast-growing line of high-end cosmetics and fragrances. Estée Lauder is particularly interested in the beauty sector, with which it already has a long-standing licensing agreement, and could potentially seek to license clothing lines elsewhere, people familiar with the matter said.
Bloomberg announced in early July that Tom Ford was for sale.
An Estee Lauder cosmetics counter is seen in Los Angeles, California on August 19, 2019. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD File Photo/Reuters Photos)
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Tom Ford’s beauty business is considered a so-called ultra-prestige brand, meaning it resonates with the most discerning consumers. Estée Lauder executives mentioned during their fiscal third-quarter earnings call in May that Tom Ford was among a handful of brands with double-digit sales growth and pointed to particularly strong demand for those brands of luxury in China.
In 2005, Tom Ford consulted the company on a fragrance, Youth-Dew Amber Nude. He signed her on to develop and distribute perfumes and cosmetics under the Tom Ford Beauty brand soon after.
Designer Tom Ford arrives at the In America: An Anthology of Fashion themed Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York on May 2, 2022. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly)
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Mr. Ford, originally from Texas, founded his eponymous label after a long stint as creative director at Gucci. A young Mr. Ford was portrayed in the 2021 film “House of Gucci,” which chronicles the dramatic history of the Gucci family and brand.
Estée Lauder has been an active acquirer over the years, but her deals have been relatively small. He paid about $1 billion each to buy the rest of Canadian beauty company Deciem Inc. in 2021 and Korean skincare company Have & Be Co. in 2019. A few years earlier, he had paid about $1 billion. $.5 billion for Too Faced Cosmetics LLC.
Ben Dummett contributed to this article.
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