The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) entered a partnership with fashion luminary Tom Ford in 2005. A much-hyped deal which led to the creation of the Tom Ford Beauty brand.
Tom Ford Beauty has become a stellar performer for the multinational, boasting on-going growth in all geographic regions. Hero products include Oud Wood, Black Orchid and Costa Azzurra fragrances.
In early July, Bloomberg reported that Tom Ford was working with investment giant Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale of his luxury fashion house and beauty licenses.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that ELC is in talks to buy the Tom Ford brand, including the fashion and accessories business, in a deal worth an estimated US$3 billion.
ELC has not commented on the rumours and reports, but if the acquisition goes ahead it will be the company’s first step into the luxury fashion space.
With more than 25 prestige brands in its stable, including the core Estée Lauder brand, Clinique and Jo Malone, ELC claims to be the only major company operating solely in prestige beauty.
Lauder’s fortunes have risen significantly in recent years and the company reported sales of US$4.25 billion for its Q3 2022.
The multinational has been on a major spending spree over the past five years. The biggest acquisition has been Too Faced, the US makeup brand, for US$1.45 billion in 2017.
ELC also upped its 29 per cent stake in Deciem, the maker of The Ordinary, to 76 per cent in 2021 for a cool US$1 billion.
Read the current issue of our digital magazine below:
- For more news and updates, subscribe to our weekly newsletter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Like us on Facebook
- Connect with us on LinkedIn