Tom Ford Brand For Sale *Update November 2022* Estée Lauder Agrees $2.8 Billion Deal

[Fulton St Critique]

Per Vogue Business- as well as many other news outlets- Tom Ford is working with Goldman Sachs on a potential sale valued at “several billion dollars” as the article puts it. I am so interested in who would purchase the label. I wouldn’t be suprised if Capri made a move, though LVMH is the obvious choice, I could see CH making a bid.


Tom Ford is up for sale, Bloomberg says

Source: Vogue Business

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Per Vogue Business- as well as many other news outlets- Tom Ford is working with Goldman Sachs on a potential sale valued at “several billion dollars” as the article puts it. I am so interested in who would purchase the label. I wouldn’t be suprised if Capri made a move, though LVMH is the obvious choice, I could see CH making a bid.


Tom Ford is up for sale, Bloomberg says

Source: Vogue Business

Several billion. That's ain't cheap.

Capri Holdings makes the most sense to me. I could see LVMH not being so interested.

But what exactly are they buying? My guess is the business is mainly beauty and accessories. There's a chance a buyer might come from the fragrance and cosmetics industry.

 

[Fulton St Critique]

Several billion. That's ain't cheap.

Capri Holdings makes the most sense to me. I could see LVMH not being so interested.

But what exactly are they buying? My guess is the business is mainly beauty and accessories. There's a chance a buyer might come from the fragrance and cosmetics industry.

I was actually very shocked when I saw “several”. I believe Versace was bought by Capri for somewhere around $2 billion. Given Ford’s (the label) fairly young age, I am suprised he is asking for that kind of price tag…

 

[jeanclaude]

Is he selling? Because If I am not mistaken, his last good collection was in...2013??

 

[Norden]

I think with Tom Ford the name has quite some premium weight. With the right attention it could be super strong. It has much more potential due to its positioning than a couple of weak collections.

 

[JohannesL]

Tom Ford is a glamorous and luxurious name with potential, but several billion is too much like a tech bubble.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I'm curious as to what the expansion plans are for the Tom Ford brand to merit such a high-price investment - As much as the name rings with prestige and how successfully the foundation with perfume and cosmetics has been laid out, I do think the visibility of the brand and leadership quality of the fashion has recently not followed suit - I am getting the feeling that the brand has stayed comfortably within the aesthetics it has laid out so far but didn't evolve much in the years passed. Also, while being a commercially solid brand, I don't remember a stand out fashion moment delivered by Tom Ford in the recent years - You got the idea that Tom's attention was stretched a little bit thin, aside from his CFDA duties, directing and rightfully claiming enough time for his private life, from which the collection itself suffered a bit.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Tom Ford is a glamorous and luxurious name with potential, but several billion is too much like a tech bubble.

It does $645 million in revenue a year.

 

[caioherrero]

It does $645 million in revenue a year.

More than Versace

 

[Deleted member 7575]

I'm curious as to what the expansion plans are for the Tom Ford brand to merit such a high-price investment - As much as the name rings with prestige and how successfully the foundation with perfume and cosmetics has been laid out, I do think the visibility of the brand and leadership quality of the fashion has recently not followed suit - I am getting the feeling that the brand has stayed comfortably within the aesthetics it has laid out so far but didn't evolve much in the years passed. Also, while being a commercially solid brand, I don't remember a stand out fashion moment delivered by Tom Ford in the recent years - You got the idea that Tom's attention was stretched a little bit thin, aside from his CFDA duties, directing and rightfully claiming enough time for his private life, from which the collection itself suffered a bit.

Do you think fashion relevance was the main concern when Kors took his company public and became a billionaire? MK was/is a low-end handbag business. TF is a beauty business.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

More than Versace

Which sold for 2 billion.

 

[Lola701]

Interesting that he is looking for one…
I can see the Agnelli getting into the business. Their attempt to transform Ferrari into a lifestyle brand is stupid and they bought Christian Louboutin recently.

Given by how hard Tom & Dom fought against Arnault for him to not buy Gucci and how difficult his relationship was with Pinault, I have doubts of them being potential buyers.

But I think it was about time for the brand to be part of a bigger entity. The aura of the brand is definitely bigger than it reality, mostly thanks to Tom’s place in fashion.

I quite like the fact that they have maintained a certain exclusivity and overall quality overtime. Marcollin, Zegna and Estée Lauder are delivering in terms of products. I’m not sure the quality might follow if Puig, L’Oreal and even KERING or LVMH buys the brand.

It’s a luxury brand, so the beauty business is what support the whole company even if I’ve heard that fashion is doing well. While I think in menswear, the foundation are secured, in womenswear, it’s not always that. They definitely have a big market in the US and Asia but in Europe, it’s very quiet. They aren’t expending in Europe…So there are rooms of improvement.

I can also see Richemont buy the brand.
They definitely have the potential to sell it between 2,5 and 4 billion.

Tom Ford is a pure luxury brand in the sense of the word whereas Versace was very much a fashion brand.
To have in a portfolio a brand with such a healthy beauty business is an asset, even more because he has already a foot in most of the entities of a luxury business. Some heavy marketing will be needed tho.

 

[Salvatore]

This is interesting. Within the right group, I think Tom Ford the brand could finally reach a level to match its name. I am on one hand surprised that it would be worth several billion in comparison to Versace, but on the other Tom Ford the brand has a lot of room to grow and has more prestige than Versace in my mind.

 

[StylishCynic]

Tapestry (Coach, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman) has had a very good few years with a big stock turnaround.

When Tapestry was formed, Capri was quick to follow, and there was much discussion around which of the two could eventually turn into something that would rival a European luxury conglomerate.

I'd assume that Tapestry has a better cash balance than Capri, so they'd be a better contender.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Tapestry (Coach, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman) has had a very good few years with a big stock turnaround.

When Tapestry was formed, Capri was quick to follow, and there was much discussion around which of the two could eventually turn into something that would rival a European luxury conglomerate.

I'd assume that Tapestry has a better cash balance than Capri, so they'd be a better contender.

I thought so as well. But, I don't think TF is such a great fit for Tapestry unless they wanted to take the brand down market. Or if they had plans to take the group in a higher end direction (which I don't think they do).

Generally these groups collect brands and businesses that are in the same tier. That way they can leverage their volume and size on sourcing, manufacturing, real estate, media buys etc.

When LVMH or Kering make factory and real estate deals, they do it in bulk and then dish out locations among the brands in their portfolio (that's why Marc Jacobs has had that store in the old DKNY space on Madison, it was left over from a bulk contract and LVMH would rather he occupy it than it go empty).

I can see TF being able to go in on deals and share resources with Versace and Jimmy Choo (fabrics, leathers, shoe and handbag production) not so much Coach or Kate Spade.

But then again, Tapestry does have Stuart Weitzman.

 

[Fulton St Critique]

I know we are all secretly hoping OTB makes a compelling bid

 

[Deleted member 7575]

I know we are all secretly hoping OTB makes a compelling bid

Not out of the realm of possibilities but not likely.

Rosso likes brands with a bit of flavor, a certain "boldness," as they describe it (Marni, Margiela). TF might be a little too uptight for him. I'm not sure they're interested in that territory within the luxury realm. I feel like OTB leans more youthful, casual, and fashion-y.

I really think Capri is the best fit and I believe they have the funds.

That said, I would not rule out Kering. You'd be surprised how quickly bygones become bygones when $$$$ is on the table.

But honestly, I'm just not sure if an American brand like TF is the thing the world is clamoring for right now. If I were a European group, I'd give TF a hard pass.

Nightmare scenario is PVH buys it and turns it into a Tommy Hilfiger with sequins and unbuttoned spread collars.

 

[kasper!]

Capri is too low for Tom Ford. I hope Exor could get TF.

When Capri got Jimmy Choo, they cut the SKU more than 50% and almost re-deisgned everything. Nearly all the classic styles discontinued. Now look at what Jimmy Choo boutique are selling : they have swimwear, fashion jewellry, scarves, hoodies with ugly monogram motif, bags and of course shoes.... The aura is totally gone considering how glamours this brand was in the early 00's. They are just keeping the buzz by corssing over with other brands like Off-White, Timberland, Mugler and Marine Serre.

 

[THD96]

After they turned Marni into a completely s*** show, I hope OTB would stay away from any fashion prestige brands.

In the ideal world, I hope that Tom can stay independent as long as he's still there like Armani. I just hope that being sold to a group won't change his design or the group forced him out and they hire someone that will wreck brands (one Marni is enough, it's gonna hurt me so much if TF's name has the same fate).

I hope that the Puig group will be the one that Tom will choose. Their brand portfolio is great, they can manage brands both in Europe and America, and they're not too desperate to chase social media money.
Mayhoola can also be a potential buyer.
LVMH is fine as long as it is Delphine that handles the decisions, she seems like the only one that doesn't obsess with turning a brand into a Hypebeast.
Or maybe Prada, that could be interesting.

I just hope this is not a sign that Tom Ford is stepping down from design.

 

[Lola701]

Tom Ford is a man who thinks highly of himself and of his brand. He created that brand and turned it into a force in less than 20 years. I highly doubt that he would go for Capri or PVH.
The foundation of his business are in Europe and specially in Italy. But also he needs to be part of a portfolio of brands that would be beneficial for his brand.

No brand in the portfolios of either Capri or PVH proves to me that they can handle the ambition of a brand like Tom Ford.

I really don’t see Puig or l’Oreal because Tom Ford beauty is the foundation of the whole house. Estée Lauder has been a historic partner since the beginning. Why would they let one of their competitors take over one of their biggest entity.

For me the best choices would be Exor (I think having Tom Ford and Christian Louboutin as a start for the foundation of a group is interesting) but maybe Tod’s. Diego Della Valle has some interesting brands from Roger Vivier to Schiaparelli but neither has the potential of Tom Ford.

As @THD96 Said, Mayhoola can be on that. Like Exor, they have the type of money and ambition that makes them a plausible competitor.

Zegna could have been a choice but I think the TF brand is maybe already too big for them to absorb. They acquired 85% of Thom Browne in 2018 for 500M and I don’t think they are in a shopping spree…Even if TF is a interesting brand for them to do what they failed to do with Agnona: enter the womenswear market in the strong way.

But, @Mutterlein , TF is American but the structure of the company is literally « European luxury brand ». Except for maybe Ralph Lauren, Rick Owens and Thom Browne, Tom Ford is the only American brand that has a credibility in the luxury market.
But if KERING and LVMH get on this, that would be the biggest plot twist ever…

In the ideal world, I hope that Tom can stay independent as long as he's still there like Armani.

I think it’s clear now that Armani would probably give the key of his company to his family.
I don’t think members of the Ford or De Sole family are involved in the company.

It’s sad but I feel like at some point they always have to sell. A lot of those fashion companies were founded by ambitious gay men or couples who didn’t have heirs or heiress and who ended up selling their businesses to families that will accumulate generational wealth. Armani and Dolce Gabbana are probably the only ones who are against selling but it’s often sad when those companies are sold to people who doesn’t respect the integrity of the founder ( we saw it when Prada bought Helmut Lang among others or what Renzo Rosso did to Margiela).