Estée Lauder already has a longstanding licensing agreement with Tom Ford’s high-end beauty and fragrance lines, but it intends to broaden its horizons to include luxury fashion. The company’s portfolio strategy includes growing existing brands and discovering new high-potential acquisitions. It shows that they are willing to establish a new culture of their brand, from cosmetics down to fashion.

While Estée Lauder may desire complete control of Tom Ford Beauty, dealing with the company’s clothing and accessories would be far more difficult. For this reason, Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on the Estée Lauder Companies Inc. brand awareness and the prospect after Tom Ford Beauty M&A.

Highlights:

  • 72.91% are aware of Estée Lauder
  • 69.23% are aware of Tom Ford
  • 60.51% expect the sales will surge if Estée Lauder acquires Tom Ford

Estée Lauder Wants the Brand Power Tom Ford Has

Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is a publicly traded beauty and fragrance company with a market capitalization of more than $96 billion. It is home to over 25 prestige brands, including Bobbi Brown, Clinique, La Mer, Mac, and Too Faced. Accordingly, the survey starts by asking respondents if they are aware of this, to which the majority (72.91%) replied they are. Therefore, only 27.09% are unaware of the Estée Lauder Companies.

Likewise, the survey also asks if they know of Tom Ford Beauty. In 2005, Tom Ford Luxury Brand formed a partnership with Estée Lauder, which led to the development of cosmetics and fragrances under the Tom Ford Beauty brand. Here, 69.23% are aware, leaving only 30.77% unaware of the Tom Ford Beauty brand.

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Figure 1: Respondents’ opinions on why Estée Lauder is acquiring Tom Ford

Estée Lauder is currently in talks to acquire the luxury brand Tom Ford in a $3 billion deal. If the deal goes through, it will be Estée Lauder’s largest acquisition. Currently, the beauty company is not yet providing any statement, so the survey asks for opinions on what respondents think could be the reason for Estée Lauder to acquire Tom Ford.

Mostly (52.54%) think Estée Lauder acquiring Tom Ford wants the brand power Tom Ford has, while a distinct 16.01% believe Tom Ford will help expand Estée Lauder’s market scope. Another 11.75% say this could power up Estée Lauder’s luxury offerings.

Also Read: 42.71% Said Tom Ford Noir Is the Top Choice in Men’s Perfume

MAC Is the Famous, Luxurious, and In Demand Brand

With over 25 prestige brands from skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care, the survey asks which Estée Lauder’s subsidiary brands respondents are familiar with. Leading with 41.65% is MAC, followed by Bobbi Brown (11.65%), La Mer (8.44%), and Estée Lauder (7.36%).

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Figure 2: Respondents’ awareness of Estée Lauder’s subsidiary brands

The subsidiaries referred to above were also considered luxurious by the respondents. At the same ranking, MAC goes first with 42.85%, followed by Bobbi Brown (11.22%), La Mer (9.42%), and Estée Lauder (7.64%).

Similarly, when asked which brand they wanted to try, 41.82% chose MAC. Others (11.09%) chose Bobbi Brown, while some (9.16%) chose La Mer and Aveda (7.06%).

Also Read: Public Opinion on the Estée Lauder Brand and its Products–Survey Results

The Future of Estée Lauder with Tom Ford

According to reports, it may not only be Estée Lauder to acquire Tom Ford. Moreover, Estée Lauder is not a natural owner of a fashion house. In this regard, the survey asks how likely Estée Lauder is to acquire Tom Ford. In response, 40.76% think the deal is highly likely to happen. A further 16.8% are somewhat optimistic. Meanwhile, 8% believe it is unlikely for Estée Lauder to acquire Tom Ford.

predictions-if-Estee-Lauder-ever-acquires-Tom-Ford
Figure 3: Respondents’ predictions if Estée Lauder ever acquires Tom Ford

Finally, if Estée Lauder ever acquires Tom Ford, the survey asks respondents to predict what is likely to happen. 60.51% expect the sales will surge. On the other hand, 19.04% believe that sales will fall. However, 20.45% think there would be little difference.

Also Read: Public Opinion on Makeup and Beauty Spending On the Rise Despite Inflation

Methodology

Survey TitleSurvey on the Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Brand Awareness and the Prospect after Tom Ford Beauty M&A
DurationAugust 04 – August 11, 2022
Number of Participants30,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.