Business Maverick

Business Maverick

Luxury brand Tom Ford hires Goldman Sachs to explore potential sale

Luxury brand Tom Ford hires Goldman Sachs to explore potential sale
Goldman Sachs Group headquarters stands in New York, U.S., on Sunday, July 12, 2020. The firm is exploring a potential sale of the luxury goods brand Tom Ford.

Tom Ford sells eyewear produced and distributed by Marcolin SpA, as well as beauty and fragrance licensed to Estee Lauder. The brand’s offerings also include accessories such as watches and small leather goods. 

Tom Ford, the luxury brand founded by the former longtime creative director for Gucci, is believed to be exploring a potential sale.

Tom Ford is working with investment bank Goldman Sachs Group on the effort, said the source, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public.

A deal could value the company at several billion dollars and may include an option that would give any new owner of Tom Ford the right to work with its founder after the sale, one of the people said.

No final decision has been made and Tom Ford could still opt to remain independent. 

A representative for Tom Ford couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Goldman declined to comment.

Luxury brands have been facing rising manufacturing and logistics costs as inflation hits and energy prices surge. Lockdowns in China, a key market for luxury spending, have also curtailed growth.

While inflation dampens everyday spending, especially for US consumers, higher-end goods tend to be less affected unless a prolonged bear market hits the wealthy, said David Swartz, an equity analyst at Morningstar Research. 

“The reality is that we’ve been in a bull market until really recently and wealthy people are generally in better shape even with the market downturn,” he said. “I don’t hear a lot of concerns about luxury consumption.”

Ford, an Austin, Texas, native started his namesake company in 2005, a year after leaving Gucci, which he revitalized during a decade-long stint as creative director.

The company started as an apparel brand focused on luxury menswear. All its suits were licensed to and produced by recently public Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia SpA until the Fall and Winter 2022 collection, when the exclusive rights expired, Zegna’s annual report showed. Zegna will continue to produce some Tom Ford products starting next season. 

Tom Ford sells eyewear produced and distributed by Marcolin SpA, as well as beauty and fragrance licensed to Estee Lauder. The brand’s offerings also include accessories such as watches and small leather goods. 

Domenico De Sole, the former president and chief executive officer of Gucci, was an early partner to Ford and serves as chairman of the company. 

Ford debuted as a filmmaker in 2009 with the movie “A Single Man” starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. BM

 

Gallery

Comments - Please in order to comment.

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.