Estee Lauder to buy US fashion label Tom Ford in $2.8 billion deal

The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions by Estee Lauder, including taking control of Ordinary skincare brand owner Deciem last year for about $1 billion

Estee Lauder Cos Inc said on Tuesday it agreed to buy U.S. fashion label Tom Ford for $2.8 billion, its biggest deal yet, adding a line of beauty products and apparel to the Clinique brand owner's portfolio.

Luxury companies have so far enjoyed steady demand for their products, but cracks are starting to show as decades-high inflation forces some customers to tighten their purses.

Estee said this month U.S. retailers were cutting stocks of its products amid worries of a demand slowdown and lowered its full-year forecasts, hurt by lockdowns in China.

While Estee Lauder already sells Tom Ford beauty products and fragrances,