Thailand’s Central Group finalises acquisition of luxury retail chain Selfridges

Thailand’s Central Group and Signa Holding have finalised their deal to acquire luxury retailer Selfridges Group from the Canadian Weston family. Selfridges is famous for its iconic luxury department store on London’s Oxford Street.

The Central Group has been operating for 75 years and is owned by the billionaire Chirathivat family, who sits at No.5 on Forbes Thailand’s 50 Richest list. Signa is a property firm owned by Austrian investor Rene Benko. The two have become a joint venture.

In December 2021, Central and Signa Group agreed to acquire Selfridges Group – a luxury department store chain with 18 stores in three countries – from the Weston family for 4 billion pounds (170,418,102,400 baht). The Westons – from Canada – bought the chain 20 years ago, in 2003, for 598 million pounds (25,469,119,000 baht).

On Monday, Central and Signa Holding announced they had completed their acquisition of Selfridges, which was founded in 1908 by Harry Gordon Selfridge.

Selfridges’ 18 stores come under three brands: Selfridges in England, Brown Thomas & Arnotts in Ireland, and De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands. The stores will be added to Central and Signa’s combined existing portfolio of 22 luxury department stores. Central and Cigna also have two more department stores opening soon in Dusseldorf and Vienna.

By acquiring Selfridges, Central and Signa aim to expand their role as global department store players. The joint venture already owns stores in Italy, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland and will soon be adding the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, and Austria to the list.

Last year, Central and Signa bought Swiss luxury department store chain Globus – including real estate assets – for US$1 billion.

Executive Chairman and Chief Officer of Central Group, Tos Chirathivat, and Chairman of the Executive Board of Signa Holding, Dieter Beringhaus, will be co-chairmen of the Central and Signa Group.

Tos Chirathivat commended on the 4 billion pound deal…

“We are long-term investors with a well-established partnership and shared vision to reshape and reinvent the luxury retail industry. We are committed to creating the world`s leading luxury omni-channel platform for all our customers through both online and offline channels. We are excited to meet and work with our new colleagues, as well as brand partners, to achieve this vision.”

Central Retail has 23 department stores in Thailand. Central Retail has 3,641 branded stores in total – including supermarkets, hypermarkets, sportswear stores, stationery stores, electronics stores, and office products stores.

SOURCE: Travel Daily News