The historic British department store chain Selfridges is to be acquired by Central Group and Signa, according to a statement released Friday.
Selfridges, the well-known English luxury retail chain, is in the process of being acquired by the Thai retail giant Central Group and the Austrian real estate investment company Signa. The latter already acquired the Globus department stores in Switzerland last year.
The amount of the transaction has not been communicated, but last July, the British press estimated that the owners of Selfridges since 2003, the Canadian family Weston, could get up to 4 billion pounds (4.7 billion euros). The family reached an agreement with Central towards the end of November, according to a report in The Times newspaper.
Central Group and Signa “have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Selfridges Group“, the Thai group announced in a statement.
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“As family-owned businesses, Central and Signa will focus on providing exceptional and inclusive in-store and online experiences for both local residents and foreign visitors,” says Tos Chirathivat, Central’s chief executive.
Central is owned by the Chirathivat family, which is worth $11.6 billion according to Forbes, and owns numerous shopping malls and various stores throughout the kingdom, and in Asia.
The buyout agreement covers 18 of the 25 Selfridges stores and in addition to the Oxford Street department store, the deal includes stores in Manchester and Birmingham, as well as Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, and Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland.
“Together, we will work with the world’s leading architects to sensitively reimagine the stores at each site, transforming these iconic destinations into sustainable, energy-efficient and modern spaces, while remaining true to their architectural and cultural heritage,” said Dieter Berninghaus, chairman of Signa’s executive board.
Read also > HARRODS, SELFRIDGES, FORTNUM & MASON : LUXURY IS REBORNING IN LONDON
Featured photo : © Selfridges
