Selfridges Group is a retail business that operates 25 department stores (as of January 2024) in four chains across three countries in Europe: [1]
Selfridges Group, along with KaDeWe Group, is owned by the Central Group from Thailand, which acquired it in 2021 jointly with Austria-based Signa Holding, which lost joint control in late 2023. Shareholders successfully ousted Signa Holding's founder, René Benko, who was pressured to relinquish his voting rights amid the financial turmoil. [2] Central Group and Signa Holding acquired the company from the Canadian Wittington Investments.
Globus is a Swiss department store company, with nine department stores in Switzerland. It is currently owned by a Thai company, Central Group, and an Austrian company, Signa Holding. The Globus group includes the Herren Globus chain of menswear stores and the Office World chain of office supplies stores, was previously owned by Switzerland's largest retailer, Migros.
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upscale department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908.
Makro is a Dutch international brand of warehouse clubs, also called cash and carry stores. Makro was founded by SHV Holdings, a Dutch conglomerate based in Utrecht in partnership with German company Metro AG, with the first warehouse club opened in Amsterdam in 1968. Currently, ownership of the worldwide chain of stores is split between different companies like Metro AG in Europe, SHV Holdings in Latin America and CP All in Asia. In many countries, access to stores is restricted to business customers, and the stores are not open to the general public.
Arnotts is the oldest and largest department store in Ireland. It is located on Henry Street, on the north side of central Dublin. Together with the Brown Thomas chain of department stores, it is owned by UK-based Selfridges, which in turn is owned by Thai Conglomerate Central Group and Austria's Signa Holding.
Arcadia Group Ltd was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (BHS), Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Debenhams, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, Wallis and Warehouse. At its peak, the group had more than 2,500 outlets in the UK and concessions in UK department stores and several hundred franchises operated internationally.
The Kaufhaus des Westens, abbreviated to KaDeWe, is a Thai owned department store in Berlin, Germany. With over 60,000 square meters (650,000 sq ft) of retail space and more than 380,000 articles available, it is the second-largest department store in Europe after Harrods in London. It attracts 40,000 to 50,000 visitors every day.
Central Group is a Thai multinational conglomerate consisting of subsidiaries in retail, property development, brand management, hospitality, and food and beverage sectors.
Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of five upmarket department stores in Ireland, with two located in Dublin, and one each in Cork, Galway, and Limerick. Together with Dublin's Arnotts department store, it is owned by UK-based Selfridges, which in turn is owned by Thai Conglomerate Central Group and Austria's Signa Holding.
Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Charles Clore in the 1950s who expanded the company to be one of the largest retailers in Britain. It was acquired by Philip Green in 1999 who oversaw the break up of the group.
Wittington Investments is the name of two privately owned holding companies, one based in Britain, while the other is based on Canada. Both companies are controlled by the Weston family. Through these holding companies, the Weston family control some of the biggest names in food and retail on both sides of the Atlantic, including Loblaws and Associated British Foods.
Ageas is a Belgian multinational insurance company co-headquartered in Brussels. Ageas is Belgium's largest insurer and operates in 13 countries worldwide. The company was renamed from Fortis Holding in April 2010 and consists of those insurance activities remaining after the breakup and sale of the financial services group Fortis during the financial crisis of 2007-2010.
NRDC Equity Partners (NRDC) is an American private investment firm focused on retail, real estate, and consumer branded businesses.
Fraser and Neave, Limited (F&N) is a Thai-Singaporean food and beverage and publishing and printing industries conglomerate. It is owned by Thai Chinese billionaire business magnate Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
René Benko is a bankrupt Austrian real estate, media and retail investor, and was the founder of the Signa Holding. The company was considered Austria's largest privately held real estate conglomerate. Benko was considered one of the richest Austrians. Numerous controversies have surrounded Benko’s professional career. In March 2024 Benko declared personal insolvency.
Signa Holding GmbH is Austria's largest privately owned real estate company. Signa Holding GmbH announced insolvency proceedings at the end of November 2023. The company will apply for self-administration restructuring proceedings at the Commercial Court of Vienna.
Tos Chirathivat is the executive chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Central Group and head of one of Thailand's leading family business groups. The Central Group owns more than 100 department stores and shopping malls. It also operates hotels and restaurants, with a total of 5,000 outlets. He and his family are among the richest families in Thailand.
The Public Investment Fund is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of US$930 billion. It was created in 1971 for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia. The wealth fund is controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler since 2015.
Alannah Elizabeth Weston is an Irish-Canadian businesswoman who is the former chairman of the Selfridges Group. She is a member of the Weston family and serves as a director of the family's holding company, Wittington Investments.
KaDeWe Group GmbH is a group of three department stores in Germany with around 4,000 employees. It is owned by the Thai Central Group.
The Oberpollinger is a well-known upscale department store on Neuhauser Straße in Munich. It is run by KaDeWe Group GmbH and is the largest department store in Southern Germany. The building was built in 1905 by Max Littmann in the style of Historicism in the form of the Neo-Renaissance and is a listed building.