M.H. Alshaya Co.

M.H. Alshaya Co. (Alshaya) is a multinational retail franchise operator that is headquartered in Kuwait,^[1] and operates more than 70 consumer retail brands across the Middle East and North Africa, Russia, Turkey and Europe.^[2]

The company currently operates more than 3,000 stores in seven sectors – Fashion & Footwear, Health & Beauty, Food, Optics, Pharmacy, Home Furnishings and Leisure & Entertainment – and employs more than 46,000 people.^[3]

The brands managed and operated by Alshaya include Raising Canes,^[4] Mothercare,^[5] H&M,^[6] American Eagle Outfitters,^[7] Debenhams,^[8] Harvey Nichols Kuwait,^[9] Payless ShoeSource,^[10] Topshop,^[6] Starbucks,^[11] Shake Shack,^[12] The Cheesecake Factory,^[2] Pinkberry,^[2] P. F. Chang's,^[13] Le Pain Quotidien,^[13] Katsuya by Philippe Starck,^[14] The Body Shop, Make-up Art Cosmetics (MAC), Victoria's Secret,^[15] Boots pharmacy, Vision Express, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma,^[16] KidZania Kuwait ^[17] and Milano.^[18][19]

Alshaya group

M.H. Alshaya Co. is the retail business of the Alshaya group of companies, which was founded in Kuwait in 1890. In addition to its retail operations, the Alshaya group has holdings in real estate, construction, hotels, automotive and general trading, largely centred in the Middle East.^[2] Its hotel division owns the Sheraton Hotel in Kuwait and the Oberoi Hotel in Medina, Saudi Arabia.^[20]

History

1890s–1970s

The Alshaya group has been in retail since the 1890s, initially trading with British India. In 1965, the group opened the Sheraton in Kuwait City, then the Middle East's only five-star hotel south of Beirut, and the first Sheraton outside North America.^[5]

1980s–1990s

Alshaya entered international retail franchising in 1983 with the acquisition of the Kuwait franchise for UK retailer Mothercare.^[5] Today the company operates stores for Mothercare in 14 markets. In 1999, Alshaya entered the food retail sector with a partnership with Starbucks.^[11] It now manages and operates multiple food brands including Asha’s, Dean & Deluca,^[21] Le Pain Quotidien,^[13] Pizza Express, Pinkberry, P. F. Chang's, Shake Shack,^[12] Potbelly,^[22] IHOP, The Cheesecake Factory, Texas Roadhouse^[23] and Katsuya by Philippe Starck. Alshaya launched its own footwear and accessories brand Milano in 1994.^[18][19]

2000s

Alshaya’s acquisition of the Topshop franchise for Turkey in 2002 was its first expansion outside of the Middle East. The company moved into Russia in 2005 with the acquisition of the franchise rights for Mothercare.^[5]

In 2006, Alshaya launched international clothing retailer H&M in the Middle East, followed by a number of US-headquartered brands looking to expand into the Middle East: Dean and Deluca (2008), Express, P. F. Chang's,^[13] Pinkberry and Payless ShoeSource^[10] (all 2009).

2010s

In 2010, Alshaya added American Eagle Outfitters,^[7] Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids^[16] to its portfolio. It also secured franchise rights for the first international outlets of Texas Roadhouse,^[24] and opened its first Victoria's Secret Beauty and Accessories stores in the Middle East in Bahrain and Kuwait.^[15]

In June 2012, the first The Cheesecake Factory and IHOP restaurants outside North America opened in the UAE.^[2] In November 2012, a further eight brands were added to Alshaya's portfolio: Harvey Nichols Kuwait,^[9] Victoria’s Secret, Jack Wills, COS, Teavana, Garrett Popcorn Shops, West Elm and Williams Sonoma.^[16]

In December 2012, Alshaya opened the Alshaya Retail Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, providing retail training and employment on graduation for young Saudi women.^[25] In April 2014, Alshaya announced it would open two more Alshaya Retail Academies in Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah and Dammam.^[26]

Alshaya moved into the Leisure & Entertainment sector in June 2013 with the opening of KidZania Kuwait, at The Avenues (Kuwait).^[17] Sprinkles Cupcakes, Veranda and Muji^[27] also opened at The Avenues in the same year. Katsuya by Philippe Starck^[14] launched in Kuwait and the UAE, and in December 2013, six Alshaya restaurant brands were introduced to Saudi Arabia – The Cheesecake Factory, IHOP, Texas Roadhouse, Shake Shack, P. F. Chang's and PizzaExpress.^[28]

In 2014, Icing, a popular US retailer of jewelry and accessories, made its debut in Kuwait as part of the Alshaya portfolio. The opening represented the brand’s first expansion outside the Americas.^[29]

2015 saw the Middle East debut of fast-food chicken restaurant Raising Cane's ^[30][31] in Kuwait.

In 2016, Alshaya launched its loyalty programme, Privileges Club,^[32] in Kuwait, with plans to roll the programme out across its GCC markets. The company also opened the first store by American chocolatier Bridgewater Chocolate in the Middle East.^[33]

References

External links

• Alshaya website