Alshaya Group — BrandWiki

Alshaya Group

Overview

Alshaya Group.

type	Private (Owned by the Alshaya family)
foundation	Part of Alshaya group of companies founded in 1890
location	Kuwait City, Kuwait
area served	Middle East and North Africa, Turkey and Europe
key people	Mohammed Alshaya (Executive Chairman) John Hadden (CEO)
industry	Retail
products	Franchising, Retail
owner	Alshaya family
divisions	Fashion and Footwear, Food, Health & Beauty, Pharmacy,Hospitality, Leisure & Entertainment

Alshaya Group (also called the M.H. Alshaya Co.) is a multinational retail franchise operator headquartered in Kuwait.[1] It operates nearly 50 consumer retail brands across the Middle East and North Africa, Turkey, and Europe.[2] In addition to its retail operations, the Alshaya Group has holdings in real estate, construction, hotels, automotive and general trading, largely centered in the Middle East.[2]

History

Alshaya is believed to be the oldest company in Kuwait. M.H Alshaya Co. was registered in 1890 and initially established trading links between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and India. In 1890, M.H. Alshaya Co. was founded in Kuwait as a shipping company, initially trading with British India. In 1965, the company diversified by opening a Sheraton hotel in Kuwait City, the first Sheraton outside North America. In 1983, Alshaya expanded its franchising business when it acquired the Kuwait franchise rights for UK retailer Mothercare.[3]

In December 2012, Alshaya opened the Alshaya Retail Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, providing retail training and employment on graduation for young Saudi women.[6] In February 2013 Alshaya opened up the 160th location of The Cheesecake Factory in The Avenues (Kuwait).[7] In April 2014, Alshaya announced it would open two more Alshaya Retail Academies in Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah and Dammam.[8] Alshaya moved into the Leisure and Entertainment sector in June 2013 with the opening of KidZania Kuwait, at The Avenues (Kuwait). Muji [9] opened at The Avenues in the same year. Katsuya by Philippe Starck launched in Kuwait and the UAE, and in December 2013, more Alshaya restaurant brands were introduced to Saudi Arabia—The Cheesecake Factory, Texas Roadhouse, Shake Shack, P. F. Chang's and PizzaExpress.[10] 2015 saw the Middle East debut of fast-food chicken restaurant Raising Cane's[11][12] in Kuwait. In 2016, Alshaya launched its loyalty programme, Privileges Club,[13] in Kuwait, with plans to roll the programme out across its GCC markets. Lebanese restaurant Babel opened its first outlet outside Lebanon, in Kuwait.[14] In 2017, several new brands made their Middle Eastern debut, including Bouchon Bakery;[15] Charlotte Tilbury;[16] NYX Cosmetics;[17] 400 Gradi;[18] and & Other Stories.[19] The company also opened the Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya in downtown Kuwait City. Burj Alshaya features the 22-story Four Seasons in the Eastern Tower and houses the corporate headquarters of the company in the 43-story Western Tower. Also making their regional debut at Kuwait's new Avenues Phase IV extension were Swedish fashion brand Monki,[20] Blaze Pizza [21] and new entertainment concept TekZone.[22] Luxury Home Fragrance brand Dr. Vranjes Firenze [23] made its first Middle East foray later that year. In January 2019, Alshaya opened its own brand Amiti Noura,[24] a restaurant that offers traditional Kuwaiti cuisine at Kuwait's largest shopping mall, The Avenues followed by the opening of contemporary New York city-based fashion brand alice + olivia by Stacey Bendet, in April.

Alshaya Group

History

Operations

Debenhams (1997–2025)

References