- Home >
- News >
- Irish News
Ireland’s iconic department stores Arnotts and Brown Thomas to be sold off to luxury chain
Christmas shoppers outside Brown Thomas on Dublin's Grafton Street yesterday. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos
Ireland’s iconic department stores Arnotts and Brown Thomas are to become part of a European-wide luxury department store conglomerate under a proposed deal announced by the Selfridges Group last night.
The Selfridges Group, owned by Irish-Canadian billionaires the Weston family, owns the iconic Irish department stores as well as Selfridges stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham and de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands.
But in the proposed plan announced last night, the Selfridges Group will become part of a portfolio of luxury department stores in Europe under a deal with Central and Signa, a leading European real estate and retail group.
The Selfridges Group will join high-end retailers such as Rinascente in Italy, Illum in Denmark, Globus in Switzerland and the KaDeWe Group, which will operate in Germany and Austria in 2024.
“The combination will create a complementary portfolio of leading European luxury department stores, which will enable innovation know-how and knowledge to be shared across different locations,” according to a statement from Central and Signa, which will continue to operate the Irish department stores using the current management teams along with their e-commerce and operating companies.
Tos Chirathivat, CEO of Central, said: “It is a privilege to be acquiring Selfridges Group, including the flagship Oxford Street store, which has been at the centre of London’s most famous shopping street for over 100 years.
“As family businesses, Central and Signa will focus on delivering exceptional and inclusive store and digital experiences for both local residents and overseas visitors alike, to ensure we can give all the stores in Selfridges Group a bright future for the next 100 years.”
The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
Today's Headlines
'oppression' | Enoch Burke spends last day of term outside school that sacked him as fines near €90k
'huge thanks' | Sinn Fein TD Eoin Ó Broin hails ‘real patriots’ of Beaumont Hospital from stroke ward
medical emergency | Irish woman (57) airlifted to hospital after falling while out walking in Spain
cigs seized | €3.8m worth of smuggled smokes sniffed out by detector dog Milo in Dublin Port
'victimised' | Man accused of harassing kidnap and torture victim Kevin Lunney has conviction quashed
in bloom | Brave Charlie Bird recovers from ‘the worst’ of his falls to attend Dublin Bloom festival
'sadly missed' | Tributes pour in for brave Cork teen Ava Barry following private funeral
MAy days | Radio presenter Suzanne Kane shares new health update after ending up in hospital TWICE
'that fear' | Terry Prone reveals how she was warned as a teenage girl to avoid RTE perv
gang busters | Two men (20s) and woman (30s) arrested as €78k of cannabis seized in Wicklow gang raid