Prepared by: Franchise Arabia's Business Development Team
➽ Alshaya Group (Kuwait) is one of the region’s largest franchise owners, a dynamic family-owned enterprise, first established in Kuwait in 1890.
With a consistent record of growth and innovation, Alshaya Group has become one of the world’s leading franchise operators, offering an unparalleled choice of well-loved global brands to customers.
The Group operates over 70 franchise brands in 4,000 stores across 18 countries. Its portfolio includes 2,000 Starbucks locations in 17 countries.
These are some of their champion brands:
➽ Starbucks
➽ Chipotle
➽ SHAKE SHACK
➽ Victoria’s Secret
➽ The Cheesecake Factory
➽ Pinkberry
➽ Raising Cane's
➽ H&M
➽ American Eagle
➽ P.F.Chang's
➽ The Body Shop
➽ M.A.C
➽ Mothercare
➽ Debenhams
➽ Pottery Barn
➽ Dean & Deluca
The group operates over 4,000 stores across the Middle East, North Africa, Russia, Turkey and Europe and employs more than 46,000 people.
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➽ Cenomi Retail, formally Alhokair Fashion Retail (Saudi Arabia) was established in 1990. It has its operations spread across various regions like the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and Caucasus region.
The company is now the largest owner, developer, operator, and franchisee in the Kingdom, with 21 malls and more than 95 top international brands across fashion, food & beverage, and entertainment.
The company has brought some of the world’s most iconic brands to the region for the first time. This includes a long-standing partnership with retail giant Inditex and the launch of the kingdom’s first premium Apple reseller, Aleph.
As a premium franchise retailer for brands from around the globe, Cenomi Retail has demonstrated tremendous growth and entrepreneurial opportunities over the last 30 years. Currently, it’s the only publicly traded company of its kind in the Middle East.
These are some of their iconic brands:
➽ Zara
➽ Mango
➽ GAP
➽ Banana Republic
➽ Marks and Spencer
➽ Massima Dutti
➽ Pull & Bear
➽ Steve Madden
➽ Estée Lauder
➽ KIKO MILANO
➽ GERRY WEBER
➽ Mavi
➽ Bershka
➽ Celio
➽ LC Waikiki
➽ Nine West
➽ Subway
➽ CINNABON
Since the opening of its first store in 1990, Cenomi Retail has grown considerably and now trades in over 1,842 stores across 100 shopping malls in 13 countries. All of this is managed by a workforce numbering more than 10,000 people.
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➽ Founded in 1955, Chalhoub Group (UAE) has been a partner and creator of top luxury brands in the Middle East for six decades. The Group, in its endeavor to excel as a hybrid retailer, has reinforced its distribution and marketing services with a portfolio of over 300 international brands in the luxury, beauty, fashion, and art de vivre categories.
The adventure started 60 years ago with the opening of the first Christofle boutique in Damascus. Today, with the strength of six decades of expertise in the luxury industry, the Chalhoub Group is the leading player in the region in the beauty, fashion, and gifts sectors.
In 1986, Chalhoub Group created their own brand, Faces. A beauty heaven filled to the brim with a tantalizing array of fragrances, makeup, and skincare products. Faces offers a vibrant choice of luxury, unconventional niche, and specialty brands, as well as expert advice to fulfil every need of the beauty savvy. Faces is now a leading beauty retailer in the region with over 80 stores across 12 countries.
These are some of their top luxury brands:
➽ Louis Vuitton
➽ Yves Saint Laurent
➽ Carolina Herrera
➽ Michael Kors
➽ Dior Couture
➽ Swarovski
➽ Givenchy
➽ Lacoste
➽ Sephora
➽ Fendi
➽ Max Mara
➽ Havas
➽ Salvatore Ferragamo
Today, Chalhoub Group operates 8 owned home-grown brands and more than 300 global luxury brands in 750+ retail stores across 14 countries, managed by a workforce of over 16,000 skilled and talented professionals.
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➽ Americana Group (Kuwait), the largest quick-service restaurant operator in the MENA region, was founded in 1964 and was the first franchise operator to introduce fast-food restaurants to the region in 1970. The group is primarily involved in the food and beverage industry.
Americana Restaurants operates some of the world’s top F&B brands and food products across the region and is considered the largest integrated food company in the Middle East.
In 2016, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Mohammed Alabbar of EMAAR Properties (Dubai) acquired a majority stake in Americana for a staggering $2.4 billion through their joint investment subsidiary, Adeptio AD Holdings LTD.
Americana is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and has a proven track record of adherence to the highest global corporate standards. It’s a trailblazer in the region’s out of home dining industry, and among the world’s leading operators of QSR and casual dining restaurants.
These are some of their iconic brands:
➽ Pizza Hut
➽ TGI Friday’s
➽ Red Lobster
➽ KFC
➽ Hardee’s
➽ Krispy Kreme
➽ Costa Coffee
➽ Baskin Robbins
➽ Peet’s Coffee
➽ California Garden
➽ Chicken Tikka
Americana is one of the region’s leading employers, with over 50,000 employees working each day to serve their customers across MENA, Côte d’Ivoire, Pakistan, and CIS region.
With a portfolio of 12 global brands, Americana operates over 2,228 stores across 20 countries throughout the MENA region & beyond stretching from Kazakhstan in the east to Morocco in the west.
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➽ AZADEA Group (UAE) is a premier lifestyle retail company that owns and operates some of the world’s top franchise brands in fashion and accessories, food and beverage, home furnishings, sporting goods, multimedia and beauty and cosmetics across the Middle East and Africa.
Since its inception in 1978 in Beirut, with headquarters now in Dubai, the Group has grown a substantial chain of stores representing leading international brand names. AZADEA is one of the world's fastest growing fashion and lifestyle retail groups. The Lebanese Daher family runs AZADEA Group.
These are some of their international brands:
➽ ADIDAS
➽ Reebok
➽ VIRGIN MEGASTORE
➽ BOSE
➽ BOGGI MILANO
➽ PAUL’s
➽ PUNT ROMA
➽ Stradivarius
➽ Intimissimi
➽ Oysho
➽ Venchi
➽ Sunglass Hut
➽ The Butcher Shop and Grill
Today, with an impressive portfolio of 40 global brands, a workforce of over 13,500 employees, dedicated offices in every market it operates in, and oversees over 700 stores, Azadea Group operates across 14 countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
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➽ Apparel Group (UAE) was founded in 1996 and is involved solely in the retail industry. It works closely with major labels and has its operations spread over 4 continents.
The Group has carved its strong presence in the GCC market and expanded thriving gateways to market in India, South Africa, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Egypt. Additionally, clear strategies are in place to enter emerging markets such as Hungary and Philippines.
The company has achieved mercurial growth in the last 28 years by introducing world-class labels from around the globe, including.
➽ Kalvin Klein
➽ Tommy Hilfiger
➽ Nine West
➽ LEVI’S
➽ Aldo
➽ Charles & Keith
➽ Kenneth Cole
➽ Crocs
➽ Nine West
➽ Sketchers
➽ Birkenstock
➽ Jamie’s Italian
➽ Tim Hortons
➽ Cold Stone
➽ FIREHOUSE SUBS
Apparel Group cemented itself as a leading powerhouse in the fashion and lifestyle industry. The group caters to millions of customers through its 85+ brands across 2,100+ stores in more than 14 countries while employing over 20,000 multicultural staff.
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➽ Jawad Business Group's success story is widely known in its home country, Bahrain, and the MENA region, but not many know that the saga began over 50 years ago with the ship chandelling business.
The journey from those humble beginnings was fueled by single-minded purpose and a clear vision and has led to the formation of a business conglomerate with diverse activities, and a trail of significant milestones and many achievements.
Over the past three decades, the group consistently maintained its leadership position in the consumer, retail and hospitality arena.
The company has transformed itself into a multi-faceted, multi-cultural organization with business interests across the (GCC) states, encompassing convenience stores, distribution of FMCG goods, fashion and footwear, restaurants - both international and home grown, and a host of focused retail services, including its own travel agency and rent-a-car services, and support services.
These are some of the leading brands they represent:
➽ Chili’s
➽ Burger King
➽ Dairy Queen
➽ Papa John's Pizza
➽ Outback Steakhouse
➽ Ferrero
➽ Frito Lays
➽ Hershey’s
➽ Delifrance
➽ AVIS
➽ BHS
➽ Quiz
➽ Hush Puppies
JBG operates over 600 stores across the GCC and is growing at a rapid pace. As a multi-cultural organization, the group employs a workforce of over 5000 people who belong to more than 40 nationalities.
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