Central Group and Signa Holding complete Selfridges Group acquisition

Central Group and Signa Holding have completed the acquisition of Selfridges Group from the Weston family - including the iconic Selfridges department store at 400 Oxford Street – following the initial announcement of a deal in December 2021.

The Selfridges Group portfolio, which comprises 18 stores under four names; Selfridges in England, Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland and De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, will be integrated with Central and Signa's combined existing portfolio of 22 luxury department stores and two new stores to open soon in Dusseldorf and Vienna.

The integration will also include Selfridges Group's ecommerce platforms, which draw over 30 million online visitors monthly and ship to over 130 countries worldwide.

Stefano Della Valle, Chief Executive Officer of Central and Signa’s luxury department store group in Europe, will lead Selfridges Group under his expanded role.

Anne Pitcher, current Managing Director of the Selfridges Group, will remain in the company’s leadership team until the end of the year to ensure a smooth integration into the newly formed group.

Tos Chirathivat, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Central Group, and Dieter Berninghaus, Chairman of the Executive Board of Signa Holding will be the new Co-Chairman of the Group.

On the acquisition, a statement from Chirathivat and Berninghaus, reads: “We are long-term investors with a well-established partnership and shared vision to reshape and reinvent the luxury retail industry.

“We are committed to create the world`s leading luxury omni-channel platform for all our customers through both online and offline channels. We are excited to meet and work with our new colleagues, as well as brand partners to achieve this vision.”

Also in December 2021, the new owners confirmed plans to reopen the old Selfridges hotel as part of a future revamp of the famous Oxford Street department store.