The key points
- In 2011, the Central group of the Chirathivat family acquired Rinascente and began its expansion in Europe
- After Illu, KaDeWe and Globus, the purchase of Selfridges was finalized in December 2021
- Central Europe’s goal is to exceed 7 billion in annual turnover (in 2019 it was 5 billion)
A long-term project, that of Central Group, which neither fears nor excludes sudden accelerations, because it is based on the strong belief in the centrality of physical retail and on the equally strong role of digital, which has revolutionized every aspect of the life of people and companies. Stefano Della Valle, ceo for Europe of Central, a company based in Thailand, owned by the Chirathivat family for four generations and who since 2011, with the acquisition of Rinascente, moves within this framework of reference. started the expansion in Italy and Europe.
Central is a leading retail and real estate group in Southeast Asia and now Europe. The pandemic did not stop investments, despite the difficulties of physical retail linked to lockdowns and the collapse of tourism. Do you see no risk in this strategy?
Risks can never be completely eliminated and the pandemic has taught us that there are unpredictable events for which, by definition, one cannot be prepared. Central, in partnership with Signa, a private European group, born in the late 90s and active in retail and real estate, in turn very solid, reacted to the crisis linked to Covid by investing heavily for two reasons: the first is solidity of the business model and long experience. The second is that when the right opportunities arise to grow and strengthen, they must be seized.
Central is based in Asia, how important is the partnership with Signa?
It has been strategic and has lasted for many years: the acquisitions of Rinascente, eleven years ago, and that of Illum, in Denmark, in 2013, were made independently, but the next one, by the German group KaDeWe, marked the beginning of the collaboration to invest and jointly developing the department stores that entered the Central European galaxy. The two operations during the pandemic, the acquisition of Globus in 2020 and in particular that of Selfridges in December 2021, have strengthened the partnership with Signa and we can now say that Europe has become a key market and a strategic hub for Central. also because Selfridges, in addition to the historic Oxford Street shop, is present in Ireland and the Netherlands.