Apparel Group LLC is a

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

based

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

and

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

conglomerate company headquartered in Dubai, UAE. Apparel Group operates more than 2300 retail stores with more than 85 brands, and is functional in 14 countries, mostly in the GCC region, such as UAE,

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

History

Apparel Group was founded by Sima Ved in 1996. Their first venture was the franchisee of Nine West in Dubai. Apparel Group has over 85 brands, including 6thStreet, which has over 1200 international brands, Aéropostale (clothing),

Nine West Nine West, also known as 9 West, is an American online fashion retailer which is based in White Plains, New York. It was founded in 1983 and closed its brick and mortar stores business in 2018. Its products continue to be sold at other retai ...

Aldo Group The Aldo Group, branded and stylised as ALDO, is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational retailer specializing in shoes and accessories. Established in 1972 in Montreal, Quebec, the company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun. Its corpor ...

Charles & Keith Charles & Keith Pte. Ltd., styled as CHARLES & KEITH and also known as C&K, is a Singaporean fashion house label founded in 1996, specializing in footwear, handbags and fashion accessories. Based in Singapore, the brand has a global footprint, ...

, Tim Hortons, Dune London, Inglot Cosmetics, The Children's Place, Skechers, Cold Stone Creamery, Tommy Hilfiger (company), LC Waikiki,

Ardene Ardene rDɛNis a family-owned value fashion retailer based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in the early 1980s, Ardene started as an accessories and jewelry retailer, and has since added clothing, shoes, brand collaborations and licensed ap ...

, Beverly Hills Polo Club,

Birkenstock Birkenstock Holding plc is a German shoe manufacturer known for its sandals and other shoes notable for contoured cork footbeds (soles), made with layers of suede and jute, which conform to the shape of their wearers' feet. Founded in 1774 by J ...

Call It Spring The Aldo Group, branded and stylised as ALDO, is a Canadian multinational retailer specializing in shoes and accessories. Established in 1972 in Montreal, Quebec, the company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun. Its corporate headquarters are base ...

, Calvin Klein, Crocs, Forest Essentials,

Hush Puppies Hush Puppies is an American brand of casual footwear. A division of Wolverine World Wide, Hush Puppies is headquartered in Rockford, Michigan. Wolverine also licenses the Hush Puppies name for apparel, toys and accessories. Hush Puppies uses a ...

, Levi's, Steve Madden, ASICS and Toms. In August 2021, Apparel Group headquarters earned the

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

(LEED) Platinum certification through the US Green Building Council. In April 2022, the company opened 20 stores in the Place Vendôme Mall in Lusail City, Qatar. In October, Apparel Group entered into a partnership with Indian cosmetics retailer

Nykaa FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, d/b/a Nykaa, is an Indian retail company, headquartered in Mumbai. It sells beauty, Wellness (alternative medicine), wellness and fashion products through its website, mobile app and over 100 physical stores. In 2020 ...

to build Nysaa, a multi-brand beauty retail business in the GCC where Nykaa will hold a 55% stake of the entity and Apparel Group will hold 45%. In March 2024, Nysaa opened its first store at the City Centre Mirdif in Dubai, and in May announced a partnership with Kay Beauty, a beauty brand owned by

Katrina Kaif Katrina Kaif (; born Katrina Rosemary Turcotte, 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received numerous accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee C ...

to offer its products through Nysaa stores. As of February 2023, Apparel Group launched 19 new store locations in UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, KSA, and India. In March, the group entered into a partnership with the Indian ayurvedic brand, Forest Essentials to distribute their skincare products through the Apparel Group's stores. In May, Apparel Group announced the opening of 12 new retail stores at Al Khiran Mall in Kuwait. In September, the group agreed with Firehouse Subs to operate 100 restaurants in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. In November, in association with Forever New, the apparel group opened 3 Forever New stores in Kuwait. Through 2023, the Group launched 350 new stores in various locations and entered into partnerships with several brands including Forest Essentials, Allo Beirut and Asics. In February 2024, Apparel Group launched a shoe design studio at KidZania, Dubai Mall, an educational and entertainment studio that allows children to design and color their shoes using diverse materials. In April, Apparel Group was an official sponsor of the Retail Summit 2024 which was held on 23–24 April in Dubai. In May, Apparel Group launched its first Forever New store at Doha Festival City in Qatar, and announced that it plans to launch 40 Forever New stores through the partnership across the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

before 2027. In the same month, the Apparel Group-owned R&B Fashion which was launched in Muscat Grand Mall in October 2012 announced that it plans to launch 200 stores across the GCC and India by the end of 2025. In June 2024, Apparel Group launched the first branch of Allo Beirut, a Dubai-born Lebanese street food restaurant in the Al Olaya district, Riyadh. In September, the company entered into a franchise partnership with Carrefour to expand into India with an initial opening in North India with further expansion planned across the country, and signed an agreement with Barbour to become its exclusive distribution partner in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar. In October, Apparel Group participated in a $10 million seed funding round for UAE-based proptech startup Prypco led by Shorooq Partners, and signed an agreement with

Mobily Mobily () is a Saudi Arabian telecommunications services company that offers fixed line, mobile telephony, and Internet services. The company was established in 2004, and, in the summer of that year, won the bid for Saudi Arabia's second GSM ...

to allow Mobily customers to redeem their Noqati rewarding points while shopping from Apparel Group brands. In 2024, Apparel Group was named by

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

among the 100 Best Large Workplaces for Women in the GCC.

Operations

Apparel Group operates in 14 countries, mostly in the GCC region including UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Egypt and South Africa. The group has over 85 brands.

References

{{Reflist Retailing in the United Arab Emirates Beauty organisations Retail companies of the United Arab Emirates