Black Box Central Group – Who is behind the new Globus owner
Published: Monday, Sep 30th 2024, 12:00
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The Thai Central Group has completely taken over the operational business of Globus from the insolvent Signa. Who is actually behind this rather secretive company?
The Central Group was founded in Thailand shortly after the end of the Second World War. The founder Tiang Chirathivat, also known as Zheng Ruchang, emigrated from China to Thailand in the mid-1920s.
Initially, the company was active in retail. In 1956, Chirathivat laid the foundations for the future empire with its first department store in Bangkok. The company grew rapidly and other department stores and supermarkets were added, initially mainly in Thailand.
In the 1980s, Central expanded its business to include hotels and restaurants. The company also became increasingly involved in real estate and project development, which later brought it together with Benko's Signa. The Group also offers financial services such as loans, payment solutions and insurance brokerage.
Secretive large corporation
The Central Group has been family-owned since it was founded. Tos Chirathivat currently manages the operational fortunes as CEO. Most of the other management positions are also held by family members.
The Chirathivat family is one of the richest in Thailand. However, their wealth is difficult to estimate as it is spread across a large number of people. Forbes estimates the family's fortune at around 10 billion US dollars. According to the Central Group, more than 80,000 people worldwide currently work for it.
Externally, the Central Group is rather secretive. The company's deals are mostly done in the background.
Investments in foreign department stores
At the beginning of the 2010s, the Central Group then focused more strongly on international expansion. In addition to acquisitions in South East and East Asia, Central also increasingly entered the European market.
It began in 2011 with the purchase of the Italian department store chain La Rinascente. The Danish luxury department store Illum followed in 2013.
The involvement with Signa began two years later. In 2015, the Central Group and Signa each acquired half of the German department stores Kaufhaus des Westens KaDeWe (Berlin), Alsterhaus (Hamburg) and Oberpollinger (Munich). In 2020, Central and Benko finally bought the Swiss Globus department stores from Migros.
The British department store Selfridges and its subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Ireland followed in 2022. This means that the Central Group is now one of the largest players in the luxury department store sector in Europe.
Aiming for long-term investments
The family-owned company appears to be targeting long-term expansion in the struggling European department store business. The company has emphasized that it is pursuing a long-term strategy in Europe.
Central wants to breathe new life into the ailing department stores in Europe in the long term. The Group has set itself the goal of becoming the world's leading omnichannel luxury platform. To achieve this, the company is relying not only on a large online business but also on its established brick-and-mortar business with department stores.
Shares acquired from Benko
However, Central's involvement with Benko and his Signa has now come to an end. The group had already purchased the luxury department store property KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) in Berlin from Signa in April 2024. The business operations of the German department stores KaDeWe, Alsterhaus and Oberpollinger also went to the Thai group.
This has now been followed by the takeover of Globus' business operations. Talks about a complete takeover of the British department store Selfridges are also at an advanced stage, according to media reports.
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