Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Business Retail

US retail chain TJ Maxx acquires 35% stake in Dubai-based Brands for Less for $360 million

The acquisition gives the US discount retailer access to Middle East markets



On Monday, Brands for Less announced plans to partner with AI Instagram personalities, including Mayaseen and Jood. And off-price retailer TJX Cos raised annual profit forecast after beating quarterly results on Wednesday.
Image Credit: Brands for Less/ Shutterstock

The owner of T.J. Maxx has acquired a 35 per cent stake in Dubai-based Brands for Less for $360 million, giving the US discount retailer access to fast-growing consumer markets in the Middle East.

TJX Cos. is buying into the firm at an enterprise value of $1.2 billion, according to a statement. Brands for Less said TJX, with its 5,000 stores globally, would support the firm’s expansion in the Arabian Gulf and beyond, including Malaysia and Singapore.

The transaction is the latest sign of robust mergers and acquisitions activity in the region, where oil exporters like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are spending heavily to diversify their economies and attract foreign investors.

Get exclusive content with Gulf News WhatsApp channel

Brands for Less opened its first store in Lebanon in 1996 but decamped a few years later to Dubai, which at the time was in the early stages of transforming itself into the region’s leading financial hub.

Advertisement

The company now has more than 100 stores in seven markets across the Middle East, selling everything from apparel and homeware to toys at discounts of as much as 80% off the original retail price for well-known brands.

That model has served Brands for Less well during downturns, including the Covid pandemic, Executive Chairman and Co-founder Toufic Kreidieh said in an interview. With TJX’s backing, the firm aims to double the number of stores it operates in the next five years, he said.

Describing shopping for discounted brands as a “treasure hunt,” Kreidieh said businesses like Brands for Less are shielded from recessions. “This is where we really offer ourselves as a solution,” because consumers would rather buy brands at discounted rates than not at all, he said.

Dubai’s deNovo Partners acted as the sole financial adviser while White and Case provided legal counsel to Brands for Less.

Advertisement