Dubai: A major consolidation has happened in UAE and Gulf’s eyewear retail sector with Magrabi striking an alliance with Dubai headquartered Rivoli Group. It will see the former expand its store network to 290 by year-end, including 89 ‘Rivoli Vision’ outlets in the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
“The merger of the two multi-brand eyewear retail businesses represents a major milestone in the Middle East eyewear market,” said a statement from Magrabi Retail Group.
Apart from physical retail, the focus will continued on an omni-channel environment that will ‘seamlessly blend store concepts and digital channels’.
“The newly combined business will establish Magrabi Retail Group as the significant market share holder in the seven countries it operates - Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt,” the statement added.
After the deal, Rivoli will ‘remain an important minority shareholder’ in Magrabi Retail Group, with Ramesh Prabhakar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Partner of Rivoli Group, joining the board and becoming a member of the Investment Committee.
“The MENA eyewear market remains highly-fragmented and we remain confident in our ability to, together, lead a market poised for consolidation and to continue on the path towards establishing the group as a global leader,” said Amin Magrabi, Chairperson of Magrabi Retail Group.
