Abercrombie & Fitch to open first store in Saudi Arabia

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Aug 28, 2017

Abercrombie & Fitch announced it has expanded its partnership with its Middle Eastern partner Majid Al Futtaim to open the first-ever store in Saudi Arabia. It will also house a shop in shop for Abercrombie Kids.

The new store location will be in Jeddah's Red Sea Mall. It will occupy almost 8,000 square feet. According to an official statement, the format will follow Abercrombie's new "open and engaging shopping environment."

Abercrombie originally entered the Middle East through a franchise agreement with Majid Al Futtaim in 2015. The company first introduced the Abercrombie & Fitch brand to the region with the opening of two stores in Kuwait and a third in Dubai in December of 2015.

Majid Al Futtaim then opened two locations in Qatar in March of 2017. The upcoming Saudi Arabia store will be the sixth Abercrombie store in the region and the third Abercrombie Kids shop that have been opened under the partnership.

Shireen El Khatib, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Fashion said they are excited to be "continuing to bring highly sought after brands to the [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] region."

FashionNetwork.com also has been following rumors that Abercrombie is looking at expanding operations in India. While the brand has not confirmed any specific franchise agreement or official plans, the Economic Times reported the brand has been in talks with several Indian companies about opening Abercrombie and Hollister stores in the emerging market. This could mean a new brand presence in India by 2018.

The new Abercrombie store in the KSA is slated to open in September. It will carry Fall/Winter for men, women and children. After establishing the brand in Saudi Arabia, Majid Al Futtaim has plans to open Abercrombie stores in Oman and Bahrain next.