French label A.P.C. has opened its first store in the Middle East inside the high-end Solitaire shopping mall in Riyadh, which was recently inaugurated in the capital of Saudi Arabia. The A.P.C. store is located on the first of the mall’s three floors, near stores by Corneliani, Liu Jo, Hanro and Eleventy.
The A.P.C. store extends over more than 100 square metres, and showcases the French label’s womenswear, menswear and accessories collections, in a refined environment designed by architecture studio Laurent Deroo Architecte. The opening is the first step in A.P.C.’s collaboration in the Middle East with local retail group Beside.
Beside was founded in 1991 and is active in nine countries, operating some 160 stores for various Western brands. Last December, Beside opened a Longchamp store at the Dubai Mall, and is also the local partner for labels such as Diesel, Fred Perry, Pinko and Scotch & Soda. The group is led by Hisham Bedier and is part of Saudi conglomerate Taj Holding, founded in 2008 by Omar Abdulaziz Henaidy, currently its president.
The agreement with A.P.C. is set to lead to store openings in the Gulf Cooperation Council region (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) as well as in Egypt. Another opening is planned in Abu Dhabi in 2025, and a third A.P.C. store is expected to be confirmed in 2026.
A.P.C., led since last autumn by CEO Pierre-Arnaud Grenade, operates nearly 80 stores worldwide, and in 2023 it recorded revenue exceeding €100 million.
