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Aïshti

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Aïshti
Founded1989
FounderTony Salamé
Area served
Lebanon, Jordan
Number of employees
900 (2020)
ParentTony Salamé Group
Websiteaishti.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

Aïshti is an upmarket Lebanese department store chain founded in 1989. The company operates both Aïshti and Aïzone brands across Lebanon and Jordan. In 2016 the company recorded an annual revenue of $250 million.[3]

History

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Aïshti was founded in 1989 by Tony Salamé.[4] It began as a small store selling Italian jeans and clothing in Jal el Dib.[2][3]

In September 2020 the new Aïshti store designed by Zaha Hadid under construction in Beirut Souks caught on fire.[5][6]

Stores

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Aïshti also operates Aïshti Minis a children's clothing store in Beirut (Achrafieh and Downton) and Antelias (By The Sea).[7]

Operating

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  • Amman, Jordan – Opened in 2023 at the TAJ Lifestyle Center.[8]
  • Antelias (By The Sea), Lebanon – Opened in 2015 and designed by Adjaye Associates.[9][10]
  • Beirut (Downtown), Lebanon – The flagship store, opened in 1999.[11]
  • Beirut (Rue Verdun), Lebanon – Opened in 1997 at Dunes Center, in 2024 the store moved across the street to the ABC Mall.[12]
  • Faqra, Lebanon – Opened in 2020, it also includes an Aïshti Spa.[13][14]

Closed

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Aïzone

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Stores

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Operating

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  • Amman (City Mall), Jordan – Opened in 2006.[15]
  • Amman (TAJ Lifestyle Center), Jordan
  • Antelias (By The Sea), Lebanon
  • Beirut (Achrafieh), Lebanon
  • Beirut (Downtown), Lebanon
  • Beirut (Rue Verdun), Lebanon
  • Dbayeh, Lebanon
  • Faraya, Lebanon – Opened in 2020.[13]

Closed

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Other operations

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Aïshti Foundation

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The Aïshti Foundation is a 350,000-square-foot mixed art gallery and retail space located north of Beirut in Jal el Dib, Lebanon. The Aishti Foundation was constructed on behalf of Aishti CEO Tony Salamé, and designed by architect David Adjaye and interiors by Christian Lahoude Studio.[16][17] It opened in 2015 and houses over 2,000 works from Tony and Elham Salamé's personal collection.[3] Construction took three years to complete and the cost of construction is estimated to be over $100 million.[18][19][20][21]

The inaugural exhibition, entitled “New Skin,” was curated by Massimiliano Gioni and features work from notable artists such as Alice Channer, Sterling Ruby and Danh Voh, as well as figures from the Arte Povera movement such as Giuseppe Penone.[3]

In 2024 the foundation presented the Day for Night: New American Realism exhibition at the Gallerie Nazionali d'Arte Antica in Rome, Italy curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Flaminia Gennari Santori.[22]

Magazines

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In 2009 through the Tony Salamé Group,[23] L'Officiel Levant was launched as the local edition of L'Officiel for Lebanon and Syria, it was published in French.[24] It was distributed in bookstores, luxury hotels and Aïshti stores.[24] The magazines editor-in-chief from 2009 to 2019 was Fifi Abou Dib (who previously worked for L'Orient-Le Jour).[25] In 2019 the magazine ceased publication after ten years.

They also operated A Magazine an English-language publication about fashion which closed in 2019 and Gossip which ceased publication in 2012.[26][11]

Other stores

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They also operate boutiques in Beirut for Bulgari, Burberry, Cartier, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci, Loro Piana, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino and Zegna.[27][2]

Tony Salamé

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Tony Salamé is a Lebanese-Italian businessman and art collector,[16] as well as the founder, CEO and chairman of Aishti.[11] In 1995, he built Aishti into Lebanon's foremost luxury department store with a flagship store in Beirut's Downtown Souks.

Art collection

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Salamé owns around 2,500 works by over 150 artists. He works closely with New York art dealer Jeffrey Deitch, and began buying art in 2003, first acquiring Arte Povera works by Penone, Lucio Fontana and others.

According to Gioni, the associate director and director of exhibitions at the New Museum in New York, there has been “a sudden acceleration of the [Salamé] collection in the past ten years."[28] The main focus of his collection is 21st century art.[19]

Italian Order of Merit

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In March 2015 Salamé was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Italy's highest honor, by the Italian Embassy in Beirut at an event attended by diplomats, business partners and family.[29]

Money laundering accusations

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Salamé has been suspected of money laundering by Lebanese media.[11] He has denied these claims.[3]

Personal life

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He is married to Elham Salamé; they have four children: Tasha, Giorgio, Sandro and Mateo. He speaks fluent French, English, Arabic and Italian.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Lebanon's Biggest Retailer, Root and Branch". The Business of Fashion. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  2. ^ a b c Wilson-Goldie, Kaelan (May 1, 2006). "Aishti's spectacular rise spreads across region". The Daily Star Lebanon. Archived from the original on May 5, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d e Donadio, Rachel (4 December 2015). "Aishti Foundation Puts Shimmering Works Amid the Turmoil of Beirut". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Aishti: Lebanon's Biggest Retailer, Root and Branch". The Business of Fashion. 2020-11-22. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  5. ^ "Lebanon crisis: Fire erupts in Zaha Hadid-designed shopping centre in Beirut". 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  6. ^ "Fire Rips Through Zaha Hadid-Designed Building in Beirut, Lebanon". Architizer Journal. 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  7. ^ "Aïshti - Store Locator". Aishti. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  8. ^ "Aïshti Amman now open". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  9. ^ "The World's Coolest, Most Cultured New Malls". 2016-07-27. Archived from the original on 2022-12-25. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  10. ^ "Aïshti - About". Aishti. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  11. ^ a b c d "Tony Salamé | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry". The Business of Fashion. 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  12. ^ "Aïshti Verdun moves to ABC". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  13. ^ a b "Aïshti now open Faqra". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  14. ^ "Aïshti, Aïzone and Aïshti Beauty & Spa now open in Faqra". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  15. ^ a b c "Aïshti abroad". A Magazine (80): 283–285. 16 October 2015.
  16. ^ a b c "Tony Salame's Aishti Foundation Overhauls Art and Fashion | W Magazine". Archived from the original on 2015-10-27.
  17. ^ "David Adjaye and Christian Lahoude Design Beirut's Super-Chic Aïshti by the Sea Mall". Interior Design. 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  18. ^ "First images of david adjaye's completed aïshti foundation". 30 October 2015.
  19. ^ a b "Wallpaper* & UBS: Welcome to Planet Art". 16 October 2015.
  20. ^ Donadio, Rachel (4 December 2015). "Aishti Foundation Puts Shimmering Works Amid the Turmoil of Beirut". The New York Times.
  21. ^ "Art and Commerce". W Magazine. 2015-10-26. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  22. ^ Waga, Nel-Olivia. "Inside 'Day For Night: New American Realism' At Palazzo Barberini In Rome". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  23. ^ "Lofficiel Levant Publisher Publications - About".
  24. ^ a b "L'Officiel lance une version Liban et Syrie - Marie-José Daoud". Commerce du Levant (in French). 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  25. ^ Castro, Anne-Sophie (2018-08-02). "La mode au Liban : témoignage de Fifi Abou Dib (L'Officiel Levant)". FashionUnited (in French). Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  26. ^ "A Magazine". Aishti. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  27. ^ "Aïshti - In The City". Aishti. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  28. ^ "The Art Newspaper - International art news and events".
  29. ^ Italy's guest honor
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