Aïshti is an upmarket Lebanese

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

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.

History

Aïshti was founded in 1989 by Tony Salamé. It began as a small store selling Italian jeans and clothing in Jal el Dib. In September 2020 the new Aïshti store designed by

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

under construction in Beirut Souks caught on fire.

Stores

Aïshti also operates Aïshti Minis a

children's clothing Children's clothing or kids' clothing is clothing for children who have not yet grown to full height. Children's clothing is often more casual clothing, casual than adult clothing, fit for Play (activity), play and rest. In the early 21st centu ...

store in Beirut (Achrafieh and Downton) and Antelias (By The Sea).

Operating

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, Jordan – Opened in 2023 at the TAJ Lifestyle Center. *

Antelias Antelias () is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut. Etymology The name is originally Greek, ἀντήλιος – from ἀντί(anti) "contra" and ἥλ� ...

(By The Sea), Lebanon – Opened in 2015 and designed by Adjaye Associates. *

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

(

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

), Lebanon – The flagship store, opened in 1999. * Beirut ( Rue Verdun), Lebanon – Opened in 1997 at Dunes Center, in 2024 the store moved across the street to the ABC Mall. * Faqra, Lebanon – Opened in 2020, it also includes an Aïshti Spa.

Closed

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

, Kuwait – Opened in 2009 at The Avenues.

Aïzone

Stores

Operating

* Amman ( City Mall), Jordan – Opened in 2006. * Amman (TAJ Lifestyle Center), Jordan * Antelias (By The Sea), Lebanon * Beirut (

Achrafieh Achrafieh () is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter (''quartier''). In p ...

), Lebanon *

(Downtown), Lebanon * Beirut (Rue Verdun), Lebanon * Dbayeh, Lebanon * Faraya, Lebanon – Opened in 2020.

Closed

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, United Arab Emirates – Opened in 2005 at the

Mall of the Emirates Mall of the Emirates () is a shopping mall in Dubai. Developed and owned by Majid Al Futtaim Group, it opened in November 2005 and is located at interchange four on Sheikh Zayed Road. The multi-level shopping mall currently features more than 630 ...

Other operations

Aïshti Foundation

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 Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History, National Museum of African American History and ...

and interiors by Christian Lahoude Studio. It opened in 2015 and houses over 2,000 works from Tony and Elham Salamé's personal collection. Construction took three years to complete and the cost of construction is estimated to be over $100 million. 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. 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 Massimiliano Gioni (born 1973) is an Italian curator and contemporary art critic based in New York City, and artistic director at the New Museum. He is the artistic director of the Nicola Trussardi Foundation in Milan as well as the artistic dir ...

and Flaminia Gennari Santori.

Magazines

In 2009 through the Tony Salamé Group, L'Officiel Levant was launched as the local edition of

L'Officiel ''L'Officiel'' (; stylised in all caps), full name ''L'Officiel de la couture et de la mode de Paris'' ("The Official ublicationof Paris Couture and Fashion"), is a French bimonthly fashion magazine. It has been published in Paris since 1921 a ...

for Lebanon and Syria, it was published in French. It was distributed in bookstores, luxury hotels and Aïshti stores. The magazines editor-in-chief from 2009 to 2019 was Fifi Abou Dib (who previously worked for L'Orient-Le Jour). 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.

Other stores

They also operate boutiques in Beirut for

Bulgari Bulgari (, ; stylized as BVLGARI) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1884 and known for its jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories, and leather goods. Headquartered in Rome, the company was acquired by the French conglomera ...

Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...

, Cartier,

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, ...

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

Loro Piana Loro Piana S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion brand specialized in textile manufacturing and ready-to-wear clothing headquartered in Milan, Italy. Since its start as a merchant of cashmere, vicuña, linen and merino fabrics, Loro Piana expa ...

Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; 15 November 1940 – 12 April 2024) was an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He was known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The Roberto Cavalli fashion house sells luxury clothing, perf ...

, Valentino and

Zegna Ermenegildo Zegna N.V., also known as Zegna Group () or the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, is an Italian luxury fashion house headquartered in Milan. It was founded in 1910 by Ermenegildo Zegna in Trivero, Biella, in the Piedmont region of northern It ...

Tony Salamé

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

Art collection

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 alamécollection in the past ten years." The main focus of his collection is 21st century art.

Italian Order of Merit

In March 2015 Salamé was awarded the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

of the Italian Republic, Italy's highest honor, by the Italian Embassy in Beirut at an event attended by diplomats, business partners and family.Italy's guest honor
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Personal life

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

References

External links

Official shopping websiteFoundation official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aishti Department stores of Lebanon Retail companies of Lebanon Retail companies established in 1989 L'Officiel