The Spanish fashion scene was shaken on February 25, 2025, by the completely unexpected announcement and official confirmation of the entry of the Emiratic company MultiPly Group as a new parent company into the SPANICH capital of the Spanish Tendam Group. It remains to be seen to what extent this will also influence the international fashion scene.
The Spanish fashion group, which includes chains such as Cortefiel, Springfield and Women’Secret, ended its almost 20 years in the hands of the investment fund CVC Funds and Pai Partners to beat a new chapter under the control of a new investment partner. But who are the new owners of the company and – even more interesting – how will they try to increase their value?
Development of the Multiply Group
The company, founded in Abu Dhabi as a marketing and communication advice under the name MultiPly Marketing Consultancy, gradually went through a unique process of growth and the diversification of its business model through increasing engagement in new technologies. A strategy, the good results of which finally led to the company became an “active” investor within the same sector from a “passive” player who used these technologies for his advice, which ultimately attracted the attention of the Emiratic investment company International Holding Company (IHC). The company was founded in 1998 with the support of the Abu Dhabi royal family with the aim of contributing to the diversification and promotion of non -oil -related trading sectors in the United Arab Emirates (VAE), and finally acquired 100 percent of the capital of Multiply Marketing Consultancy in 2020.
After taking over and integration into the portfolio of strategic assets, IHC, which is currently controlled by around 60 percent by the Royal Group, has not wasted time to consolidate and increase the value of multiply. The Royal Group is an investment company with connections to the royal family of Abu Dhabi. Through a profound and complete restructuring of the asset and investment sports folio, MultiPly Marketing Consultancy, today MultiPly Group, has achieved most of the assets that were previously in the hands of IHC, as well as new acquisitions that are currently being managed under its roof.
In addition, the company announced its split off IHC on November 29, 2021 and the upcoming IPO. As a eighth subsidiary, IHC starts its solo alone as a new listed company in less than a year and made the jump to Abu Dhabi’s stock exchange on December 5, 2021.
Control by the IHC and royal family of Abu Dhabi
After completing the IPO, the Multiply Group was by no means more than fully independent company, but remained under the control of IHC, which currently holds around 57.81 percent of the capital and all shares of the company. Under this strategic and executive management, the MultiPly Group completed the 2024 financial year with total sales of 2,021.56 million dirham, which corresponds to around 507.95 million euros for the current exchange rate. This is an increase of 56 percent compared to the previous year and an initial exceeding the sales limit of 2 billion dirham.
Despite this clear sales growth, the company recorded a net profit of only 189 million dirham at the end of the year, which corresponds to around 47.49 million euros for the current exchange rate. This number represents a decline of 65 percent compared to the profit of 551.98 million VAE-Dirham, which was recorded at the end of the 2023 financial year. A high market volatility was given as the reason. However, the company estimates the “core bases” of its business as “solid” and firmly anchored, especially in view of the two -digit sales growth of 56 percent and an EBITDA that reached a historical high with 1,867 million dirham (+15 percent).
The growth strategy of the MultiPly Group also includes investments of almost 1 billion dirham, which were used for three “strategic” takeovers, including the increase in the capital of the poster wall company Backlite Media; The takeover of the beauty and hair care product provider The Gooming Company Holding from the United Arab Emirates and the purchase of 51 percent of the driving training center Excellence Premier Investment based in Dubai.
From a more general perspective, this is the strategy that has maintained the outstanding both organic and inorganic growth of the company in recent years. With the acquisition of 67.91 percent of Tendam’s share capital due to a capital increase, the group is opening a new chapter. Although an amount has not been announced, it is part of the investment capacity of 1 billion euros that the management of the Emiratic group had specified at the end of the last full financial year 2024.
Retail and fashion industry as fifth strategic “vertical”
In view of these figures, the question seems obvious where these sales and profits come from and how Multiply acts on the market? A look at the business model provides information, because the group is an investment holding company that creates values for its shareholders: inside, at short notice, in the medium term and long-term values. This is done through investment transactions that include a total of two different branches of investment: Multiply and MultiPly+.
With regard to each of these areas, the Multiply Group under the roof of MultiPly Investments tries to protect its long -term added value through strategic investments in various sectors – media, mobility, beauty and wellness, energy and supply as well as retail and fashion. The takeover of the majority stake in the Spanish company Tendam (better known as Grupo Cortefiel by April 2018) marks the start of this fifth vertical business area.
On the other hand, the Emirati Group creates capital investments via its Multiply+investment portfolio, which are already very attractive and offer a potential return on capital with considerable added value, for example by Getty Images and Savage X Fenty, Rihanna’s personal fashion brand. After the brand was founded and launched by the singer in 2018, the MultiPly Group became minority partner and invested 92 million dirham in 2022, which corresponded to the then exchange rate. Attracted by rapid growth that the lingerie company has already experienced, the entry for inclusion of which cemented its positioning as a pioneer of the “body positive” movement, supplemented by a very digital business model. Multiply already argued that this fits perfectly “to our investment strategies”.
Tendam, “anchor company” for fashion and retail stores
Savage X Fenty is the most important and knowledge of the only precedent for investing in the fashion industry. At least since the start of the capital of the lingerie company in 2022, the MultiPly Group is already considering various alternatives to open a new fashion and retail segment and to further promote the diversification of its investment activities from there. At the announcement of the transaction, CEO and Managing Director Samia Bouazza emphasized three strategic goals: the support of a double-digit Ebitda growth, the global expansion and positioning of the investment group further advanced and entering a retail and fashion sector, “which we already have in sight and that we believe that it offers considerable growth potential”, so Bouazza.
This means that the Multiply Group will now take the company’s reins in hand and will be responsible for the management of the “next growth phase” that Tendam ushered in. A new chapter that will be geared towards further develop a stronger international expansion and to further develop the “Omnichannel Ecosystem” by Tendam and its various brands in his portfolio, including the brands Cortefiel, Pedro Del Hierro, Springfield, Women’Secret, Hoss Intropia, Slowlove, High Spirits, Dash and Stars, Ooto, Ooto, Ooto, Ooto, Ooto, Hi & bye and the outlet store chain for the brands of the Fifty Group.
In the announcement of the takeover of 67.91 percent of Tendam by Multiply, the group announced that they want to get into the strategic sectors of retail and fashion industry as a “anchor company”. And with it the sails seem to be set to further expand the portfolio of Tendam, either through new investments or purchases of fashion companies and/or retail chains.
- The Multiply Group, an investment company from the United Arab Emirates, has acquired a majority stake in Tendam, the parent company of Spanish fashion brands such as Cortefiel and Springfield.
- The aim of the Multiply Group is to expand the international presence of Tendam and to develop an omnichannel ecosystem.
- Tendam will act as an anchor company for the new fashion and retail area of the Multiply Group and plans to take over other companies in this sector.
This translated article originally appeared on fashionunited.es.