ABC (Lebanon)



ABC (legal name: ABC s.a.l. alias ABC Group, LinkedIn: ABC Lebanon), is a company operating ABC-branded shopping malls and department stores, as well as individual boutiques of fashion brands, in Lebanon with a total gross leasable area of 115000 sqm.

The business dates back to 1936 with the opening of ABC at Bab Idriss Square, central Beirut, 580 sqm in size, followed by ABC Bab Borj at 350 sqm in 1940, and ABC Hamra 415 sqm in 1948.

Robert Fadel served as Chairman & CEO from 2009 to 2017, and remains a member of the board of directors. The Harvard Business School case “From Beirut with Love” summarized his experience as head of ABC, his family business.

Innovations
ABC claims many innovations in Lebanese and Middle Eastern retail, such as fixed prices (when bargaining was the tradition), employing women in its sales force, advertising, opening the Middle East's first "international standard" open-air mall, banning smoking, implementing waste management, opening the largest private photovoltaic plant in Lebanon and introducing magnetic gift cards.

Dbayeh
In 1979 ABC opened what it claims to be the first true modern department store in the Middle East, in Dbayeh, a city on the Mediterranean Sea between Beirut and Jounieh. It was 15490 sqm in size. In 2009 it was expanded to a size of 44250 sqm. At that time New York firm nARCHITECTS designed, based on the company's logo, a laser cut aluminum screen enveloping the 200000 sqft existing building, and inverse cut-outs to adorn the facades of the 250000 sqft addition.

Achrafieh
In 2003, ABC opened its 126500 sqm flagship shopping center including a 13500 sqm ABC department store within it, the first international-standard open-air mall in Lebanon, in the upmarket central Achrafieh neighborhood.

In 2017, agency KKD completed a redesign of the department store's interior.

In November 2023 during the 2023 Israel–Gaza war, ABC Achrafieh was at the center of a controversy where it was claimed that the Palestinian keffiyeh was banned at the mall after an employee was told to remove their keffiyeh during work hours. It was also claimed that merchandise related to Palestine was removed. ABC later confirmed that the management did ask an employee to remove her keffiyeh due to the dress code for employees that bans religious and partisan symbols, but also said that customers are free to wear what they want, and said that they have no problem if one of their stores wants to sell merchandise related to Palestine.

Verdun
In 2017, ABC opened its third mall in Verdun, southern Beirut, 155500 sqm in size. ABC Verdun is home to 200 shops and a 10800 sqm ABC Department Store. It measures 150000 sqm and was developed on an ex-property of the Church in a joint venture with Bahaa Hariri, the Group of one of the sons of ex-Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafic Hariri, murdered in 2005, whose other son Saad Hariri also served as Prime Minister. ABC Group holds 40% of the capital and operates the mall.

The architectural design by Seattle-based CalissonRTKL is adapted to the climate, which avoids having to air-condition or heat the common areas: a large canopy houses the roof terrace where the restaurants and the garden are located. Below, the corridors are protected from rain but the air circulates and is refreshed naturally.

Other stores
Other former ABC stores that are now closed include ABC at Bab Idriss Square (opened 1936), ABC Bab Borj (opened 1940), ABC Hamra (opened 1948, now an outlet store), ABC Zahlé (opened 1973, now an outlet store), ABC Kaslik (opened 1978) and ABC Furn El Chebbak (opened 1994).

ABC also operates 3 outlet stores: Tripoli (Lebanon), Zahlé, and in Beirut in the Hamra district. It operates standalone boutiques in its malls for three brands: Calvin Klein, Ted Baker and Tommy Hilfiger.

In 2020 ABC launched an e-commerce site.