The Abraaj Group has acquired a majority stake in Casaideas, a home design and decoration business with a growing market presence in Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. The transaction represents the first direct investment in Chile for Abraaj. 

(Press Release) Santiago, Chile, 19 January 2017: The Abraaj Group (“Abraaj” or the “Group”), a leading investor operating in growth markets, today announced that it has acquired through its Funds a majority stake in Casaideas (“Casaideas” or the “Company”), a leading home design and home decorations business with growing market presence in Chile, Peru and Bolivia. The transaction represents the first direct investment in Chile for Abraaj, completing the Group’s investment presence in the Pacific Alliance countries of Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Chile. The Company will continue to be managed by the current management team. Founding partners Mauricio Russo and Claudia Venegas will remain as shareholders of the Company with key executive roles.

Founded in Chile in 1993 with the aim of offering unique and affordable home design and home decorative products, Casaideas has since expanded its operations to 33 stores in Chile, 16 stores in Peru and seven additional franchise units in Bolivia. With over 3,500 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), the Company´s success is founded on a value proposition that centers on offering unique, creativelydesigned products at competitive price-points and customized for local markets. Homeware and Furnishing is the seventh largest consumer retail category by market share in Latin America and grew at 6% CAGR between 2010 and 2015. Specialized stores and online sales, the category sectors where Casaideas operates, are projected to grow at 6.2% and 4.1% in Peru and Chile respectively. The sector thesis is a compelling one, driven by an aspirational middle class with growing disposable incomes and a thirst for well-designed products in the home environment.

Abraaj has invested in more than 20 companies in the retail sector across growth markets since 2003, including Capa de Ozono a leading fashion footwear retailer in Mexico and Iasacorp, a leading women accessories retail chain in Peru.

Leveraging on Abraaj’s deep sector experience, the Group intends to support penetration and scaling to build Casaideas’ market position in Chile and Peru, as well as leverage its regional presence to explore expansion and channel development opportunities in Mexico, Colombia and the Central American countries. Abraaj’s value creation approach will also revolve around supporting the Company’s key strategic, commercial and operational improvement initiatives, and specifically help to expand product availability through the launch of an e-commerce platform, given Abraaj’s experience in the e-commerce industry through investments in platforms such as Hepsiburada.com, Turkey’s leading online retailer and marketplace.