The CEO of Refah Chain Stores has announced that in the first 9 months of their current financial year, sales have surpassed those of the previous year. Farshid Golzadeh Kermani said: “After two years, based on the designed strategic plan and the special campaign for Ramadan, we have introduced the ‘New Generation of ‘Refah’ to people. We therefore hope that by the end of the current financial year i.e. 22nd October, we can achieve 80% growth in sales respect to a year ago.”
Refah chain stores were established in 1995 and have become one of the largest retailers in Iran. Based on statistics released in 2016, Refah operated 215 stores and employed 3300 people.
This company is attempting to become a model in Iran by adopting standards set out by international retailers. This company also offers “Refah Cards” which are introduced as credit cards for use in the store.
Golzadeh Kermani announced the re-opening of Refah branches in a number of cities: “In the upcoming days, the new generation of stores will open in Bam, Kerman Province; Islamshahr, Tehran Province, and Kelardasht and Sari in Mazandaran Province. Furthermore, the Fatemi Refah branch in Tehran was recently opened with cooperation from the Ministry of Interior Affairs. The Hyper-Refah project in the Nahar-Khoran region in the city of Gorgan, province of Golestan, will become operational by February with cooperation from Saderat Bank.”
Nahar-Khoran is one of the famous eco-touristic destinations in north of Iran.
Refah Co. is a publicly traded company. Previously, Melli Bank and Saderat Bank were the major shareholders. In April 2017, two investment firms, Baztab Saham Toos and Sepehr Navid Afarin, became the major shareholders by acquiring 67% of the company shares.