Selfridges Group is taking over Arnotts, an iconic department store in one of Dublin's busiest shopping streets. Selfridges bought it at an undisclosed price from Fitzwilliam Finance Partners, the private equity firm of an Irish businessman, Noel Smyth, after a battle for ownership. Selfridges already owns another Irish retailer, the Brown Thomas group of department stores in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway, meaning that it has become the owner of the country's two leading department stores – along with Holt Renfrew in Canada, Selfridges & Co in the U.K. and De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands. The company itself is owned by Galen Weston, a Canadian investor, and his Irish spouse, Hilary. The deal comes as the Irish retail market has been undergoing several other changes, including the closure of Clerys and the acquisition by Sports Direct International (SDI) of the shares it didn't already own in another Irish chain of department stores, Heatons. Retail sales are currently rebounding in the country, as the Irish economy is emerging from several years of austerity.

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