Haredi millionaire Aryeh Wolfson is establishing a Haredi food chain in partnership with Mega, owned by Dudi Weissman. This is reported by TheMarker.
The new chain will be called Tekel's, and its first branch will open next week in Bnei Brak. For now, it is only a pilot branch, which is expected to expand as the chain continues.
Wolfson is one of the richest people in Israel, and according to an industry source, he will be the main investor in the first phase of the chain's establishment. Wolfson, formerly a partner in the listed Mackall, is the nephew of Isaac Wolfson, who is responsible for the success of the British department store chain GUS.
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Alon Reboa Kahol's mega-retailer owned the Shefa Shuk chain, which was the leading chain in the Haredi sector, but was boycotted in the sector in 2008 after owner Dudi Weissman purchased the urban convenience store chain AM:PM, whose branches are also open on Shabbat. At the time of the boycott, Shefa Shuk had about 40 branches and had sales of about NIS 900 million.
Weissman chose not to surrender, and the boycott has not been lifted to this day, which severely damaged the network.
In 2011, the chain's name was changed to Zol Bissof, but even this step did not solve the problem. Zol Bissof currently has only 12 branches, compared to 17 branches at the beginning of the year, and a few months ago, TheMarker reported that Mega was working to sell Zol Bissof, among others, to the owners of the Victory chain, but the talks did not culminate in a deal.
It is not impossible that over time, the Tekhal's chain will replace the Zul Besfa chain, which will close.
The connection to Wolfson could help Weissman succeed in the ultra-Orthodox sector. Wolfson is one of the largest donors in the ultra-Orthodox sector, donating to both Torah scholars and conversion initiatives across the country. In recent years, he has even begun to award scholarships to ultra-Orthodox students. His entry as a partner could pave the way for Mega's re-entry into the ultra-Orthodox sector, primarily because he is closely connected to the largest court rabbis in the ultra-Orthodox sector.
No response was provided from Mega Network.
