History

Squaredeal was founded by Carmelo Grech way back in 1938 when he opened his 1st fashion store in tower road Sliema which today is a Celio store and still belongs to members of the Grech family.

Due to the success of the 1st store, more outlets were subsequently opened in Valletta and Hamrun. As Carmelo had four sons, he decided that it would be wisest to open different businesses for his children and believed that this would be the best way to be successful. In the 1960s he went into the property business and developed several apartments and Villas. Carmelo had a natural ability to do well in the property market and was an expert at finding undervalued properties and then developing them.

In 1970 Carmelo bought a Launderette and entrusted this business to one of his sons as he saw an opportunity in this market. In the latter part of the 1970s he began buying various properties in Spinola bay which he would develop to make the two restaurants La Dolce Vita and Paparazzi. In 1981 the restaurants were opened and managed by the family.

In 1988 Axis discotheque was purchased. This was the largest discotheque in Malta and was one of the most technologically advanced clubs in Europe. Axis discotheque was run by the eldest member of the third generation of the Grech family and despite a shaky start, Axis was a huge success and soon became the most important business within the Grech family.

In 1995 certain businesses within the Grech family were restructured and divided to ensure that the third generation could continue to run certain businesses more independently and to ensure that there was more accountability. This formula worked and in a short period franchise contracts were signed with several leading fashion companies. such as Celio, Tom Tailor, Tally Weijl, Jack & Jones and La Senza.

In 1999 a franchise agreement was signed with Tom Tailor, a fashion chain from Hamburg in northern Germany. The company, which was founded in 1962 provides classic and up-to-date casual wear and accessories for men, women, young adults and children.

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In 1995 certain businesses within the Grech family were restructured and divided to ensure that the third generation could continue to run certain businesses more independently and to ensure that there was more accountability. This formula worked and in a short period franchise contracts were signed with several leading fashion companies such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Replay, Celio, Tom Tailor, Tally Weijl, Jack & Jones and La Senza.

In 2001 a franchise agreement was signed with Celio, the leading menswear brand in France. The brand was founded in 1985 by two brothers, Marc and Laurent Grosmann who took over their family shop located in rue Saint-Lazare, in Paris. Today Celio is truly a global brand with over 1000 stores all over the world loacted in the best cities.

In 2003 Squaredeal became the franchisee of Tally Weijl. Tally Weijl is a leading international fashion label which designs, produces and sells fashion for young women and girls in retail stores. TALLY WEiJL was founded in 1984 by Tally Elfassi-Weijl and Beat Grüring in Swizerland. There are over 700 stores in 31 countries worldwide.

In 2005 a franchise agreement was signed with La Senza. The company which was founded in 1990 in Canada, soon became the global leader in the lingerie business and had close to 1000 stores by 2012. La Senza's products focus on lingerie and nightwear but also include loungewear, daywear, and acessorries. The concept is similar to that of Victoria's secret which is also owned by the Limited Brands corporation.

In 2006 Squaredeal opened a Celio store in Tripoli which at the time was the 1st full concept franchise store in the country. The success of the 1st store led to a second store opening soon after in the city of Tripoli. Both businesses did extremely well until 2010 when the business was sold off to their Libyan business partner. The timing couldn’t have been better. In 2010 advance house was completed. The premises is a fully owned development of office and retail space right next to the Sliema ferries. Besides the four floors of office space some of which are rented out, it also housed the Tally Weijl flagship store.

In 2014 the company launched the 'SIX' accessories franchise in Malta. This new brand offers trendy fashion accessories at great prices and also good quality. The parent company Beeline has grown exponentially since it was founded in 1990 and today is sold in over 14000 point of sales and in over 390 mono label stores. This makes Beeline one of the largest international suppliers of fashion jewelry and accessories.

2015 was a very exciting year for the group as 2 new brands were launched. The brands I AM and also Flormar were opened and fortunately performed beyond expectations.

2016 has so far been an interesting year, as yet another brand has been signed up for the company. This brand is already causing shockwaves in the fashion industry and will certainly be another hit.

2022 was a year of growth once again for the company as two new standalone Tom Tailor stores opened in the second half of the year.  In 2024 a Celio flagship store opened in the most advanced mall on the island at the 'Shoreline' in the south of Malta.

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