Harel Wiesel: co-CEO of Fox Group (TASE: FOX). Built Israel's largest fashion retailer — 600+ stores, Nike and Mango franchises, 14,500 employees. The franchise model architect.
The Controlling Shareholder Who Built Israel's Largest Fashion Retail Empire
Harel Wiesel (הראל ויזל) is the co-CEO, director, and controlling shareholder of Fox Group (TASE: FOX), Israel's largest fashion retailer. Through Wizel Holdings A.Y.H. Ltd, he holds 19.6% of the company. Born in Israel, married with three children, Wiesel transformed a textile marketing company founded in 1942 into a 600+ store conglomerate operating in 10+ countries with 15,789 employees and a market capitalization of roughly ILS 3.98 billion as of August 2026.
The Operating Story
Wiesel's career at Fox spans the company's entire modern era. The original entity, Trico Fox Ltd. (טריקו פוקס), was a textile manufacturing operation established in 1942 during the British Mandate. Wiesel took the company from manufacturing into retail, opening the first Fox-branded fashion stores in the early 1990s. The 2002 IPO on the TASE gave him capital to execute an aggressive expansion strategy.
The pivotal decision came in 2006, when Wiesel diversified beyond fashion. Rather than competing as a single-brand retailer against international entrants like Zara, H&M, and Gap, he built Fox Group into a multi-brand franchise platform, acquiring or licensing the Israeli operations for global brands that needed a local retail operator.
The Franchise Architecture
Wiesel's strategy: become the indispensable Israeli retail operator for global fashion and sports brands. Fox Group now holds Israeli franchise rights for Nike, Mango, Foot Locker, American Eagle, Aerie, The Children's Place, Free People, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters. The group also operates Laline (לליין, bath and body products), Terminal X (online fashion platform), Dream Sport, and the Fox Home housewares chain.
The model captures the margin between global brand equity and local retail execution. Fox doesn't bear the cost of building the brand; Nike and Mango do that globally. Fox captures the retail margin in Israel by operating the stores, managing the logistics, and serving as the customer-facing layer.
Fox Group holds the largest loyalty program membership in Israel, a data asset that spans all its brands and gives the company cross-category insight into Israeli consumer behavior.
International Expansion
Fox operates stores internationally under its own Fox fashion brand in Russia, Singapore, China, India, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Thailand, Panama, Canada, and Cyprus. Through subsidiary Retailors, the group manages franchise operations for global brands in international markets.
Wiesel's latest move: bringing Jumbo, the Greek discount home-and-toy chain, to Israel, with plans for 8 to 10 stores of approximately 10,000 square meters each, at an estimated investment of NIS 110 million over three years.
Key Facts
Name: Harel Eliezer Wiesel (הראל אליעזר ויזל)
Born: Israel
Position: Co-CEO and Director, Fox Group (TASE: FOX)
Ownership: 19.6% via Wizel Holdings A.Y.H. Ltd
Fox Group scale: 600+ stores · 10+ countries · 15,789 employees · ILS 3.98B market cap (Aug 2026)
Key decisions: 2002 IPO · 2006 diversification into multi-brand franchise model · Nike, Mango, Foot Locker franchise acquisitions · Jumbo Israel (upcoming)