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END OF AN ERA
I still remember the first thing
I ever bought from Omar Effendi. It was a stainless steel teapot.
It didn’t last long, though that was less the retailer’s
fault than my own – in a bout of amnesia I left it on the
stove until its plastic handle caught fire. Over the past five years,
I have bought several teapots from the venerable retail giant, each
sharing the same fate. In fact, I’m beginning to think I’ve
played a big part in the ailing chain’s recent move into the
black.
Last month, the government finalized the sale of Omar Effendi to
Saudi clothing retailer Anwal Group for nearly LE 1 billion. It
was a long drawn-out deal that many never thought would happen.
After all, the iconic chain has been on the block for nearly a decade.
Every time an investor took interest, the bid fell through for one
reason or another, usually when the investor got spooked by the
government’s vociferous bickering over valuation methods.
The Anwal deal marks the end of an era for Omar Effendi, which,
49 years since it was nationalized, is once again in private hands.
But don’t expect it to transform into a faceless and rampantly
commercial Wal-Mart. Government officials, imbued with patriotic
sentiment, have taken steps to prevent that. The terms of sale require
that the chain’s new owners keep at least 58 of its 87 stores
open and all of its historic branches intact. They must also retain
4,800 of the chain’s 6,000 staff. Chances are, you’ll
see the same familiar faces for years to come.
We will miss the grand old department store. As an overstaffed and
mismanaged public company it was easy to ridicule, but it did have
its strong points. For one, it always had an ample stock of teapots.
CAM MCGRATH
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