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History
Olympic Group traces its roots back to the 20s and 30s of the last century. IDEAL was probably the first Egyptian manufacturer to produce household appliances in the 1920s. In the 1930s, Olympic Group’s founder, Abdallah Sallam started manufacturing and trading operations selling radios, small appliances, and producing electric transformers. By 1950, his enterprise expanded into retail operations with the establishment of "Shaher" store chain, which specialized in consumer funding. “Shaher” remained amongst the best performing retailers of household appliances in Egypt until its nationalization in 1963.
The manufacturing branch of Sallam’s operations endured in the form of a new venture; Cairo Light Industries. In the early 1970s, it introduced the first locally produced electric water heaters under the brand name" Olympic Electric". This innovative product provided a safe alternative to the gas water heaters that were popular at the time. As a result of government subsidies, it also catered for the emerging consumer demand for electrical appliances and affordable electric energy prices. The water heaters soon dominated the market, and Olympic brand became synonymous to reliability and affordability.
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In 1975, EPA was established as the main trading arm of the group, handling marketing, distribution, and after-sales service for all Olympic brand products. In 1978,Dr. Saad Sallam, the eldest son of the founder, returned to Egypt after receiving a Ph.D. in engineering from McMaster University in Ontario, and became in charge of running the business, assisted by younger brothers ; Niazy Sallam, who handled the trading operations, |
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and Nabil Sallam, who was responsible for the production line in the business. Having worked with North American multinationals, Dr Saad Sallam's international experience brought a modern vision to the business that still defines Olympic Group till this day.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the company started to grow and prosper, through introducing new products that met customer demands and filled critical market gaps. Olympic maintained its market leadership through adopting new technologies in production, expanding product range, and building a strong brand image.
To accommodate the growth and complexity of operations, Olympic Group was established in 1995 as a holding company that overlooks a number of closely related subsidiaries involved in manufacturing and trading of household appliances and related industries. Subsequent acquisitions and internal growth have made Olympic Group the market leader for white goods in Egypt with strong vertically and horizontally integrated operations.
By the end of 1997, the group extended its trading arm by establishing Olympic Stores, now B-Tech. Today, B-Tech has become the biggest retail chain for household appliances in Egypt, focusing on consumer credit sales with 24 outlets spreading nationwide. In 1998, the group enhanced its leadership position in the white goods market with the acquisition of IDEAL, the largest public sector manufacturer of white goods in Egypt. IDEAL, which was established in the 1920’s, complemented the Group’s product range with refrigerators and washing machines.
Between 1997 and 2004 the Group went through a number of restructuring measures and investment projects that aimed at:
1. Separating ownership from management
2. Boosting output capacity and quality
3. Enhancing business focus
4. Empowering staff through delegation of authority
Today, the Group is the unrivaled market leader in household appliances in Egypt and is rapidly penetrating regional markets, vigorously aspiring to realize its vision of regional leadership and global competitiveness.
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Activities
Olympic Group incorporates a highly integrated cluster of companies, which enables the Group to maintain its dominant position as the market leader in the field of white goods in Egypt.
More than 98% of the products sold by the Group are manufactured in the Group's own production facilities. A number of these facilities are dedicated to feeding industries where essential product components are produced.
The main products manufactured by Olympic Group are automatic washing machines, refrigerators, electric water heaters and gas cookers. Other products include fans, oil-filled radiators, exhaust fans, manual washing machines and coolers.
Olympic Group’s key international partners, suppliers ,and licensors include the world’s leader in electric appliances; Electrolux (Zanussi), the Korean giant, Daewoo, the leading Dutch manufacturer, Philips, the Turkish conglomerate, KOC group, and Merloni International Group, “ARISTON and Indesit”.
Ninety percent of the Group’s products are introduced into the market through Olympic Group’s wholly owned wholesale trader EPA, which is the largest white goods trader in Egypt. EPA has 12 branches and a huge network of 1600 dealers and distributors.
The other trading arm of the Group, B-Tech, is handling retail operations while focusing on consumer credit sales. B-Tech was established in 1997 under the trading name “Olympic Stores”. Today, B-Tech operates 24 outlets located at some of the best commercial centers in Cairo and other provinces within Egypt. In addition, EPA operates 16 IDEAL and Olympic Electric retail outlets and 11 franchise retail outlets in unique locations. The core activities of the company are supported with the largest and most effective after-sales service network in Egypt, comprising a network of 25 service centers geographically spread throughout the country.
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