Olympic Group Fact Sheet

Olympic Group's activities in the Egyptian market started 70 years ago during which it was able to become a pioneer and shape the market of household appliances both in Egypt and the region. It was also able to achieve great success locally and internationally. In addition, Olympic Group became the most famous brand name in this field.

In 1938, Olympic Group began its outstanding journey of advancement and continued its success to the extent of dominating more than 27% of market share in the white goods industry. Its products permeated foreign and Arab markets to ensure the quality of the Egyptian product and its ability to compete with the most leading international brands.

Olympic Group was initiated in 1938 via “Shaher,” which was the First Egyptian household appliances manufacturer, producing radios, small appliances, and electrical transformers.

In 1948, the company's activity expanded into retail operations with the establishment of a chain of “Shaher Centrelic” stores, which specialized in consumer funding. As a result, Olympics' name became equivalent to the word (pioneer).In 1968, it was the first to locally produce electrical water heaters under the brand name "Olympic Electric". This reflected its leading role in manufacturing and marketing, as electrical water heaters were a breakthrough in the market at that time.

Due to Olympics' distinguished production in electrical heaters, and as a result of government subsidies, it skillfully absorbed the emerging consumer demand for electrical appliances and affordable energy prices.  Adding, it represented a safe alternative for gas water heaters.

Olympic Group held the lion's share of the electrical water heaters market .Thus; "Olympic Electric" brand became synonymous to reliability and competitive price.

From 1980 to 1995, growth and prosperity began through introducing new products that met customers' demands .In addition, Olympic Group worked on narrowing major loopholes in the market, besides adopting new technologies in production, expanding product range, and building a strong image.

In 1981, the first "Olympic Electric's" oil filled radiator was manufactured. In 1984, the “stone” technology in electrical water heaters was developed and implemented, and in 1989, all group entities were converted into shareholding companies.

Olympic Group was established in 1995 as a holding company that overlooks a number of closely related subsidiaries in the field of manufacturing, trading of household appliances and related industries. Subsequent acquisitions and internal growth led Olympic Group to become the market leader in Egypt, with strong vertically and horizontally integrated operations.

In recent years, the company was keen on applying the corporate governance standards and the group went through a number of restructuring and investment projects that aimed at separating ownership from management, boosting output capacity and quality, and enhancing workforce through delegation of authority.

As for the retail sector, in 1997, OG launched "B-Tech", this being the biggest retail chain for household appliances in Egypt, which focuses on consumer credit sales with more than 34 outlets nationwide.

In 1999 , and Within the framework of expanding  IDEAL's name ,OG established IDEAL Electrical Appliances Company with plants using state of the art manufacturing techniques in the production of automatic washing machines and fridges .Thus, introducing a new generation of two-door fridges in 2001. IDEAL's development and growth continued until, in 2002 a new generation of IDEAL Zanussi automatic washing machines using the latest European technology, was introduced.

Olympic expanded its activities by producing Vacuum Cleaners then microwaves, in an attempt to provide high quality products meeting consumers' demands.

Over the past 70 years, Olympic Group succeeded in building a solid reputation and strong trust in both local and international household markets. This prompted major international companies to cooperate and exchange expertise with Olympic. Hence in 2008, OG signed off a landmark sole agency contract with the giant Swedish white goods manufacturer "Electrolux", whereby this agreement marks Olympic Group's transformation from a local manufacturer into an export-oriented company.

Olympic Group's landmark partnership with Electrolux, allows the former to distribute international brands such as Electrolux, AEG, Frigidaire, as well as to produce and distribute Zanussi. This illustrates OG's vision to become a competitive regional leader in the field of household appliances, aiming at increasing its exports to more than 20% of its current consolidated sales within the next five years.

OG is eager to provide the utmost degree of care and attention to its customers so as to become the most prevalent and credible brand on the market. This is carried out by providing after- sales service, which is available through 45 centers geographically distributed nationwide, serving customers seven days a week. Also, OG provides customer service via a state of the art call center including more than 100 highly trained agents.