CAIRO: In a few months time, shoppers at Omar Effendi ? Egypt's largest department store ? will finally be able to purchase mobile phones and mobile-related accessories, as well as Etisalat services, exclusively supplied by mobile provider i2. "Omar Effendi, for the first time ever, will offer customers mobile phone sale services and Etisalat services which include line subscription, bill payment, and card re-charging, said Sherif Talaat, head of the commercial sector at Omar Effendi. i2 recently sealed a deal with Saudi giant Anwal United Trading Company, the store's new owner, that would allow it to exclusively provide its products and services to Omar Effendi's outlets, beginning with 40 branches. "The deal makes i2 the sole provider of all mobile telecom services in Omar Effendi stores, said Tarek Abdel Mohsen, marketing executive at i2. "Within a few months, i2 will have an incredible distribution network comprising these 40 new outlets plus its existing 27 stores. None of Egypt's current mobile providers owns such a huge number of outlets. Founded in 1993 in Saudi Arabia, i2 is the region s largest and most diverse mobile phone provider with over 300 stores across 22 countries. It is the nation's largest provider of Nokia products and offers its customers warranty services as well as comprehensive after sales maintenance services. i2 Egypt in particular, is an evergreen success story gaining recognition from Nokia for its hard-earned efforts. Last month, Nokia named i2 Egypt its "best domestic retailer throughout the Middle East and North Africa region. In light of that success, Etisalat joined hands with i2 Egypt declaring it the official distributor of Etisalat Egypt's services. In the first week post Etisalat's launch in Egypt, i2 Egypt recorded a LE 10 million sale of Etisalat's services. "On that basis, we chose i2 out of several mobile providers in Egypt, added Talaat. "And i2 is aware of Omar Effendi's strength that lies in its solid reach across 82 venues across the country. Such an expansion portfolio will allow i2 as well as Etisalat to sell to locations never before covered by Egypt's other mobile providers. Anwal, which purchased Omar Effendi in a whopping deal worth LE 744.5 million, aspires to dub the store Egypt's version of Marks & Spencer. It is currently trying to attract several other local and international retailers to sell their brands in its branches.
