The Trade of Clothing and Housewares in Egypt: Cicurel Stores as Model (1887-1956)

The research deals with one of the important topics in the modern history of Egypt i.e. the trade of clothing and housewares in Egypt: Cicurel Stores as Model(1887-1956) since the Cicurel family was one of the most important foreign families of Jewish origins that immigrated to Egypt. The fame of the family goes back to Moreno Cicurel, the Jewish Italian head of the family, who immigrated from Izmir to Egypt in the late nineteenth century and founded Cicurel Stores. The stores were established in 1887, and they became the most important of the famous stores in Egypt. Hundreds of Egyptians and foreigners worked in the stores. The dealings of the stores were limited to the high class and aristocracy in Egypt. The stores achieved many successes in Egypt; however, they were subjected to some crises until they were nationalized in 1956.
 The study traces the origins of the Cicurel family, the establishment of the stores, its most important activities, the murder of Solomon Cicurel, the developments that affected the orientation of the stores, the management of the stores, and the end of the Cicurel stores. To accomplish the research in a coherent way, the researcher is keen to work on two levels. The first level deals with the immigration of the Cicurel family to Egypt and the establishment of its stores, and it covers many other elements. The second level deals with the developments that arose in Cicurel Stroes until the nationalization decision was implemented in 1956. The research has made use of varied scientific material such as unpublished documents (documents of the National Archives), companies’ portfolios, published documents, population statistics of Egypt, a group of reports, a group of Arabic references and periodicals.