Alshaya closes nearly half of stores in Egypt’s troubled economy

After 18 years in Egypt, Kuwaiti operator Alshaya decided at the start of 2024 to cut more than 40% of its local business, closing 60 of 145 local stores in the coming weeks. The lay-off plan, which involves 2,000 employees or 4% of the total workforce, started on March 3, 2024. Around 80% of the remaining stores in Egypt are Starbucks cafés, currently boycotted as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Alshaya, one of the largest retail operators in the Middle East, decided to leave...