In 1952 the founder Easa Husain Al-Yousifi, in his twenties, opened a small shop in Souk Al- Tujjar, the old merchants market, where he sold mainly coconut oil and bicycle spares. In those days the quality of Japanese goods was not known in Kuwait and the representative had been unsuccessful with other merchants. Impressed with Easa’s honesty and go-ahead attitude, he placed his stock in the small
shop and left the country. When the products sold well, Easa realized that a demand existed and there for he sent an order for more products. Gradually he expanded the range of Matsush*ta products he sold
Both companies grew together. Matsush*ta was then a small manufacturer, and Easa’s shop was just a tiny outlet in the Souk. Today Matsush*ta is the maker of the best known brand of electronic goods in the world – Panasonic – while Easa Husain Al-Yousifi & Sons Company is one of the largest distributors of electronic appliances in Kuwait
The secret of Easa Husain Al-Yousifi’s success was his ability to understand what his customers wanted and then to fulfill their expectation. He opened a workshop in 1960 to service the wide variety of electronic goods he was selling, a first in Kuwait
Easa Husain Al-Yousifi opened more stores and then, as his knowledge of his customers deepened, he diversified into related markets. He began supplying air-conditioners in 1973 and in 1975 he setup a separate division, with its own chain of shops, to sell watches and clocks. These successful ventures consolidated his position in the local. A separated business to install and maintain air-conditioners and undertake electrical contracting was established in 1982. A few years later the company diversified into plumbing and fire protection. All these activities were eventually consolidated under the Engineering Services Group which is today a multimillion dinar mechanical and electrical contracting business. During the same year the company began offering advanced business and communications equipment and providing office automation and IT services. A host of quality products and professional services became today’s Business Solution & Services Division
In the 1990’s the company recovered rapidly from the damage caused by the Iraqi invasion and began diversifying even further. In 1994 the company went into the travel agency business and expanded the range of products sold by its electronics division to include health, beauty care and general household products
Since its first workshop was opened in 1960s, the company had established more workshops strategically placed throughout Kuwait. During the 1990’s these were rationalized and expanded, several centers moving to bigger sites to cater for an ever-increasing roster of quality products
The company’s concentration on improving the quality of life for its customers has been rewarded in more than financial terms. Before it achieved ISO-9002 certification in 1999 and ISO-9001 certification in 2000, the company was ranked #1 in service excellence among all National Panasonic-Technics agents in the Middle East for two consecutive years, 1997 and 1998. It achieved the same ranking in 2002. In 1998 it was also ranked #1 in after-sales service among all its competitors in Kuwait. For the management and staff of Easa Husain Al-Yousifi & Sons Company, these awards were expressions of confidence that went beyond mere sales figures.
