Fattal Group

About the Founder and Founding Story

Khalil Fares Fattal was born in 1858 in Damascus, Ottoman Syria, after Khalil’s father, Fares, moved the family from its hometown of Aleppo.^[3] Khalil eventually married and had six children, born between 1890 and 1900: four daughters—Marie, Joséphine, Ernestine, and Rose—and two sons: Michel and Jean.^[4] In 1897, he created a trading company under the name of Khalil Fattal & Fils^[5] in Damascus. The business started out as a commission agency, importing European cosmetics and perfumes, catering to a “bourgeois” Syrian clientele.^[6]

Following the eruption of World War I, Damascus suffered from government oppression, a dire economic situation, the spread of typhoid fever, and a critical medicine shortage.^[7] In 1915, so they could avoid state-mandated military service, Khalil sent his two sons to Austria, where they studied at the Commercial Academy in Vienna.^[8] In 1916, the Fattal family was forcibly deported from Damascus to Anatolia.^[9] Two years later, Michel and Jean returned to Damascus to rebuild their father’s moribund company. The two brothers imported any products they could, starting with a range of sewing threads and needles. Slowly, the business began to grow by virtue of the brothers’ willingness to extend credit to customers.^[10] By the early 1920s, it was renamed Maison Khalil Fattal et Fils.^[11] Jean subsequently moved to Beirut, establishing a branch office on Fakhri Beik Street.^[12] Another branch followed in Alexandria, Egypt.^[13] In 1935, father Khalil passed away in Damascus.^[14]

Growth Phase

In the early 1930s, the Fattal brothers posted advertisements in French newspapers^[15] in an effort to expand their business lines and win exclusive representation rights for international brands at their branches in both Syria and Lebanon.^[16] By 1937, they had successfully secured a number of deals, including ones with Nordstern Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft (Germany),^[17] La Nationale Vie (France),^[18] Provincial Insurance (Australia),^[19] and Adriatica (Switzerland).^[20]

The business expanded rapidly, and by the 1950s, they had established a new headquarters on Port Street in Beirut. In 1965, the Fattal offices in Damascus were nationalized by the Syrian government, so the family business shifted all of its operations to Beirut. Now able to focus on one location, the Fattal brothers redesigned their business model, introduced automation, and upgraded their mechanization strategy. The family’s third generation was now joining the business,^[21] starting with Bernard Fattal, Jean’s son (born 1945), who had completed degrees in political sciences, economics, marketing, and communication.^[22]

The 1970s were a difficult time for the family business. With the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975, the company headquarters at Port Street was ravaged by a fire that erupted amid a nearby battle, marking the end of an era for the company. The family immediately relocated their business operations away from the center of Beirut, into the relatively calmer area of Sin-el-Fil.^[23] In 1979, the founder’s youngest son, group president Jean Fattal, passed away.^{[24] [25]}

The postwar period marked a reconstruction phase for the business, and Fattal Holding was established. The company pursued a geographical and industry diversification strategy to avoid overdependence on a limited market segment. In 1987, Our Lady of Hope – a Foundation for Education and Teaching was founded, as the family business continued to grow steadily. In 2000, Fattal established affiliates in multiple neighboring countries, starting with Egypt and Jordan in 2000, then Iraq in 2001, followed by Algeria in 2008.^[26] In 2009, third-generation member Bernard Fattal died in a tragic car accident in Cairo.^[27] In the early 2000s, Hubert Fattal, from the family’s fourth generation, joined business and held various roles until he became CEO and general manager in 2015,^[28]positions he held until he was the victim of a homicide in 2022.^[29]

TODAY

Today, the Fattal Group has grown into a diversified conglomerate that operates in the retail fields of food and beverage, home and personal care, pharmaceuticals, medical and office equipment, perfumes and cosmetics, jewelry, tobacco, electronics, and home appliances.^[30] The group is still headquartered in Beirut. Beyond Lebanon, its operations span seven other countries: Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, UAE, France, and Cyprus.^[31] The group remains family-owned and run, with Caroline Fattal from the fourth generation—the first female family member to join the business—serving as chairwoman.^[32] The rest of the group’s leadership comprises both family and non-family members.^[33] Bertrand Fattal and Stephanie Khalil Fattal hold seats on the board.^{[34] [35]}