A prominent Egyptian family of Sephardi origin, the Adès owned and operated one of the oldest and largest wholesale businesses in Egypt, as well as a chain of department stores in Cairo and Alexandria. Members of the Adès family were active in the textile trade during the latter half of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. 

      The first Adès department store was founded by the brothers Nessim and David Adès in 1899 with branches in Cairo, Tanta, and Fayum. By 1912 the brothers had split up and organized separate import-export ventures with members of the Sakal family. Ne…