PALMYRA EMPORIUM opened the doors for its very first customers way back in 1951.

It is situated on the main road in Birkirkara, which was and still is one of the most densely populated areas in the country, surrounded by five other smaller, equally important, villages. As was the custom back then, when private transport was scarce, the residents hardly ever ventured out of the village for any of their shopping needs.

The then proprietors immediately sought to cater for all the rquirements their customers were demanding and left no stone unturned to satisfy their every need. Over the ensuing 25 years, the shop changed its nature according to demand, selling anything from clothes, linen, stoves and household goods to toys, sweets and stationery. Hence the word ‘Emporium' got linked to its name.

The present husband and wife partnership took over the management of the shop in 1975 and immediately embarked on a project to revitalise the nature of the business and to streamline it with the changing customer attitudes prevailing at the time. It was necessary to streamline the core business: many business lines were dropped and new ones introduced.

Foremost among the innovations was the introduction of photocopying machines, which were then still at their inception and the exclsive domain of government offices and large corporations. This photocopying service, and its availability to the man in the street, was the decisive factor in the eventual changes that followed and was slowly developed and enhanced to culminate in the fully-fledged digital printing and related services that are offered today.

The back office and administration were also modernised with the then new technology of computers and results were felt immediately. The present work environment is now fully computerised and state of the art.

PALMYRA now boasts of much larger premises. The retail outlet still operates from the same spot it did since 1951, but annexed to it now are the digital copy bureau, administration offices and design studios. The factory and stores are barely 30 metres away this is where large jobs, digital printing runs and finishing options are completed.

PALMYRA is proud to deliver the very best product and service to its diverse customer base, which includes clients across Europe and beyond. It strives to offer its clients an end product they could be proud of and, if the client's testimonials are anything to go by, they are succeeding.

The Directors are however very aware that none of this could have been achieved without the strong teamwork that always existed between them and their employees, whom they rather consider colleagues. That team spirit lives on today and makes it possible for PALMYRA to look to the future with optimism.