1852, revolutionary year in Paris, almost as symbolic as July 14, 1789, the three glorious days of 1830 or the revolution of 1848. And as Chateaubriand said for Napoleon, “it is the invasion of a country by a single man “, Aristide Boucicaut, the one who goes invent modern commerce still relevant: at the corner of rue de Sèvres and rue du Bac: the Bon Marché.
Le bons Marché will be the first great giant of the linen trade in Paris for the fortune of Parisian women and the misfortune of their Parisian husbands, a spendthrift and alluring world so well described by Emile Zola in “Au Bonheur des Dames”. Listen to an excerpt in our podcast.
Over time, the Bon Marché on the left bank evolves towards luxury. In 1923, the department store combined lingerie with a food counter that would become the Grande Epicerie.
Juggernaut of Parisian commerce, the Bon Marché after 170 years of existence has held firm, always knowing how to renew itself, others did not know, disappeared the department stores of the Louvre, the beautiful Jardinière, Au Gagne Petit, the Bazar Bonne Nouvelle and the Samaritaine .
Recall Aristide Boucicaut’s business principles when Le Bon Marché was created: free admission with no obligation to purchase, labels that display the price on each item, reduced margins to be more competitive, promotions, and return of goods if the customer is not satisfied. And that was in 1852. It doesn’t look like Paris in 2022, brilliant Aristide Boucicaut!