Le Bon Marché

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Le Bon Marché, 2012
Marguerite and Aristide Boucicaut, the founders of the Bon Marché

Le Bon Marché , until 1989 Au Bon Marché , is a large Parisian department store in the 7th arrondissement and was founded in 1838 by the Videau brothers. With the management of Aristide Boucicaut , this department store pioneered the development of European retail . Le Bon Marché is considered to be the first department store in history and is now one of the finest department stores in France.

history

19th century

Au Bon Marché department store and surroundings, from 1887.

In 1848 the Boucicauts became partners in the Videau brothers and in 1852 they took over the majority of the shares. Within a few years they transformed the modest company with twelve employees into a wholesale store with a wide and deep range , fixed prices and intensive advertising. Among other things, Boucicaut introduced the then new idea of collector images as a promotional tool . In 1863 the couple bought out the Videau family, who had concerns about the massive expansion course of the Boucicauts. In 1869 there was a significant expansion of the building with the help of Gustave Eiffel . This "Cathedral of Commerce" ( Émile Zola ) was economically very successful and was therefore imitated in 1855 by the Grands Magasins du Louvre . Its founders were Alfred Chauchard , Auguste Hériot and Charles Eugène Faré, with the support of the brothers Eugène Pereire and Isaac Pereire . In 1856, the À la Belle Jardinière department store , Magasins du Printemps (1865) and Samaritaine (1869) were founded. These imitators and competitors all settled on the Rive droite , the right bank of the Seine, while Le Bon Marché continued to dominate the Rive gauche . The Boucicaut family also built the Hôtel Lutetia opposite , the only luxury hotel on the left bank of the Seine.

  • Entrance on Rue de Sèvres, 1892

  • Main staircase, 1892

  • Lichthof, 2008

20th century

In 1984 the department store was taken over by the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Group (LVMH) under Bernard Arnault . From 1988 to 2010 Philippe de Beauvoir headed the Paris department store and developed it into a “high-end department store”. The delicatessen department La Grande Épicerie became the largest in Paris with over 5000 products from all over the world. He also introduced regular cultural exhibitions on the second floor. Beauvoir's successor was Patrice Wagner, who had previously managed the largest German department store, KaDeWe . As with the Karstadt Premium Group , Wagner is to expand the luxury division of LVMH's department stores.

Social care

Note: 1 franc in the 19th century is worth about 3.60 euros today. For the value of the franc from 1901 see the INSEE conversion program.

A large department store like Bon Marché with hundreds, later thousands of employees, required different management structures than traditional family businesses. Aristide Boucicaut built his company up strictly hierarchically and led his employees according to rigid regulations. Nonetheless, guided by natural goodness and a Christian worldview, he tried to make up for the loss of the familiar family environment through social measures.

Aristide Boucicaut used the current status in other progressive large companies in industry and trade. He was a founding member of a Society of Entrepreneurs to Research Methods of Profit Sharing for Employees, which had been founded in 1873 and published an annual journal from 1879 on current issues of profit sharing. With his endeavors, perceived as paternalistic and praised as philanthropic , Aristide Boucicaut also pursued the purpose of binding employees to the company, disciplining the staff and keeping the emerging unions away.

The Bon Marché's social facilities included:

  • Contribution-free pension funds
  • Employee savings
  • Free evening courses for advanced training
  • Company choir and company orchestra
  • Company accommodation for single young employees
  • Company medical care

Pension fund

The Bon Marché pension fund ( Caisse de Prévoyance , later Prévoyance Boucicaut ) was founded in 1876 by Aristide Boucicaut. It was financed by the employer, and the fund members acquired a right to a small amount of capital after a certain period of time.

statute

Le Bon Marché, 002.jpg

Aristide Boucicaut wanted to ensure that his employees had "a small capital" at their disposal in old age or after their death. The fund was not fed by membership fees, but by the annual allocation of a share of the profit. Members were employees who had been with the company for at least five years, but not for-profit employees or workers. The annual allowance was divided among the members according to their annual salary and credited to a personal account with an interest rate of 4%. In the event that the pension fund was dissolved, each member was guaranteed a refund of their account. Eligible for the saved capital were:

  • Men after 20 years in the company or from the age of 60 (from 1886: 55).
  • Women after 15 years in the company or after reaching the age of 50 (from 1886: 45th).
  • Women in marriage.
  • Relatives in the event of the death of a member.
  • Unable to work at the discretion of the management.

Anyone who left the company before the deadline had expired lost all claims from the fund.

development

The available key figures on the development of the cash register over time are very incomplete, so that the following information can only be used as a hint. In the first five years from the establishment of the provident fund (1876–1880), the amount of the payments fluctuated between 220.40 and 330.55 Francs in the worst year and 295.80 or 443.75 Francs in the best year. The fund's capital increased from 61,500 francs in the year it was founded to 5,846,016 francs in 1913. The annual endowment in the first 20 years was around 120,000 francs. The share of fund members in the total staff rose from 8% in the first year to 71% in 1913. The total amount paid out since the fund was founded in 1913 was 5,239,609 francs, which were distributed among 2,741 beneficiaries, an average of 1,912 Francs.

Pension fund

Ten years after her husband founded the pension fund, Marguerite Boucicaut set up a pension fund ( Caisse de Retraite , also Fondation Boucicaut ) in 1886 , with the intention of “completing the work of her husband”. She provided the cash register with an initial capital of 5 million francs from her own fortune.

statute

Le Bon Marché, 003.jpg

After the start-up financing by Marguerite Boucicaut, the fund, like the provident fund, was not to be funded by membership fees, but by an annual grant of 5%, from 1897 of 7%, from 1910 of 8% of the profit of the Société civil du Bon Marché . If the subscription conditions were met, the retirees received an annual annuity of between 600 and 1500 francs tied to the person . The individual pension amount was determined by the Board of Directors ( Conseil d'Administration ). In the event of the fund's dissolution, current pensions and acquired rights should be ensured and the rest of the capital distributed among the other members. Employees were entitled to benefits, but not employees or workers with a profit share:

  • Men after 20 years in the company from the age of 50.
  • Women aged 45 and over after 20 years in the company.
  • Unfit for work, widows and orphans in exceptional cases and at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Anyone who left the company before the stipulated period of service had expired lost all claims from the fund.

development

The available key figures on the development of the cash register over time are very incomplete, so that the following information can only be used as a hint. The capital of the fund increased from 6 million francs in the year it was founded to a level of 31,783,285 francs in 1913. The number of pensioners rose from 130 in 1895 to 208 in 1899. The average annual annuity fluctuated during this period Time between 789 and 831 francs.

Working class

The Workers' Fund ( Caisse de secours et de retraites pour les ouvriers et ouvrières ) was set up in 1892 "in an effort to improve the situation of the workers". The fund was financed by the employer. If certain conditions were met, the Board of Directors had the discretion to grant a worker a benefit or a pension. The two cash registers established earlier were reserved for employees and therefore not accessible to workers. The working class was comparatively insignificant; in 1913 it had a capital of 1,133,304, while the pension fund had capital of 5,846,016 and the pension fund of 31,783,285 francs.

statute

The fund was funded from a share of the profit. The amount of support or pension was determined by the Board of Directors ( Conseil d'Administrateurs ) and, as a rule, could not exceed 365 Francs per year. In the event of the liquidation of the fund, current pensions and acquired rights should be ensured and the rest of the capital distributed among the remaining workers. The benefits of the fund "could" be granted at the discretion of the Board of Directors:

  • One-off benefits in the event of temporary incapacity for work
  • Permanent support in the event of permanent incapacity for work
  • Allowance for childbirth
  • Support for widows and orphans in the event of the death of a worker after 5 years of service
  • Pensions, after 25 years of service from the age of 55 (men) or 50 years (women) and when “a worker can no longer do his job”.

development

The available key figures on the development of the cash register over time are very incomplete, so that the following information can only be used as a hint. The capital of the fund increased from 264,795 francs in 1895 to 1,133,304 francs in 1913. The number of pensioners in 1913 was 32 people.

Employee savings

In an effort to “ encourage” its employees to save , the Bon Marché offered its employees (not workers) the opportunity to invest up to 3,000 francs from their salaries in the company at an interest rate of 6%. In 1886 the savings of 927 participating employees amounted to 3,200,000 francs.

Advanced training

Program sheet of the Bon Marché orchestra, 1894

“In an effort to increase the joy of learning” and to give employees the opportunity to “spend their evenings with meaningful and attractive activities”, the Bon Marché offered its employees (not workers) the opportunity to participate in free from 1872 Attend evening classes in-house. Were offered English courses , instrumental - and choir lessons and fencing courses . The company gave the best participants in the English courses a six-month study visit to London. In addition, the employees could become members of a music or fencing club for a symbolic monthly contribution of 1 franc. These clubs appeared in department stores and in public, including at competitions.

The choir and the brass orchestra of the Musikverein ( Chorale et Harmonie ) were directed by former conductors of the popular orchestra of the Garde républicaine , namely Georges Paulus and Gustave Wettge. They performed in the department store in winter and on the square in front of the Bon Marché in summer , and celebrities from the Parisian music scene were often invited to perform. These events attracted a large audience from all walks of life and thus made a considerable contribution to the public relations work of the Bon Marché .

In addition, the Bon Marché held historical, scientific and literary lectures on its premises to train its employees. All of these measures were also aimed at raising the level of the employees and preventing them from frequenting the popular entertainment venues.

canteen

Dining rooms and kitchen of the Bon Marché canteen, 1910.

Every employee was entitled to two free hot meals a day. There were four dining rooms: two for men and two for women, each separately for clerks and workers. The largest room for male employees offered space for 800 people in 1882 when Émile Zola inspected the Bon Marché . The 2500 employees were handled in three shifts, so that two thirds of the staff was always available to serve customers. The kitchen was a large-scale operation in its own right. Zola noted: "Everything is gigantic".

Company accommodation

From 1873 single employees had the option of living in rooms on the upper floors of the new department store building, later separated by gender in different houses. In 1878 52 women and 38 young men lived in these rooms. A common room with a piano was available for women, a billiard room for men, and a shared library with 400 books for men and women . It is not known whether or how much rent the staff had to pay, but room service was free. Workers could, as it is called succinctly, sleep in the department store on camp beds they had brought with them.

Company doctor

The employees could consult a doctor free of charge in the department store during working hours. An infirmary was available for employees who lived in company accommodation. Female employees received a subsidy of 100 francs for the birth of a child, women workers of 60 francs.

Demarcation

The Swiss ABM group ( Au Bon Marché ) and the department store of the same name in Belgium, created in 1860, have nothing to do with Boucicaut's founding, the name simply stands for “inexpensive”.

literature

General

  • E. Flavias; Athanase Cucheval-Clarigny: Les magasins du Bon Marché, funds par Aristide Boucicaut à Paris. Paris [1889].
  • Helmut Frei: France - the elegant world of the “Grands Magasins” in Paris . In: Temple of Kauflust: A History of Department Store Culture. Leipzig 1997, pages 20-42.
  • Guide illustré du Bon Marché. L'Exposition et Paris au Vingtième Siècle. Paris 1900, pages 250-253.
  • Antonin Guillot: Madame Boucicaut: un destin hors du commun. Chalon-sur-Sâone 1995. - Monograph on the life of the founding couple and the development of the Bon Marché . With many documents and extensive bibliography, richly illustrated.
  • Michael B. Miller: The Bon Marché. Bourgeois Culture and the Department Store, 1869-1920. Princeton University Press 1981, online . - Basic monograph on the history of the Bon Marché under social, economic, societal, cultural and political aspects. With a detailed bibliography.
  • Michael B. Miller: Au Bon Marché 1869-1920. Le consommateur apprivoisé. Armand Colin, Paris 1987, ISBN 978-2-20037121-0 . - French edition of #Miller 1981 .
  • 1860. Au Bon Marché. In: Bernard Marrey: Les grands magasins: des origines à 1939. Paris 1979, pp. 68–83. - A brief outline of the development of the department store, richly illustrated.
  • Alarich Rooch: Department stores - staging spaces of consumer culture; from the turn of the century to 1930. In: Werner Plumpe (Hrsg.): Bourgeoisie and Bourgeoisie: between the Empire and National Socialism. von Zabern , Mainz 2009, pages 17-30.

Fiction

Announcement of the preprint of Au Bonheur des Dames in Gil Blas magazine from December 17, 1882
  • Émile Zola : Ladies' Paradise . ( Au bonheur des dames, 1883). - Large-scale description of the social and economic changes caused by the rise of large department stores in the Second Empire .
  • Zola's notes on the research for his novel Das Paradies der Damen , which he did for the most part at Bon Marché .
    • Manuscript: Émile Zola: oeuvres. Manuscrits et dossiers prepared. Les Rougon-Macquart. Au Bonheur des dames. Preparatory dossier. Deuxième volume. Paris 1881, online .
    • French print edition: Calicots (Au Bonheur des Dames). In: Émile Zola; Henri Mitterand (editor): Carnets d'enquêtes: une ethnographie inédite de la France. Text établis et présentés by Henri Mitterand. Plon, Paris 1987, pp. 145-233.
    • German print edition: Calico. Zola in the big department stores. In: Émile Zola; Henri Mitterand (Editor): France: Mosaic of a Society; unpublished sketches and studies. Translated from the French by Brigitte Pätzold. Vienna 1990, pages 137-212.

Movie

  • Wishes come true - the creation of the department store. Documentary, docu-drama , France, 2011, 86 min., Written and directed: Sally Aitken, Christine Le Goff, production: arte France, Telfrance, Essential Viewing. German first broadcast: October 22, 2011 in arte, YouTube . - With play scenes based on Émile Zola's “ Ladies ' Paradise ”.
  • The Bon Marché. Documentary, France, 2011, 5 minutes, series: Karambolage , number 233, text: Jeanne Desto, image: Nicolas Cappan, production: arte France; German first broadcast: April 3, 2011, YouTube . - Fast-forward history of the Le Bon Marché department store .

swell

  • Louis-Charles Boileau: Fondations des magasins du Bon Marché. In: Construction Moderne: revue mensuelle d'architecture , Volume 2, 1886–1887, June 18, 1887, pages 426–428, Planche 71.
  • Les modes de Paris depuis Louis XVI d'après les documents de la Bibliothèque Nationale pour la période de 1775 à 1860 et d'après les modèles & créations du Bon Marché pour la période de 1860 à 1910. Paris 1910, online .
  • Bulletin de la participation aux bénéfices , 1881, pp. 1–30, 1887, pp. 38, 1888, pp. 42–48, 1914, pp. 16–24.
  • Au Bon Marché , [1896], online .
  • Stephen A. Crist (Ed.): Historical musicology: sources, methods, interpretations. Rochester, NY 2004, pp. 371-375, 378-379.
  • Marguerite Boucicaut (1816–1887) and Marie-Louise Jaÿ (1838–1925). Les premiers magasins parisiens: you Bon Marché à la Samaritaine. "Des patrons rouges". In: Jean-Louis Debré; Valérie Bochenek: Ces femmes qui ont réveillé la France. Paris 2013, online . - With literature list.
  • Michel Guironnet: ' [Les châteaux de St Léger sous La Bussière; Jules Plassard]. 2016, online .
  • Le Bon Marché. Résumé du réglement général. 1894, online .
  • Souvenir of the Bon Marché. Founded by Aristide Boucicaut. Paris [1896], online .
  • Souvenir offer par les magasins du Bon Marché. Fondé by Aristide Boucicaut. Paris [1900], online .

Web links

Commons : Le Bon Marché  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History of department stores. Cathedrals of Commerce. In: Tagesspiegel , April 26, 2009.
  2. ↑ Georg Renner: Of those who strive to order the world. In: Die Presse , March 19, 2010.
  3. ↑ Doreen Wilken: Wagner inherits de Beauvoir at Le Bon Marche. ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , fabeau.de, October 7, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fabeau.de
  4. ↑ Le Bon Marché  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Beste.welt.de, accessed on October 9, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / beste.welt.de  
  5. ^ Le Bon Marché , answers .com, accessed October 9, 2010.
  6. ↑ Bea Gottschlich: Patrice Wagner becomes head of Le Bon Marché. TextilWirtschaft, October 7, 2010.
  7. ↑ Press release: “Nomination Le Bon Marché” , francebourse.com, October 7, 2010.
  8. ^ Antonin Guillot: Madame Boucicaut: un destin hors du commun. Chalon-sur-Sâone 1995, page 21.
  9. ↑ Convertisseur franc-euro: pouvoir d'achat de l'euro et du franc ( French ) INSEE. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  10. ↑ 1 franc in the 19th century = 18 francs in 1995. INSEE French statistical office : 1 franc in 1995 = 0.20 euros in 2015, see INSEE .
  11. ^ Name of the company: Société formée pour faciliter l'étude pratique des diverses méthodes de participation du personnel dans les bénéfices de l'entreprise. Journal: Bulletin de la participation aux bénéfices , see Bibliothèque nationale de France .
  12. ↑ #Miller 1987 , page 101-102.
  13. ↑ These deadlines were reduced in later years, see: # Réglement 1894 , #Souvenir 1900 , page 6, #Souvenir 1900 , page 24.
  14. ↑ #Bulletin 1881 , Pages 6–10, # Réglement 1894 .
  15. ↑ #Au Bon Marché 1896 , #Bulletin 1881 , pages 6-13, #Bulletin 1887 , page 38, #Miller 1987 , page 95, # Réglement 1894 , #Souvenir 1896 , page 6, #Souvenir 1900 , page 24.
  16. ↑ Fondation = foundation.
  17. ↑ Founding members of the Société civile du Bon Marché were Marguerite Boucicaut and 183 limited partners of the Société Veuve Boucicaut et Compagnie . After their death, the company was to ensure that the ownership and management of the company remained in the hands of employees. In particular, the company was also responsible for the administration of the pension fund. See: #Bulletin 1888 , page 47, #Flavien 1889 , page 20, Antonin Guillot: Madame Boucicaut: un destin hors du commun. Chalon-sur-Sâone 1995, pages 54-55, #Guironnet 2016 , #Miller 1987 , page 148, footnote 8.
  18. ↑ # Réglement 1894 , #Bulletin 1914 , page 20.
  19. ↑ #Au Bon Marché 1896 , #Bulletin 1914 , page 21, # Réglement 1894 , #Souvenir 1896 , page 6, #Souvenir 1900 , pages 24-25.
  20. ↑ Support and pension fund for blue-collar workers.
  21. ↑ # Réglement 1894 .
  22. ↑ #Au Bon Marché 1896 , #Bulletin 1914 , page 21, #Souvenir 1896 , page 6, #Souvenir 1900 , page 25.
  23. ↑ #Miller 1987 , page 99, # Réglement 1894 .
  24. ↑ #Frei 1997 , page 37-38, Le Monde illustré , March 13, 1875 page 182, online .
  25. ↑ #Au Bon Marché 1896 , #Crist 2004 , #Guironnet 2016 , #Miller 1987 , pp. 99, 100, # Réglement 1894 , #Souvenir 1900 , pp. 26-27.
  26. ↑ #Flavien 1889 , page 61-66, #Miller 1987 , page 100-101, #Souvenir 1900 , page 28-29, #Zola 1987 , page 160-162.
  27. ↑ #AU Bon Marche 1896 , #Miller 1987 , page 98, #Souvenir 1900 , page 32, #Zola 1987 , page 159th
  28. ↑ #Au Bon Marché 1896 , #Miller 1987 , page 99, #Souvenir 1900 , page 32.

Coordinates: 48 ° 51 ′ 4 "  N , 2 ° 19 ′ 27.7"  E