André Essel (4 September 1918 – 31 March 2005) was the co-founder of

Fnac Fnac () is a French multinational retail chain specializing in the sale of entertainment Media (communication), media and consumer electronics. Fnac was founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its headquarters is located in ''Le Flavia' ...

, originally ''Fédération nationale d’achats des cadres, or National Purchasing Federation for Middle Managers'', alongside Max Théret. He was also an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activist and a believer in

Trotskyism Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

Achievements

Essel was awarded the French Cross of War honouring his involvement in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on the side of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

against the

Axis forces The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

Forming of Fnac

In 1953, he met Max Théret, the other co-founder of

, and the two conceived the idea of forming a new buyers club through a magazine called ''Contact''. Founded a year later in 1954,

was exclusive to its members only, offering sharp discounts on its products, based on the founders socialist principles. Their aim was to improve the lives of the workers, not through higher salaries but through lower prices. In 1974, Fnac began selling books at 80% off the RRP, sparking protests and a law, in 1982, that limited the level of discounts that could be offered on books. He left the company in 1983 and was replaced by Roger Kerinec, the SGCC president.

Works

* ''I wanted to change the world : memories''. - Stock, 1985. * New edition followed by interviews with Perle Scemla in 2001 in memory of the book. -

References

External links

La Fnac salue la mémoire de son fondateur, André Essel
(Obituary) {{DEFAULTSORT:Essel, Andre 1918 births 2005 deaths People from Toulouse Internationalist Communist Party (France) politicians Revolutionary Democratic Rally politicians French businesspeople French Resistance members Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)