240px, Interior ( "the good market", or "the good deal" in French; ) is a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

in the

7th arrondissement of Paris The 7th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. It is known for being, along with the 16th arrondissement and the ''commune'' of Neuilly-sur-Sein ...

, France. Founded in 1838 and revamped almost completely by Aristide Boucicaut in 1852, it was one of the first modern department stores. It was a member of the

International Association of Department Stores The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is a retail trade association founded in 1928 by a group of department stores with the goal of introducing modern management methods derived from the scientific management movement to the ...

from 1986 to 2011. Now the property of

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

, it sells a wide range of high-end goods, including food in an adjacent building at 38, rue de Sèvres, called La Grande Épicerie de Paris.

History

Early history

In 1838 ''Au Bon Marché'' was founded in Paris as a novelty shop created by brothers Paul and Justin Videau to sell

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

, ribbons, sheets,

mattress A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a person Lying (position), lying down, especially for sleeping. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a Quilting, quilted o ...

es,

button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, or ...

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

s and other assorted goods. The store originally had four departments, twelve employees and a floor space of . Entrepreneur Aristide Boucicaut became a partner of the store in 1852, and changed the

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

plan, introducing fixed prices and guarantees that allowed exchanges and refunds, the store also now offered a wider variety of merchandise. The use of fixed prices replaced the haggling system which was then commonly used in dry goods stores. With Boucicaut's changes the annual income of the store increased from 500,000 francs in 1852 to five million francs in 1860. In 1869 a much larger building was built for the store at 24 rue de Sèvres in Paris's Rive Gauche (Left Bank) this new building was designed by Louis-Auguste Boileau with Alexandre Laplanche ornamenting Boileau's ironwork. Louis-Charles Boileau son of Louis-Auguste Boileau also continued designing for the store in the 1870s. The store was expanded again in 1872 with the help of the engineering firm of

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

, creator of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

. By Boucicaut's death in 1877 the stores income had risen from twenty million francs in 1870 to 72 million. After his death management of the store was taken over by his wife, Marguerite Boucicaut. The floor space of the store had increased from in 1838 to and the number of employees had risen to 1,888 by 1879. Boucicaut had become famous for his marketing innovations, including a reading room where husbands could wait whilst their wives shopped; extensive newspaper advertising; entertainment for children and six million catalogs sent to customers. By 1880 half the employees of the store were women. Unmarried women employees lived in dormitories on the upper floors. In the 1920s Louis-Hippolyte Boileau grandson of the architect Louis-Auguste Boileau who had designed the store in the 1870s worked on an extension of the store. On 31 August 1959 a branch store was opened in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. This store was later closed in 1989 and sold to Printemps. In 1974 the branch store in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

was sold to Printemps.

Under LVMH

In 1984, Bernard Arnault purchased Bon Marché and in 1987 the company became a founding member of Arnault's group

Operations

In 1922, when the decorative arts were at their high point in France, the Pomone design and decorating department was established, following the trend of other Parisian department stores. From 1923 to 1928, Paul Follot (1877–1941) was its director, followed by René-Lucien Prou (1889–1948) and Albert-Lucien Guénot (1894–1993) up to 1955. Today's home-furnishings inventory primarily consists of brand names but not

white goods A major appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were tradi ...

Influence

The building inspired the design of the Bon Marche store in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, designed by Arthur Anderson, as well as the Galerias Pacifico shopping centre in Buenos Aires, originally called ''Argentine Bon Marché''. Zola's novel was inspired by the story of .

Buildings

Le Bon Marché consists of three buildings separated by rue du Bac and rue de Babylone: *SHON = surface area minus that of the stairs, lifts, unusable ceiling spaces, roof terraces, open-air terraces, balconies, corridors and garages; less a further 5% for insulation.

References

External links

*
Cape (with Au Bon Marché label), ca. 1890-1905, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collection Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bon Marche, Le Buildings and structures in Paris Buildings and structures in the 7th arrondissement of Paris Department stores of France French companies established in 1838 Food halls LVMH brands Shops in Paris