Bon Marche of Paris
Founded (1852)
The first Department Store was founded in France in 1852. Bon Marche of Paris, meaning “cheap”or bargain in French, was opened by Aristide Boucicaut in partnership with Paul Videaus. Since opening day, Boucicaut began using innovative ideas startling his partner and other business owners; giving away needles and thread to lure people into the store. Gradually he began to branch out form piece goods to women’s coats and dresses, underwear, millinery and shoes until in the early 1850s ,the store took the characteristics of a department store.
In 1862, Bon Marche of Paris had become a great emporium which generated an annual volume of $1,400,000. The next year in 1863, Boucicaut dissolved his partnership with Paul Videaus, who had always been weary of Boucicaut's revolutionary ideas on the running of their retail store. Boucicaut had always been ahead of his time and began to implement these ideas; he started by letting his customers come in and browse-about the store without any obligation to buy; he also allowed his customers to exchange merchandise or get their money back if they were unhappy or dissatisfied with their purchases.
The the new concept of “money-back guarantee," built up his trade substantially. Boicicaut wisely sold his merchandise at a small mark-up, depending on a rapid turnover of goods to make profit. Furthermore, he marked all his goods with fixed prices and permitted no hassling between customers and clerk. Boucicaut died in 1877. Margarite, his wife sold her shares of the business to his employees who continued Bon Marche's expansion under her supervision until her death ten years later. For many years Bon Marche of Paris remained the greatest department store in the world. It did a total business of over $30 million in 1897.
Bon Marche of Paris inspired the creation of department stores all over the world, unaffiliated stores in Brooklyn, London, Seattle, and Liverpool, actually adopting its name. In America A.T. Stewart’s, Wannamaker, Macys, Strawbridge & Clothier, Marshall Field and other great department stores all credited Boucicaut’s vision and trading practices, as the source of many of their ideas in their transitions from dry goods or specialty stores to department stores. Many of these merchants traveled overseas to study the original store in Paris. R.H. Macy after his return from one of those visits outfitted his doormen in uniform, similar to those worn by Bon Marche’s employees.
