A wonderful magical store of my dear Paris. You have come here I am sure one time or another, we all have. I came here way back in my first encounter with Paris in 1972,and been back ever since. The Le Bon Marché is a department store located in a quadrilateral bordered by Rue de Sèvres, Rue de Babylone, Rue du Bac and Rue Velpeau in the 7éme arrondissement of Paris. It was called Au Bon Marché for 151 years, until 1989 when it became its current name. I am glad found me a picture in my cd rom vault that made me do this post for you and me, Therefore, I like to tell you about the Le Bon Marché dept store of Paris !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
Le Bon Marché comprises three buildings separated by Rue du Bac and Rue de Babylone: the first store, at 24 Rue de Sèvres, facing Square Boucicaut, has six floors and three basement levels, used for retail and office space, with a total floor area of 58,433 m², including 55,213 m² of gross floor area (GFA), comprising 45,341 m² of retail GFA (27,821 m² of sales area and storage), on a 9,708 m² plot; 2nd store, at no. 26-38 rue de Sèvres, with 6 floors and 2 basement levels for retail and office use, with a total surface area of 30,218 m2, including 27,328 m2 of gross floor area including 13,853 m2 of retail gross floor area, on a plot of 4,372 m2; and the annex at no. 16 rue de Babylone with 19,819 m2 of gross floor area on a plot of 2,672 m2. Located in the adjacent building at 38 rue de Sèvres, this food store was founded in 1923 under the name Comptoir de l’Alimentation. In 1978, the Comptoir was renamed La Grande Épicerie, and the sales area was doubled. Around 30,000 high-end items are available. The Franck & Fils department store at 80 rue de Passy, opened in 1937 and owned by the LVMH group, was completely renovated and reopened under the name La Grande Épicerie Rive Droite, which opened in November 2017. In 2019, La Petite Grande Épicerie, covering 25 square meters, opened in the shopping center at Gare Saint-Lazare train station. Operated simultaneously, the brands Le Bon Marché, Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, La Grande Épicerie de Paris, La Grande Épicerie Rive Gauche, La Grande Épicerie Rive Droite and La Petite Grande Épicerie all designate the same entity, the Le Bon Marché group. Today part of the LVMH group.
A bit of history tell us that the first Au Bon Marché store was founded in 1838 by brothers Paul and Justin Videau as a multi-counter haberdashery shop selling sheets, mattresses and umbrellas. They joined forces on June 1, 1853 with Aristide and Marguerite Boucicaut who began transforming the store, developing the new concept of a department store with a vast, wide and deep assortment, low-margin prices indicated on a label, direct access, a money-back guarantee and the display of merchandise in a sales area. In 1869, thanks to their commercial success, the Boucicauts began expanding the store. The first stone was laid on September 9, 1869. The work, almost complete, was interrupted by the Paris siege in 1870, during which the building served as a distribution center for provisions. Work then resumed and the new store, which bordered rue de Sèvres for 45 meters and rue Velpeau for 35 meters, was inaugurated on April 2, 1872. To attract his female customers, Boucicaut also created the first women’s toilets, a reading room for their husbands while they did their shopping, and had more than 6 million fashion catalogs sent by post throughout the world at the beginning of the 20C, alongside the development of home delivery service and free mail order. He developed advertising (posters, calendars, advertisements, diaries announcing daily events). After the wives, he targeted mothers by distributing drinks, red balloons or series of educational images in chromolithography, called “chromos”, for their children, also organizing donkey rides. Aristide Boucicaut hired saleswomen who he housed on the upper floors of the store and who represented half of the staff in the 1880s. In strict black uniform, they could be dismissed for any fault and were at the mercy of the customers. But they could benefit from internal promotion based on merit. Aristide Boucicaut notably created for his employees a provident fund and a pension fund, a free refectory, a weekly paid day off, the provident fund for employees was available after 20 years of seniority. A thousand-seat hall was installed at the top of the building to host evenings. In 1910, in order to accommodate clients nearby, the Hôtel Lutetia was created, which remains the only palace on the Left Bank. In 1911-1913, at the corner of Rue de Sèvres and Rue du Bac, a second building in a style similar to the first store. The building, nearing completion, was requisitioned during the Great War or WWI to be transformed into a military hospital. Destroyed by fire on November 22, 1915, it was rebuilt in 1924 in an Art Deco style. Originally intended to house the home universe, it currently houses La Grande Épicerie that opened in 1923. In 1978, the large glass roof of the 2nd store was removed and replaced by offices on the 2nd to 6th floors. Renamed Le Bon Marché, it is now part of the LVMH group.
The official Le Bon Marché : https://www.lebonmarche.com/en
The official LVMH group on Le Bon Marché : https://www.lvmh.com/en/our-maisons/selective-retailing/le-bon-marche-rive-gauche
The official La Grande Epicérie : https://www.lagrandeepicerie.com/fr
The Paris tourist office on Le Bon Marché : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/shopping/le-bon-marche-rive-gauche-p3723
There you go folks, in all , a wonderful experience that I recommend to all while in my eternal Paris, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Le Bon Marché dept store of Paris !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 