The record-union., 1894-11-24
Big SHOPS OF PARIS.
They Are Eating Up All the
Smaller Establishments.


Counter Constant Joke-Habits of
Buying and Selling Revolutionized
-Fanclful Names Given to shops.
In Paris the big shops are eating up the
little ones. The socialists say that they
are preparing the way for the great revo-
luton, when the State shall handle all
capital and run every business. For in
these great shops the countless employees,
who otherwise would be selling on their
own account, are directed by a central or
ganlzation and receive their share of the
profits at the end of the year. Until then,
the great shops certainly represent the
use OF capital pushed to its extreme.
French politicians have worried their
heads about the matter, and the Parlia-
ment has quarreled about the special
taxes to be imposed On these big shops
which eat up the little ones.
Thegreat objection against these grande
| magasins, according to Cucheval- Clar-
igny. a member OF the Institute of France,
| is that they embrace at one and the same
time so many branches of commerce that
they extend their business operations be-
yond all bounds, and make life lmpoSSi-
bic to the little shops, which are unable
to hold out in so unequal struggle" 1t
is admitted that the great shops are victo-
rlous IN the struggle only because they
are profitable TO the general public, whose
interest they serve and whose taste they
satisfy most completely. There is a great
choice offered to customers, and they are
allowed to exchange goods purchased IL
| adVlsedly or hurriediy-a iberality
which is quite outside the business ideas
of the small Paris tradesman. The power
| of purchasing many different things I'M
der one roof, without running here and
there across the city, is also vast econ
omy of time and money.
on their side, these establishments can
afford to sell cheaply, because their gen.
eral expenses are so reduced by being
Jumped together. This has even been
brought up in politics as reason why
they should be taxed more than the
smaller shops, in proportion, whose pro-
prietors are regularly forbidden by their
leases to handle anything but their own
special line OF merchandise.
Whatever may be said OF all this, it is
| certain that the big shops have revolution
lied all the habits OF buying and selling
in France. Up to 1880 everything went
by barter, and there was no fixed price
Traces of this practice are still found in
the small shops around Paris, where the
what will be accepted. Ii you are evil
IDENTIFY foreigner, and especially if you
are accompanied by man who looks like
cOmmlSSlonalre or guide, or a lady
of the land of France, whose sharp and
hungry look proclaims her to be on the
make, while showing you about, the
prices charged will be higher than ii
you were alone. This is the Paris shop
keepers way of recovering the commits
sion which he expects your companion to
come back and collect when you are safely
out of the way. 1t is a regular method OF
the small Paris shops to mark up the
price of articles which remain long on
their hands, as it were, to recover interest
on the capital invested. This Is called
| "guelt'-ing. 1t is claimed that, even IN
big shops, each department has its dam
aged, or imperfect or worn goods, on
whose adroit sale the clerk is allowed
an extra commission. But in general the
big shops have brought into France the
"one-prlce system"
This was begun a little before 1880 by
La Belle Jardiniere, which is still one of
the seven biggest shops and owns three
of the others. 1t is still in the hands of
the family that made this great change In
French commerce. Belle Jardiniere'
means the beautiful garden girl; it Is a
sample of the names which the French
have always been fond of giving their
shops. AUX Bonheur deS Enfants" tat
! the Happiness Of Children) is the name
OF a neat toy shop. The Blue DWARF is
another 'Au Bonheur des Damesr tat
the Happiness of Ladies) was the fancy
name chosen by lola for his great book
on the big shops. So houses which make
a specially OF mourning goods have
| mournful, resig ned, hopeful or symbolic
names, such as lie Cypress" the CypreSs),
LA Scabieuse" IA little flower which the
| people strew on graves, Lies DeuX
!
''Le Sabiier'' the Hour Glass. Five OF
the seven great shops have fancitul names:
| The Grande Alagasins du Louvre named
from its location opposite the palace, the
bon Marche" Cheap Market), the
''Printemps" (Spring).
With the abolition of barter and the
continuation OF fancy names these great
| shops have created q new career for those
| who might otherwise have been each at
/ the head OF his own little property. In
| the new system each clerk is not without
interest to sell the articles on his shelf
For the customers the price is fixed, but
| the clerk gets his commission on each
sale. All clerks who remain regularly
employed year In and year out by house
receive their two meals a day. including
wine. The salaries of the great majority
are extremely small. So what is gained
| in one way is lost in another. From
commissions on sales an ordinary clerk.
lazy, the sum will not pass S4O0 a year.
| In each case his salary would be little
more than 81 or So week. OF course. as
| he mounts up into places of trust all these
sums are increased many times over.
The ''chef de rayon," or head OF de-
partment. is much more important
man Tor woman) than the head of a con-
siderable shop would be on the old plan
at the beginning of each month the di-
rector OF the whole establishment gives
to each of these chefs the credit of which
they can dispose during the next four
weeks. 1t Is determined by recent sales
and the corresponding sales of the same
month in the previous year. With this
| credit the chef has to stock his depart
| ment. This may require frequent Jour-
neys to Lyons for silks, to Belgium for
| laces, tie Grenoble for gloves and so on.
Sometimes these simple employees can
turn the sale in favor of some national
manufacture. Thus one OF the chefs at
the Louvre has been the means of estab-
fishing velvet factory in France where
| goods are purchased which formerly
came from Germany.
| One OF the chefs de rayon in each of the
| great shops is very curious position, 1t
! is he of the glove department. The estab-
| lishment expects TO lose on all his sales.
| though his commission is none the less
and at the end of each month he is bound
TO show a deficit. The mission of the
glove counter is everywhere in Paris
chiefly for advertising. The price Of the
gloves is marked up on an average at
l per cent. net above the cost. Now. as
the running expenses Of these establish
ments are from 10 to II per cent of the
total business, the glove counter is con-
tcta rlx-l cft1rr tknf. TO- -