Le grand magasin comme forme culturelle

Abstract

The main features of current retail trade stem from innovations in the second half of the nineteenth century, with the creation of department stores. The present article examines the link between this invention and the emergence of new socio-economic relations which marked the beginnings of the consumer society and in which women were to play a significant part, first as customers and then also as employees of the new stores. Several aspects were common to the UK, France and the USA, such as the bureaucrati- zation of buyer-seller relations, the significance of display and the splendour of the buildings, the « democratization » related to reduced prices and free entry, the creation of a new type of employee from the middle-classes, and the behavioural changes manifested in phenomena such as « kleptomania ». However, a number of British peculiarities, particularly in the way the department stores managed their client relations and different forms of advertising, are highlighted here.

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