ABSTRACT
The beginning of the modern department store is usually attributed to Aristide Boucicault who founded the Bon Marche in Paris in 1852 on the principle of a small mark-up on the cost of goods, a quick turnover of stock, and the clear marking of prices. Moderate-sized family businesses are to be found in men’s outfitting multiples, and like the footwear shops, have generally an uneventful history. The successful shopkeeper who wishes to expand comes up against the ‘distance limit’. Most department stores developed from the drapery trade where it is easy to add fresh lines as the business expands. Companies are often referred to as being bodies owned by a few rich shareholders. The railway companies were trustee stocks and attracted a lot of small investors. The railway ‘projectors’ being merchants, landowners, bankers and industrialists obviously knew nothing about the new art of railway construction or operation, and had to rely on hiring, and judging, outside experts.
