Something About Great Stores

The business of the Bon Marche, in Paris, amouuts annually to 150,000,000 francs, or about $30,000,000. It is an ideal store from every modern poinl of view and in one particu'ar it is unapproached by any other Kto:e in the world. That special ieature Is the loyalty oí its employees and the great personal interest they take in the business. It is probably this fact, more thnn any other one reason, to which must be ascribed its pre-eminenco in the world of trade. The Bon Marche is run in a paternal sort of way, and its employees all seem to bp members of one big family. They all eat in the store, and a!l the unmarried sleep in a building near by, so that all their interests are eenterod in the store. AH are required to be indoors by ten o'clock except -,vhen by special permission any are allowed an hour or two of grace ; but the doors are locked at twelve o"clock, and every "permitted" one must te in by that hour. Very strict ru!es govern all the employés out of business hours as well as dnring stoie l'ours. These severe restrictions, ■which it would be impossible to enfoice in tliis country from the eonviction of the American clerks or ealesmaii that his personal liberty -was bting infringed upon. have their compensations. No one is discharged except, for good cause ; good behaviour anti improving capacity as sa'esman make the position a Ufe engagement ; strikes are unknown, as all questions are arbitrated in a spirit of mutual gooö will and fairness ; oíd age entitles the deserving employee to a pension. Th is close alliance of store ;:nd employee makes their interets mutual, and leads to an enthusiastic dovotion on the part of the salesman which innures to the great advantage 01 the business. This explains why the store which began in a very small "way on the very outside of the stream of traffic, has developed a colossal business and now easi'y leads the world in the1 extent of its retail operations. A peculiarity of the business is that it is strictly cash, and payment is required for all purchases on deiivery. The greatest English department store fe WWtney's, of London. Th ere i practically nothing that lie does not furnish. The story is toM that a ïoreigner made a bet that Whitney could aiot furnieh anything asked for. The ■wager was accepted. The foreigner gave the order : "An elephant to 'be sentto my hote' before eve.iin;i." "VN'hitney Bent out to a circus that was evhibiting in the city, bought the elephánt and deHvered it as requested. "VNTiitney has an immense farm, providet. his own dairy products for customers, pute up preserves and jellies, runs a great meat market, conducís a number of omnibus unes, and has a dozen enterprises which converge iuto the store and augment his great retail trade. He makes a wpecialty of providing houses and furnishing them complete. The customer merely inl'orms him of the locality in which he would Iks to live anl how much to tul investment he desires to make, and 'Wintney buysthe house, furnishes it in every detail - even to stocldng the cellar and pantry with things to eat- and presents his bill. Ie is said that the facilities which lie employs enable the customer to make a very considerable saving over the price vchich he would have to pay if he bought the house and furnished it w ith the greatest economy, vt'ithia the limit of his estimate3. The methods which both the Bon Marche and "Whitney emp'oy would ba entireiy impracticable here, just a the methods of our great retail stores would not be successful in Paris and London. Each appeals to a different national spirit ; each must reach the genius of peoples trained onder different traditions and environment. American self-appreclation unhesitatingly declares in favor of our own ways as against the ways of Tho "blasted furriners'"- but the Bon Marche does $30,000.000 of business annually, nevertheless .'-