Department stores opened during the second half of the 19th century in Paris. They were designed to capture the bourgeoisie, an emerging social category with strong purchasing power.
Aristide Boucicaut, son of a hatter, founded Au Bon Marché in 1852. He will revolutionize commerce thanks to its innovative ideas, notably free entry, acceptance of the return of unsuitable items or fixed price. A rich exhibition at the Museum of Decorative Arts retraces this crazy commercial and social epic.