Histoire économique et sociale de la France - 4 -

Making Distribution Markets: Market-Wide Institutions in French and American Bicycle Distribution, 1865-1914

“…States created new institutions such as limited liability corporations, national banking systems, and national postal systems, and regulated interregional commerce and competition. Industrial production increased tremendously in both regions, and entrepreneurs constantly developed new products (Blackford and Kerr ; Braudel and Labrousse , II, III; Bruchey ; Price ; Strasser ).…”

“…Small retailers in French and American shops were traditionally low‐volume, high‐margin sellers who haggled with mostly repeat customers. They expected shoppers to purchase; used advertising sparingly; laid out their stores haphazardly; seldom used formal accounting; and often failed (Braudel and Labrousse , III; Leach ; Segal ; Smith ; Strasser ). The new department and chain stores pursued high‐volume, low‐margin strategies, instituted fixed prices, allowed browsing, and advertised regularly (Leach ; Nord ; Smith ; Strasser ), increasing pressure on small retailers.…”

Market Cycles: Bicycles, Riders, Industries, and Environments in France and the United States, 1865–1914

“…France and the United States had been agrarian societies with high transport costs and predominantly local markets; craft production dominated manufactures (Atack ; Mathias and Postan ). Most distribution was regional or local; only bulk and luxury goods shipped nationally (Blackford and Kerr ; Braudel and Labrousse : III). Both countries were shifting to steam‐driven factories organized as partnerships or limited liability corporations, and were constructing geographically national markets (Atack ; Blackford and Kerr ; Mathias and Postan ; Price ).…”

“…Industries continued moving to factory production (Hounshell ; Price ), the Americans more quickly than the French. Producers competed with each other nationally, replacing wholesale distribution with retail (Blackford and Kerr ; Braudel and Labrousse : III; Segal ; Strasser ). French industrial growth slowed after 1870, while agricultural output declined (Caron ).…”

“…The federal government formally forbade cartels, but allowed holding companies (Bruchey ; Fligstein ). American industries were more productive than French ones, but American overproduction, endemic by the 1870s, intensified in the 1890s (Braudel and Labrousse : III; Fligstein ).…”