Félix Potin is a French businessman (1820-1871) and his mass-distribution retail business, ''Félix Potin,'' founded in 1844. The business was bought out and then collapsed in the second half of the twentieth century, the brand has been revived by a contemporary

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

network.

Biography

Jean-Louis-Félix Potin was born on July 9, 1820 in

Arpajon Arpajon () is a commune in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region of northern France. The commune has been awarded three flowers by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and village ...

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () is a former department of France, which encompassed the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris. Its prefecture was Versailles and its administrative number was 78. Seine-et-Oise was disbanded in ...

, now in the département of

Essonne Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

. He died in 1871.

The business

History

Potin opened his first shop at 28 rue Coquenard in Paris in 1844, at age 24. He soon opened numerous branches. In 1860, he opened the first two-level, large-area retailer on the

Boulevard de Sébastopol The Boulevard de Sébastopol () is an important roadway in Paris, France, which serves to delimit the 1st and 2nd arrondissements from the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of the city. The boulevard is 1.3 km in length, starting from the Place ...

in Paris. The following year he constructed a Félix Potin factory in La Villette, in the northern outskirts of Paris. The Félix Potin network experienced remarkable success during the late Second Empire and early Third Republic. In 1864 he expanded the Villette factory and opened a boutique on the

Boulevard Malesherbes The Boulevard Malesherbes () is a boulevard in central Paris, France, running northwest between the La Madeleine, Paris, Church of the Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement, and the Porte d'Asnières in the 17th arrond ...

. In 1870 he started a home-delivery service. The business continued to grow after its founder's death, with a second factory in 1880 and a second large shop on Rue de Rennes in 1904. Félix Potin factories employed 1,800 workers in 1906, growing to 8,000 by 1927. By 1923, the Félix Potin name had 70 branches, 10 factories, 5 wine stores and 650 horses. The business survived in more or less the same form until 1956, when the 1,200 shops became minimarkets, which were bought out by the Greek-French entrepreneur André Mentzelopoulos in 1958. After a period of poor management, this business collapsed and was

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

in 1996, with the

Promodès Promodès is a former French group of retailers. It was owned up to 56% by the Halley family. Paul-Auguste Halley, which was a simple grocer in the Manche in the 1950s, had the idea of importing the concept of supermarkets in France. With his ...

chain buying a few of the points of sale. In 2003, the ''Société Philippe Potin'' acquired the right to use the Félix Potin name for its distribution network in South-East France.

Business model

When Potin founded his business, a standard business model was to receive loads of goods from a manufacturer, then label and package them in the store. By contrast, Félix Potin shops sold products produced and prepackaged at the chain's own factories, then sold them at standardised, publicised prices. Potin aimed to sell large volumes at reduced profit margins. Potin was thus a pioneer of the chain-and-branch, bulk-buying model of retail, unifying distribution and sales under the same brand. The

F. W. Woolworth Company The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or simply Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, se ...

five-and-dime A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells th ...

chain in the US was, to some extent, inspired by Potin's model.

Architecture

The architect Paul Auscher (1866–1932) designed several buildings for Félix Potin. The distinctive turrets bearing the Félix Potin name can still be seen on the Boulevard de Sébastopol (now a

Monoprix Monoprix S.A. () is a major French retail chain with its headquarters in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, near Paris. The company's stores combine food retailing with fashion, beauty and home products. History The company was founded in 19 ...

) and the Rue de Rennes (now a

Zara Zara may refer to: Businesses * Zara (retailer), a fashion retail company based in Spain * Zara Investment Holding, a Jordanian holding company * Continental Hotel Zara, Budapest, Hungary People and fictional characters * Zara (name), primari ...

External links

Official site of the modern-day business

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potin, Felix 1820 births 1871 deaths People from Arpajon Shops in Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery