Gibert Joseph is a

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

bookstores Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The foundi ...

and record stores in France. With a number of its branches scattered along the

Boulevard Saint-Michel The Boulevard Saint-Michel () is one of the two major streets in the Latin Quarter of Paris, France, the other being the Boulevard Saint-Germain. It is a tree-lined boulevard which runs south from the Pont Saint-Michel on the Seine and Place ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, culminating in its flagship store featuring "six floors of crowded shelves", it was described in 2016 as being "the biggest bookstore in Paris".

Company history

Early years

Joseph Gilbert, the founder of this firm, began his career as a "professeur des Lettres Classiques (English, "teacher of classical literature") at the Saint-Michel College in

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

, a city in eastern central France, before moving to

in 1886.Notre histoire
gibert.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022. Just opposite the

Notre Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It ...

he began selling books from four bouqiniste boxes at the Quai Saint-Michel on the banks of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

. In 1888 he opened his first bookstore at 23 Boulevard Saint-Michel in the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (, ) is an urban university campus in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros, t ...

of Paris. That bookstore specialised in the sale of secondhand school textbooks and thrived in part due to the French Prime Minister

Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...

having recently in 1882 made

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

in France free and compulsory. Gilbert died in 1915 and his two sons succeeded him as the proprietors of the bookstore.

Separation (1929-2017)

In 1929 the two brothers decided to go their separate ways. Joseph Gibert, the elder son of the founder, opened his own bookstore, named Gibert Joseph, at 30 boulevard Saint-Michel, while Régis, the younger son, maintained the original bookshop on the Quai Saint-Michel, trading under the name Gibert Jeune. Over the years the Gilbert Joseph bookstore grew to a height of six floors and has also taken over 26, 30 and 34 boulevard St Michel, attracting students from the nearby Sorbonne. At the same time, the Gibert Joseph business developed a network of bookstores in the towns of the French provinces: in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, as well as in various parts of the Paris away from the Latin Quarter. The Gibert Jeune business, on the other hand, concentrated on Paris. In 1934 it moved to the right bank of the Seine and established a bookstore at 15 boulevard St Denis while in 1971 investing in the building at 5 place Saint-Michel. From the 1950s both the Gibert Joseph and Gibert Jeune businesses diversified from selling just books (both new and secondhand) and selling records, music, videos, stationery, toys and other products as well. Beginning in 2002 the businesses set up websites for selling their wares online. On 4 February 1986, a Gilbert Jeune store was devastated by an

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...

detonated by the CSPPA group, causing five to be wounded.

Reunification (2017)

In April 2017 the Gibert Joseph and Gibert Jeune firms entered into discussions for the takeover of Gibert Jeune, which was in financial difficulty, by Gibert Joseph.Antoine Oury
"Le libraire Gibert Jeune racheté par Gibert Joseph, pour 'sauver la société'"
actualitte.com, 28 April 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2022. On 17 May 2017, the Paris Commercial Court recorded the takeover of Gibert Jeune by Gibert Joseph, thus ending 88 years of separation. Bruno Gibert, the chairman of the board of management of Gibert Jeune, announced that the

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

would not lead to any loss of employment or sales outlet. The CGT union denounced the lack of transparency with which the merger discussions were held, deplored the lack of information provided to the employees of Gibert Jeune and Gibert Joseph, and voiced its concerns about the possible social consequences of this merger. In November 2017, the

Autorité de la concurrence The ; ) is France's national competition regulator. Its predecessor, the Competition Council, was established in the 1950s. The Competition Authority is an , responsible for preventing anti-competitive practices and monitoring the functioning ...

, the French agency regulating

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

, authorised the merger of Gibert Joseph and Gibert Jeune.

Impact of the 2020 health crisis

In 2020 during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic a number of Gibert Joseph stores in the French provinces were forced to close. In Paris the premises of the Gibert Jeune bookstore located at 5 place Saint-Michel in Paris were sold by the Jeune family and a job protection plan was formalised on 4 December 2020. The historic bookstore located at 27 quai Saint-Michel was saved thanks to the intervention of the Paris City Hall, which bought the premises. The company's

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

bookstore located opposite the Cathedral of the Notre Dame was also saved.

Le Prix des libraires Gibert Joseph

In 2014, the company began awarding an annual

literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Man ...

, named Le Prix des libraires Gibert Joseph. The first winner was Gauz for his novel ''Debout-Payé''.Gibert Joseph attribue son premier prix à Gauz
livreshebdo.fr. Retrieved 8 September 2022.

References

External links

Gilbert
- official website {{Authority control Bookstores of France Book selling websites Retail companies of France Bookstores established in the 19th century Retail companies established in 1888 French companies established in 1888 French brands 2017 mergers and acquisitions French booksellers Music retailers of France Office supply companies of France