The parade of the departement stores in Belgium (1860-1900)

Written by: Jytte Maenhout. Reviewed by: Lucinda Chen

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« Alors, plus haut que les faits déjà donnés, au sommet, apparut l'exploitation de la femme. Tout y aboutissait, le capital sans cesse renouvelé, le système de l'entassement des marchandises, le bon marché qui attire, la marque en chiffres connus qui tranquillise. C'était la femme que les magasins se disputaient par la concurrence, la femme qu'ils prenaient au continuel piège de leurs occasions, après l'avoir étourdie devant leurs étalages. »

Emile Zola, Au Bonheur des Dames

The introduction of department stores in Belgium came from French entrepreneurs descending on the increasingly important Brussels. All the department stores in Belgium created when the concept was introduced continued to exist until 1969-1983.

How did department stores start?

Emile Zola was clear about the target audience of the emerging department stores - it was ‘la femme’. In Au Bonheur des Dames Zola described the atmosphere and state of affairs at the Bon Marché department store. Bon Marché was the first and biggest department store in France and later became Le Bon Marché. In England and America there were similar phenomena at the same time; the first Belgian department store was modeled on them. The vision, unlike couture, was to make many different kinds of merchandise available to a large section of the population, not individualized but using basic models at an affordable price. Department stores started on a small scale but in a short period many of the stores had expanded branches .

Au Bon Marché, Brussels

Francois Vaxelaire (1840-1920), a young French entrepreneur from the Vosges in France, started the first department store in Belgium in 1860, when he was 20 years old. Au Bon Marché was located in Brussels on the corner of Boulevard du Jardin Botanique and Rue des Cendres. Later Vaxelaire opened stores in Lille, Charleroi, Nancy, Besançon, Épinal, Metz, Antwerp and Bruges.

Grands Magasins de la Bourse, Brussels

The French Thiéry family first had a fabric shop. However, this Thiéry family did not stop doing business but also started a department store on Anspach Avenue in 1872. The store was named Grands Magasins de la Bourse and mainly focused on luxurious fabrics.

À l’Innovation, Brussels

Less than a five-minute walk away in Brussels from the Au Bon Marché, the family Bernheim-Meyer opened a similar concept store in 1897 in the Nieuwstraat. It was called ‘À l’Innovation’ and is now the only active department store in Belgium under the name of ‘Galleria Inno’ with different stores. In 1899 they opened a second store in Liege. Inno was known for the use of modern architecture styles. They had their main branch and their store in Antwerp designed by Victor Horta in the Art Nouveau style. The store in Brussels went up in flames in 1967. At the height of popularity, the chain had 22 branches. Inno and Bon Marché merged before going bankrupt. In 1974 they merged with a third chain, the Grand Bazar.

Grand Bazar, Antwerp and Grand Bazar, Liège

The Grand Bazar started as a department store in Antwerp on the Groenplaats. It originated in 1885. There is also a department store that opened in 1885 in Liège on Sint-Lambertusplein with the same name, but they weren't related. The owner of the Grand Bazar in Liège started a new department store in Brussels on avenue Anspach 26 in 1898. It was named ‘Grand Bazar du Boulevard Anspach’ and later shortened to Galeries Anspach.

Among all the aforementioned, only the Inno continued to exist to the present day. The reason for the demise of the department store is a question that requires further research.

Sources:

Zola, Émile. Au Bonheur Des Dames. London: Perlego, 2005.

Clausen, Meredith L. “The Department Store: Development of the Type.” Journal of Architectural Education (1984-) 39, no. 1 (1985): 20–29. https://doi.org/10.2307/1424824 .

Béton Armé: Revue Mensuelle Technique Et Documentaire Des Constructions En Béton Armé, Système Hennebique. Lille: Le beton armé, 1898.

Van Heuven, Erik and Stefan Van Rompaey. “Du Bon Marché à Galeria Inno : l’ascension et la chute du grand magasin en Belgique.“ Accessed on 6 april 2023, https://scse.eu/fr/du-bon-marche-a-galeria-inno-l-ascension-et-la-chute-du-grand-magasin-en-belgique/ .

“Ancien grand magasin "Au Bon Marché"." Accessed on 6 april 2023, https://monument.heritage.brussels/fr/buildings/33625 .

Lebeau, Pénélope, and Pierre Danel. Inno In Het Hart Van De Belgen: Het Verhaal Van Een Grootwarenhuis Van De 19de Eeuw Tot Vandaag. Brussels: Soliflor, 2014.

“Deuxième partie: Les groupes financiers intéresses à la grande distribution.“ Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP 3, no. 589 (1973). Accessed on 6 april 2023. https://doi.org/10.3917/cris.589.0001 .

“Anspachgalerij.” Accessed on 8 april 2023, https://monument.heritage.brussels/nl/buildings/30702.

Ingelaere, Pascal, Claire Billen, Jean-Pierre Grimmeau and Benjamin Wayens. Commerce et négoce. Brussels : Mardaga, 2003.

Flouquet, P.-L. ”Le grand magasin moderne.” Bâtir 5, no. 41 (1936) : 624-627.

Vanhees, Benoit. ”Grands Magasins de la Bourse (1872).” Accessed on 9 april 2023, http://www.retroscoop.com/ .

”Anc. « Grands Magasins de la Bourse ».” Accessed on 9 april 2023, https://monument.heritage.brussels/fr/buildings/3