Boussac

"Boussac’s success lies—not only in the luck that insolently favors him and the maneuvering skill that is a gift from Heaven—but in the perseverance that makes his determination unyielding where others quickly tire!"

"Here are two entrepreneurs who are also heirs; who have tremendously developed what they inherited, even though Férinel's real estate was in much better condition than Bolloré's papers; who each identified a sleeping beauty (Dior, within the Boussac empire, for Arnault, and Rivaud bank for Bolloré); who followed the advice of the same godfather in the Parisian establishment-Antoine Bernheim-to finance their rise to power; who ensured the construction of their empire through a very unusual blend of entrepreneurial aggression and ability to leverage new financial market instruments; who experienced both failures and windfalls (Gucci for Arnault and Bouygues for Bolloré); who moved into the new century without forgetting how to wield hostility (Hermès and Havas learned this to their detriment); who practiced financial engineering with incredible dexterity-Arnault increased his share of LVMH's capital from 38% to 46% in one day, crushing the Christian Dior holding, while Bolloré reached 27% in Vivendi, thanks in large part to the billions inherited from the opportune merger of the communication group with Havas; and who, finally, share the same dynastic ambition, a fierce determination to firmly establish this resolutely familial choice over time. In fact, it is the defense of family capitalism that is the cause of their joint presence in Lagardère's capital, and the potential source of a collision..."

"So the Willot brothers bought Boussac without spending a penny. The price (700 million francs) was paid for by several asset sales, including the daily newspaper L'Aurore, sold to Robert Hersant. For the rest, the prey financed its predator. In three years, Boussac would bring them more than 600 million francs. They are rich. They are boastful. With Dior, they dress princesses and stars. The establishment can no longer despise them. They could stop there, make their group a model of good management relying more on operating profits than exceptional capital gains, stop walking the tightrope and living on credit. But have you ever seen a hamster stop nibbling? Jean-Pierre Willot, the most ambitious of the quartet, decides to strike again. Two months after Boussac, he buys the Korvettes chain of department stores in the United States. Crêpe Willot has become a multinational corporation."

"But in the spring of 1984, still according to the official version, when Pierre Godé called Bernard Arnault to reveal the name of the target company he had found, he wondered if he had gone crazy. Boussac does not meet any of the criteria he has set. The name is certainly known, but it's for the worst; nobody believes in the development potential of a bankrupt and failing group; as for the workforce, which Arnault wanted to be as small as possible, it approaches 30,000 people. Legitimately agitated employees: to save their jobs, the Boussac regularly go on strike, cut down trees, and block the roads of the Vosges valleys where the factories are concentrated..."

"On December 14, two days before the government decision, Julien Charlier receives Bernard Arnault at his home on Rue de la Faisanderie. The young man is tired but still determined. He lays his cards on the table: "If you don't agree to become my advisor, I risk losing the game." Charlier is quick to seize the opportunity offered to him. By becoming Boussac's consultant, he will be able to see his competitor's cards before playing his own and he will block the path of his enemy Bidermann. He sets his conditions: a commission of 0.75% on Boussac's turnover (nearly 10 million francs) and the possibility of buying Boussac (if Arnault is a seller) 20% below the price of other offers. The boss of Férinel accepts these exceptional conditions, which he will later remember when he imposes an identical clause on his future partner, Guinness. He now holds the last trump card he was missing."

"Bernard Arnault did not wait to become the definitive owner of SFFAW to begin the big cleanup at Boussac. On the very day of his installation as CEO of Compagnie Boussac Saint-Frères on January 2nd, he signed the sale of two factories in Beauvais and Saint-Quentin. These two small units employed 134 people and produced blankets and bedspreads. The buyer was a company created for the occasion, L'Internationale Lainière, led by Gilbert Benattar, Alexandre Saban, and Jean-Yves Delanoë. They paid on credit and received subsidies from Boussac equivalent to 45,000 francs per employee, totaling 6 million. In addition, they received a subsidy of 2.5 million from the Picardy region. Benattar, Saban, and Delanoë were so linked to Boussac that they set up their headquarters at 2 Rue du Pont-Neuf, in one of the group's subsidiaries, La Belle Jardinière."

"Bernard Arnault has won. With a stake of 40 million francs, he becomes the boss of Boussac, which has returned to private ownership and will be worth 8 billion three years later. That same evening, he invites his colleagues to dinner at Laurent, one of the best restaurants in Paris. He is delighted, but does not show it much. Restraint is part of his character. Above all, the agony of his beloved grandmother Savinel, who is dying in Lille, spoils his pleasure."

"If Bernard Arnault has any questions, he doesn't show it. In February 1985, he sold a factory of 140 people in Fécamp that produces women's ready-to-wear under the designer Ted Lapidus's license to the trio Benattar-Saban-Delanoë. The buyers create, for the occasion, a new company, the Union Textile de Normandie (UTN). They still pay on credit and receive 2.8 million francs in aid from Boussac; that is 20,000 francs per employee."

"Maurice Bidermann. Defeated in 1984 as well as 1978, Bidermann does not want to give up. In the first months of 1985, he attempted one last maneuver. His tactic was as follows: to buy enough claims to be able to oppose Arnault's proposals in the conciliation assembly. According to his calculations, there would be no other solution but judicial liquidation. And he could then be a candidate for the bulk purchase of the assets of the group he covets, mainly Boussac and Dior textiles. In his new offensive, Bidermann has enlisted his partners from the previous year, Bouygues and the Worms bank."

"year. To reduce staff, Arnault is going to use the method that his predecessor had used: selling off loss-making activities to supposed industrialists with the air of bounty hunters, who will manage as they please. This method is as old as big industry itself. It is the one that will be followed by a group like Alcatel, which in July 2001 announced its intention to sell most of its factories to subcontractors. Its name: outsourcing. A way to free itself from factories, employees, layoffs, and, more generally, all problems. In the case of Boussac, unlike Alcatel, it is not only a matter of entrusting others with deficit activities internally and managing the necessary reduction of staff. It is then a matter of getting rid of activities and factories in a pre-planned plan whose ultimate goal is simply to exit the textile sector."

"He enters negotiations with the government Neither Madelin nor Séguin, and even less Balladur, are willing to block the agreement with Môlnlycke. They simply want guarantees on how Arnault will use his loot. Everyone has their own ideas on this. Séguin, elected in the Vosges, wants him to devote part of the 2 billion to modernizing the Boussac factories in his region. Balladur, for his part, wants him to place under sequestration the 338 million francs that the European Union is claiming from France. The Ministry of Finance also demands a guarantee on the 270 million francs of participatory loans that he had received in early 1985. By the way, Arnault is reminded of his promise to give the State a "return to better fortune" clause of up to 300 million francs starting in 1991. Madelin seeks assurances about the future of Boussac's textile industry, which still employs 5,300 people. It is on the eve of the presidential election and it is better to guard against a possible social drama."

"Reviving Boussac in this context was an almost impossible bet to maintain."

"Staff join Boussac as if entering a religion. At that time, one was born, lived, and died for textiles. The group's employees are "bagged." They are taken care of from the cradle to the grave."

"In this month of August 1978, the brothers and their collaborators work tirelessly on the elements of the Boussac file that the judicial representatives have kindly given them. Antoine Willot visits all the factories at lightning speed. The accounts of the various companies are audited by the firm Jacques Vigne. The group's real estate assets are identified and valued. All this work leaves little time for summer vacations... A takeover offer is made by the brothers through letters dated 3, 9, and 17 August."

"The "Boussac quality" certainly has a price, but that price is no longer in the market. The rise of fashion also hastens the fall. Boussac's "indestructible" products are made to last. Rapid changes in fashion outdated them and make them unsellable, further inflating the stock. The group does not have the flexibility needed to adapt to the new pace of collections. Operating losses accumulate. Cash flow is drained. Banks are reluctant to finance overdrafts and investments despite the personal guarantees that the patriarch commits to give."

"The Boussac episode was merely a breath of fresh air. This operation also had the advantage of refurbishing the brothers' image and eliminating a competitor who was undercutting market prices."

"Jean-Pierre Willot and his brother Antoine, resigned, can only accept them. First, a buyer must be found for Dior. Then, it is necessary to realize, within two months, 100 million francs of divestments. The sale of the shares of Compagnie de Navigation Mixte for 37 million francs, acquired piecemeal by Jean-Pierre Willot, and the execution of a lease-back operation on the Boussac headquarters on rue Poissonnière for 64 million should enable this to be achieved."

"It thus clearly appears that the Willot group benefits from extraordinarily favorable conditions in this operation. Not only does it not have to spend a cent in taking over Boussac, but on the contrary, it improves its cash flow through the recovery of receivables and liquidity and by selling Boussac's stock. A new working capital is established thanks to the supplier credit that the group can negotiate again. The sales of assets already made will allow for the repayment of the first installments."

"For René Mayer, the return to profitability first requires maximizing the use of production tools. But to sell quantities, prices must be slashed and often sales are made at a loss. Gérard Bélorgey notes in his memoirs: "At his first meeting with the executives, he is pleased that sheet sales have doubled. We lose 2 francs for every meter sold..." Instead of announcing a return to profits, the increase in turnover is publicized. This dumping infuriates competitors who cry scandal. The subsidies granted to Boussac result in completely distorting competition in the market, particularly in the areas of upholstery fabrics and household linens."

"Bibliography Four major works Michel BATTIAU, One of the consequences of the restructuring of the textile industry: the birth of the Agache-Willot group, Lille, CERES Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Gérard BÉLORGEY, About Boussac, Memoirs and lessons, 2 vols. Conference given at the Cambacérès Circle, published by Calaméo. Archives available at the National Foundation of Political Sciences. Benoît BOUSSEMART and Jean-Claude Rabier, The Agache-Willot File. A capitalism against the current, Paris, Presses de la Fondation nationale des Sciences politiques, 1983. Patrick LAMM, Investigation on the Boussac affair, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1985. Other information sources Bernard Arnault, The Creative Passion. Interviews with Messarovitch, Paris, Plon, 2000. Michel BATTIAU, The Textile Industries of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, Paris, Librairie Honoré Champion, 1976. Alain BOUBLIL, The Uprising of the Seraglio, Paris, Albin Michel, 1990. Dominique COCHART-COSTE and Jean-Paul GRUMETZ, Saint Frères. Paternalism and its memories, Amiens, CEFRESS-Université de Picardie-Jules-Verne, 2007. Jean-Dominique Delaveau, I am Marcel Boussac and I hunt in Mivoisin, Dammary-sur-Loing, Interstices and Editions de l’Écluse, 2009. François Faraut, The History of La Belle Jardinière, Paris, Belin, 1987. Nadège Forestier and Nazanine Pavai, Bernard Arnault, or the Taste for Power, Paris, Olivier Orban, 1990. Christine Kerdellant, The New Condottieri, Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 1992. Marie-France Pochna, Good Morning Mr. Boussac, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1980. Pierre Pouchain, The Masters of the North. From the 19th e century to the present day, Paris, Perrin, 1998. Jean-Michel Quatrepoint, Secret History of the Black Files of the Left, Paris, Alain Moreau, 1987. Nazarine Ravai, The Republic of Vanities, Paris, Grasset, 1997. Airy Routier, The Exterminating Angel, Paris, Albin Michel, 2003."

"Thus, to allow normal operation of BSF, relying only on credit, especially with interest rates of at least 12%, was not enough to compensate for the chronic weakness of equity and results. The temptation was then great to buy other businesses in trouble to have, at liquidation values, inventories or client accounts that generate cash and immediate capital gains. The takeover of Boussac illustrates well this opportunity of means provided by a kind of headlong rush."

"On the floor below, Bernard Arnault houses Financière Agache et Férinel. Further down, a constellation of SMEs spread across four sectors of activity: luxury (Dior, Christian Lacroix, Céline), distribution (Bon Marché, Belle Jardinière, Conforama), industry (Peaudouce, Saint-Frères, Boussac) and finance (Facet, Crédit Financier Lillois) 7."

"Bernard Arnault only buys 20% of the shares held by the four brothers, which is 105,000 shares (6% of the capital) out of a total of 1.1 million for a unit price of 250 francs payable over seven years, that is, in 1991. In other words, the operation does not cost him anything immediately. The Willot brothers keep 80% of what belonged to them. This allows them to sell later when the price has gone up. But they lend these shares, which they still own, to Bernard Arnault. He can use the voting rights attached to them. With total control of the business, Arnault can negotiate a concordat with Boussac's creditors. Only then will he proceed with a capital increase of 400 million francs, which will allow him to take over the business."

"Chassagnon. Without taking the time to go back to his own office, he rushes to a phone booth on Boulevard Saint-Germain and calls Bernard Arnault, whom he knows to be in the North. He has already talked to him about different cases (syringe factories, toy companies, and even 3 Suisses), mostly companies in difficulty because at the time bankruptcies are numerous, and he believes that Férinel has a team of capable men who can revive a failing company. But what Pierre Godé proposes that day is beyond comprehension: nothing less than... Boussac!"

"After signing the contract, Arnault began negotiations with private creditors. Is he showing a particular talent or is he benefiting from Boussac's total decrepitude? The fact is that he obtained a concordat under excellent conditions. The privileged creditors (about a third of them) accept a repayment of 100% over three years; the others reduce their due by 40%, and will be paid over eight years."

"In the contract, the state requires that Bernard Arnault take over CBSF4 at the same time as SFFAW. In return, he asks the government to reset the counters. Bernard Arnault makes two financial commitments. On the one hand, he will have a group of investors subscribe to a capital increase in SFFAW. On the other hand, he accepts a clause for a return to better fortune: if the business becomes prosperous again, Boussac will repay 300 million francs between 1990 and 2005."

"At the top of the network, Bernard Arnault places Arnault & Associés, the parent company of the whole (formerly Boussac, now Financière Agache et Férinel). The cornerstone of Bernard Arnault's financial construction, this company is the one that will benefit most from the restructuring carried out within the group. It not only receives dividends from the various subsidiaries of the group, but it is also the main owner of this heterogeneous structure which counts no less than ten companies, most of which are profitable. Arnault & Associés is controlled 60% by the Arnault family, the rest being held by a group of investors (Crédit Lyonnais, Duménil-Leblé, BNP, GAN, Finial...) (see table 1)."

"The three-year industrial plan established before the Boussac takeover aimed to preserve the "perpetuity of the company and most jobs." The term is vague. In any case, Arnault believes that it did not have any contractual character towards him. How could it have been otherwise? No serious business leader taking over a company in distress would have blindly committed to it."

"Five years for Férinel, two years for Boussac, one year for Lacroix, a few months for Céline... Bernard Arnault is going faster and faster."

"For his first call to the market, the buyer of Boussac chose Conforama. He offers small shareholders 15% of the capital. The financial profitability of the chain of stores clearly ensures the success of a stock market introduction. The operation was launched in September 1987. An indisputable success. The second company to take the path to the Palais Brongniart will be Arnault & Associates. Shortly after Conforama, the family company will sell 10% of its capital at a high price: 490 francs per share."

"On Wednesday, October 26th, Bernard Arnault chose the general assembly of his flagship company (Financière Agache) to announce his plans: now that he holds a blocking minority in LVMH, he will restructure his distribution group (Bon Marché, Belle Jardinière, Conforama) inherited from Boussac around a clear organizational chart with the goal of raising capital. The plan: Bon Marché becomes the parent company of Conforama, of which it will own 86.5% of the capital, and strengthens its stake in Belle Jardinière to 75.7%. At the end of the operation (see table 2), the whole group will combine a large real estate capital (about 100,000 square meters for Bon Marché alone) with a significant distribution force. It will represent nearly 300 million francs in net profits in 1988 for a turnover of over 7 billion francs. This structure will allow Bernard Arnault to appeal to the market under good conditions. He plans to proceed with a capital increase of 2.4 billion francs, which will be reinvested in Christian Dior."

""Certainly, he had targets. He wanted to buy Boussac, which belonged to the Willot brothers, then the Dior perfumes because Dior Couture was part of Boussac. He had targets and considerable determination. But at the time, he didn't have the financial means or the connections. I helped him until he reached the top," sums up the former associate of Lazard."

""Yes, he obviously helped, especially on two important occasions: the takeover of Boussac in 1984, and then when LVMH was acquired in 1988. Antoine Bernheim immediately believed in Bernard Arnault. He was impressed by his audacity. It was necessary to assess the risk to determine whether it was fatal or not.""

""Antoine Bernheim told Bernard Arnault, 'I am willing to take the risk up to the same amount as you.' He committed to investing 90 million francs on behalf of Lazard, matching Bernard Arnault's investment level. This commitment by Antoine Bernheim gave confidence to other investors. We managed to complete the fundraising round, which was far from certain at the time due to Boussac's second consecutive bankruptcy.""

""When Bernard Arnault applied to acquire Financière Agache-Willot [holding company of Boussac], without the support of Lazard bank, he wouldn't have been able to do anything. There were several potential candidates. When he entered the race, he had neither the financial means nor any particular credibility...""

"Boussac controls 93.39% of the Comptoir de l’industrie cotonnière and its 40 manufacturing subsidiaries; he holds 95% of the capital of Manufactures de Senones with their 30 subsidiaries, which are more focused on real estate and property. In contrast to a simple commercial structure — the C.I.C.-fabric department, the garment “subsidiaries” (Rousseau, Blainville, Tremblot-Matheron) and “Romanex” and “Jalla” — the legal maze of the 70 companies resembles a termite mound. Through its corridors and shafts transit accounting elements and a lot of money. The tax inspectors who were ordered to venture there have always admitted they got lost there {{id_0000}}{{id_00001}} And with them, the administrative attempts at “adjustments”! Starting in 1954, Boussac pushed concentration of decision-making to the maximum by removing the financial autonomy from all subsidiaries. Their liquid assets are “deposited” to the C.I.C. Alone at the top, Marcel Boussac sets and knows the costs and sale prices: “The balance sheets,” he said, “are for the bankers, the operating accounts are for the accountants, the cash flow is for the business leader!” And to call his chief accountant: “Make me a kitchen account: what’s in my cash drawer?”⁠"

"Seizing the pretext of a mistake made by his advertising agency, R.L. Dupuy (which had let a “typo” slip through in a promotional text), he parts ways with them and sets up his own agency, tylONSIE&R ßOiißjSAQ which soon employs 100 people. In the three floors of galleries of the building on rue Poissonnière, he sets up a permanent exhibition hall of all his articles; he invites at his own expense buyers-transformers who present models made with the fabric that Boussac had provided them for free. He decides to create traveling fashion shows throughout France, with collection presentations. The inhabitants of Brive and Clermont-Ferrand had never seen anything like it! Two traveling “circuses,” comprising a tour leader, window dresser, speaker, decorators, pianists, models, and dressers, totaling about twenty people, continuously present the collections to the provinces, followed by the commercial ranks who take orders. The textile world is in turmoil. Rhodiaceta is trying to imitate the formula."

"Boussac had long been successful: both in the business world and among the elites who claim to have a certain influence with the people who govern. However, despite his success, he was not yet universally recognized: only textile industrialists could appreciate the weight of his empire, which remained unknown to the general public. For most people, he was still just that figure in a gray suit, owner of the famous orange jacket that flattered national pride. He was known to be rich, without anyone knowing how this fortune, which no one, least of all the tax authorities, was capable of evaluating, had been constituted. Political circles had been able to gauge his influence behind the scenes of power, but the reality of his power was still unknown at that time. Jealous of the shadows, like many others, his rise remained deliberately sheltered from the public eye. The war, during which he skillfully balanced between an at least passive patriotism and a consummate economic realism, had, in the eyes of some, cast suspicion on his honorability. For public opinion in general, it had represented only a parenthesis, without clarifying an image that remained nebulous and fragmented."

"Buoyed by the success of Bendix, assured of the superiority of the textile production apparatus, confident in the efficiency of the organization he has established, Fayol thinks that the time has come to establish the product’s notoriety with the public—so synonymous with quality that it now deserves to bear the name of its inventor. He is convinced that, like Renault, Citroën, Michelin, the surname Boussac should be associated with his fabric. In 1953, he presents his idea to the great industrialist: — I must speak to you about advertising. Boussac first takes on a closed expression, but he listens to his general manager who continues:"

"The idea of “paternalism from baptism to the grave” was, long before him, the work of great French industrial families, of Protestant belief, such as the Schneider and Wendel, or Catholic, like Peugeot and Michelin, who relied on Christian faith to practice an active social policy. Boussac’s social work takes a different path, in the sense that it is not inspired by religious ethics, but solely by the generosity of the boss."

"Seizing the pretext of a mistake made by his advertising agency, R.L. Dupuy (which had let a “typo” slip through in a promotional text), he parts ways with them and sets up his own agency, tylONSIE&R ßOiißjSAQ which soon employs 100 people. In the three floors of galleries of the building on rue Poissonnière, he sets up a permanent exhibition hall of all his articles; he invites at his own expense buyers-transformers who present models made with the fabric that Boussac had provided them for free. He decides to create traveling fashion shows throughout France, with collection presentations. The inhabitants of Brive and Clermont-Ferrand had never seen anything like it! Two traveling “circuses,” comprising a tour leader, window dresser, speaker, decorators, pianists, models, and dressers, totaling about twenty people, continuously present the collections to the provinces, followed by the commercial ranks who take orders. The textile world is in turmoil. Rhodiaceta is trying to imitate the formula."

"Mrs. Boussac would view the collections but was not genuinely interested in fashion. She ordered evening dresses in shimmering colors, which best complemented her eyes and were apt to evoke the enchantments of the stage and spectacle. However, dressing during the day was of little importance to her. To attend her dance classes at Salle Pleyel, she needed to feel simple and “comfortable” in her work outfit. She always wore the same little suits and beret, along with an eternal raincoat that did not hint that her husband owned the world’s leading fashion house. Moreover, when she asked about the price of the designs, they always seemed too expensive to her! Only in the evening did seduction reclaim its rights; she was fond of sky blue in the house and on herself, wore wonderful pastel muslins, and adorned herself with astonishing jewelry."

"Having control over the influx of money allows him to pay for American machines with the proceeds from horse sales, to draw from the common textile pot to finance his participation in Aurore, and above all to buy… Boussac has a creed: the valorization of assets. For him, profit comes from capital gains. He invests in equipment, real estate (reportedly having 15,000 cadastral entries in his name or in the name of his companies!), in commodities: he stocks by playing on the differences in world prices and on domestic inflation… In the 50s and 60s, this succeeds. However, to the despair of his financial director, Jacques Fourmon, who one day will slam the door out of weariness and humiliation, his accounting methods remain archaic, at the level of good old shops. In reality, he has it all in his head, or is perceived to."

"Seizing the pretext of a mistake made by his advertising agency, R.L. Dupuy (which had let a “typo” slip through in a promotional text), he parts ways with them and sets up his own agency, tylONSIE&R ßOiißjSAQ which soon employs 100 people. In the three floors of galleries of the building on rue Poissonnière, he sets up a permanent exhibition hall of all his articles; he invites at his own expense buyers-transformers who present models made with the fabric that Boussac had provided them for free. He decides to create traveling fashion shows throughout France, with collection presentations. The inhabitants of Brive and Clermont-Ferrand had never seen anything like it! Two traveling “circuses,” comprising a tour leader, window dresser, speaker, decorators, pianists, models, and dressers, totaling about twenty people, continuously present the collections to the provinces, followed by the commercial ranks who take orders. The textile world is in turmoil. Rhodiaceta is trying to imitate the formula."

"At the very end of his life, when Boussac was fighting against total ruin, he often referred to the Bendix fiasco as the trigger that progressively led to the dismantling of his fortune."

"At Michelin, where paternalism lasted for a long time — the famous in-house schools with their 6,000 students were not handed over to the State until 1967 — the dominant idea is self-realization. At Boussac, the spirit is to create a sheltered world where everyone’s fate depends on the sole boss."

"Boussac reinstitutes a type of very personalized human relation, thereby going against the general trend. A true return to a feudal order, with the benevolent policy of this great lord who treats his staff like his own family, and not according to employer-employee relations. He is the responsible master of his people; those who work are entitled to respect and protection from others. Anyone on his domain respects his sacred authority and, in exchange, receives security and assistance. x"

"Boussac tends to conceive the role of the Dior house as that of a research laboratory, at the forefront of its own textile creations. He intends to somehow appropriate the brain of fashion. He says: “I needed haute couture in my main business. I created Dior to get my hands on that indefinable thing called good taste [9](private://read/01jjdy9maqdsy9c2bv37rfja01/#bookmark14).” Jacques Rouet confirms: “Marcel Boussac understood that Dior would bring an element of prestige and notoriety that would reflect on his entire textile empire. At no time did he impose on a designer to use fabric from his productions. However, he sent personnel from his companies to see the collections, learn everything that was cutting-edge in textiles in terms of novelty, and stay informed on trends. He himself was very interested in the phenomenon of fashion and what makes success. He also asked for the assistance of Dior’s creative staff to supervise his ready-to-wear collections “Pierre Billet” and his raincoats “Blizzand”.”"

"Starting in 1954, Boussac pushed concentration of decision-making to the maximum by removing the financial autonomy from all subsidiaries. Their liquid assets are “deposited” to the C.I.C. Alone at the top, Marcel Boussac sets and knows the costs and sale prices: “The balance sheets,” he said, “are for the bankers, the operating accounts are for the accountants, the cash flow is for the business leader!” And to call his chief accountant: “Make me a kitchen account: what’s in my cash drawer?”"

"Even for a prosperous company, this policy is expensive! In those years from 1953 to 1960, advertising became “the boss’s passion.” Robert Leduc recounts: “Mr. Boussac had personally taken control of the entire department: he thought he could do everything, that everything was conceivable, he relied on advertising for everything, with no concept of budget, convinced there were no limits to his resources.” Receiving the Advertising Oscar in 1958 — which he certainly would have deserved — in his acceptance speech he said: “I want the name Boussac to stand for only impeccable merchandise,” and also: “I want that when a woman enters a shop, she says upon entering that she wants a ‘Boussac fabric’ and if she is told that there is none, she immediately leaves the shop.”"

"At that time, in shops and open-air markets, all cotton fabrics, even the bad ones, were sold under the name Boussac. Therefore, Boussac must proclaim that it only represents 10% of the market and that all its products are of quality. The opening of the Common Market, which was expected at the time shortly, could also dictate the necessity to enhance its brands compared to Italian or German productions."

"In addition to acquiring several spinning and weaving mills in the Vosges and Normandy, in Bolbec and Caudebec, including the Desgenetais establishments, Boussac made a strong entry into the printing domain with the acquisition of a globally renowned firm: the Wesserling manufactory in Alsace. Owned since its founding in 1763 by the same family, the Grosroman, which succumbed to the crisis of the thirties, this company, with its future brand of upholstery fabrics “Romanex,” would become one of the jewels of the Boussac empire. The industrialist continued his expansion into clothing with the acquisition of the Tremblot-Matheron establishments in the Centre and with the acquisition of a factory specializing in the manufacture of terry cloth fabrics in Régny, in the Lyonnais. Here too, the “dalla” brand would achieve global recognition."

"“Your airplane fabric is unsellable,” the consulted merchants categorically opine. “We don’t wear ecru shirts. We wear white shirts or striped shirts,” they object to him. “There is going to be a crisis,” others groan. There is going to be a “boom,” Boussac thinks. After four years of privations, men and women are eager to regain comfort and extravagance. And here are three million demobilized soldiers returning from the front, ready to dress in civilian clothes again. The euphoria of peace, the movement of reconstruction, the vast needs to be met: that’s what he believes in. He draws up his plan. He starts by buying back from the State everything that was meant to become wings. Then he purchases in England all the stock of airplane fabric that his competitors, relieved to get rid of it, sell to him cheaply."

"or, Yves Saint-Laurent at the beginning in the house, then Frédéric Castet, the creator of the fur collections, and finally Marc Bohan when he became responsible for couture, were in turn asked to design raincoats and especially to attend the presentations of models at the creative workshop on Jules-César Street, sessions that Boussac’s passion for detail made exhausting."

"Receiving the Advertising Oscar in 1958 — which he certainly would have deserved — in his acceptance speech he said: “I want the name Boussac to stand for only impeccable merchandise,” and also: “I want that when a woman enters a shop, she says upon entering that she wants a ‘Boussac fabric’ and if she is told that there is none, she immediately leaves the shop.”"

"Once again, the intuition of the great Boussac has not faltered: he knows how to immediately recognize the winning horse. Never mind if he is not the originally sought designer. The old Philippe and Gaston house, at the end of its rope, will be closed. A new one will be created in the name of Christian Dior. If he needs his name and independence as the price for success, this exception to the sacred principles of an “empire” becoming liberal will be accepted. The candidate is worth the gamble. For once, Boussac lets it happen, and he will reap gold. Dior will crown the great businessman with the legend of King Midas."

"The factories have reopened; now it remains to organize the supply of raw materials and energy. It is on this second front that the ingenious “intermediary” of twenty-five years old reveals his dynamism. In association with Paul Léderlin and a group of industrialists from the Vosges, he founded the Company for Import and Export of the North and the East, responsible for chartering Norwegian cargo ships, acquiring barges, and procuring the necessary raw materials. Boussac makes his first trip to England. There he buys cotton and coal. From Cardiff, his fleet transports the fuel and cotton to Rouen, which his barges then convey to the Vosges. This operation, once initiated, will be repeated throughout the war."

"These top-tier consultants are required for hours on end to give their opinion on the placement of a button, the size of a lapel, the length of a hem, the height of a pocket, on these thousand and one details whose multifaceted eye of Boussac never ceases to want as long as he has not had the chance to detect “the small flaw.” When luckily he discovers that the thread used to sew the buttons of a coat comes from a different batch than the one used for the topstitching, this detail, to his greatest delight, takes on major proportions and triggers the signal of the rages long since entered into the traditional folklore of his factory or workshop visits!"

"Except for the protagonists, there was no witness that day in the large office on Rue Poissonnière to report how the connection was made between Boussac, fifty-seven years old, at the peak of his power, and Dior, forty-one years old, still waiting for his moment, between the great self-made man and the aesthete converted late in life to work, between the “king of cotton,” who nearly forty years earlier had revolutionized fashion in the countryside and small towns with his fancy cottons, and “the stout gentleman dressed in the neutral colors of a Parisian from Passy”—as Dior describes himself—who proposed to create a selective and exclusive couture house that would bring back to Paris the clientele of elegant women from around the world."

"In the process, and at his scale (which is not yet the same as that of Kuhlman, Motte, and Gillet, alongside whom he almost seems like the poor relative), Boussac attempts to establish himself in Alsace without success; but, on Léderlin’s advice, he pulls off a nice move: the low-cost purchase, in Poland, of a German-manufactured plant under sequestration, Zyrardov, near Warsaw, with 3,000 workers."

"The press is grandly invited to discover the factories from which these wonders come out under the “Boussac guarantee”: 120 French and foreign journalists, first at the Cotonnière de Fives in the North, in April 1953, then 80 in the Vosges in September of the same year, for three days. The traditionally closed Boussac empire opens its doors for the first time. The journalists return raving: “Sumptuous reception where the tact of the host was on par with the immense resources at his disposal. The journalists’ memory will long retain the splendor of the decor. We are not so used in this profession to traveling in a specially equipped railcar, being served a fine dinner, being met by private cars that take you to your hotel room where you are greeted by a bouquet of flowers and a huge box of sweets, and woken up by a “good morning” from the C.I.C. on your breakfast tray with the morning newspaper. Nor to traveling by bus accompanied by a smiling road police composed of guides, engineers, hostesses, and a service of doctors and nurses. One feels like dreaming {{id_0000}}{{id_00001}}!” The journalists also highlight the interest of a fascinating visit that reveals the multiplicity of transformation operations and the strict controls that make it possible to deliver absolutely impeccable fabrics to the clientele. The quality results from precision{{id_0000}}{{id_00001}}.” “It is the most modern industrial group in the world,” declares an American colleague, Mr. Biberman, one of the most important manufacturers in the United States, who adds: “I have not never before seen such efficiency in sewing workshops, such economy of movement, such cleanliness, and such uninterrupted flow in production. France deserves to be congratulated for its enormous industrial effort. For me it’s a revelation *.”"

"How can it be explained that from 1945 to 1970, everyone believed in this paternalism from another era? What is the mystery of its success? Isn’t it surprising that, unlike François Michelin who led a monastic life among his employees, Boussac managed, from a distance and with just an annual visit to his factories, to maintain a level of devotion and loyalty unique in the history of French industry, which withstood all the upheavals of recent years? This feat can be explained by the perfect symbiosis that existed between Boussac and his social director, Jean-Marie Compas. There lies the key to this paternalism, successful because it had a genuine face."

"Boussac had told his cousin André that he was informed of the devaluation a few days before the official announcement and took the opportunity to place continuous purchase orders on foreign exchanges, both in securities and raw materials, for two days. In fact, since the trip that Emmanuel Monick, governor of the Bank of France, took to the United States at Léon Blum’s request to gauge President Roosevelt’s reactions, and especially after the enthusiastic telegram, quickly leaked, that he sent to the President of the Council after their meeting, the devaluation had become an open secret. Many speculators were able to take advantage of the information."

"Moreover, if tempted by women, he becomes even more passionate about horses. From 1914, he associates with Count Gaston de Castelbajac, with whom he has become friends, and who owns a small stud farm located near Orbec in Normandy with eight broodmares. Boussac is interested in breeding, but the war does not yet allow for the creation of a stable. Most of the yearlings from Orbec are sent to the Saratoga sales (U.S.A.), as strange as the venture might seem given the risks of the crossing."

"Independent, powerful, sole master on board, Boussac created an industrial group whose turnover reached in 1931 [3](private://read/01jjdy9maqdsy9c2bv37rfja01/#bookmark3) 428 million francs, equivalent to 520 million francs today. In 1977, the turnover of the same group will be only slightly higher at 750 million. This measures the size already achieved in the early 1930s by the Boussac empire. It would quadruple, but first, its founder would have to face the most critical phase of his ascent."

"Or Boussac, instead of following the path set by Christian Dior himself, decides to entrust his succession to the team as a whole. Did he fear that Yves Saint-Laurent’s youth would deprive him of sufficient experience? “Saint-Laurent, young! He’s a year older than I was when I started,” he would retort later. Nevertheless, he himself drafted the following statement: “The future of the house will be assured by those whom Christian Dior himself had put in place: the studio will be led by Mrs. Zenacker, the technical direction of couture will still be ensured by the great technician Mrs. Bricard. All designs will be executed under the responsibility of Yves Saint-Laurent, Christian Dior’s favorite disciple.”"

"Then burning what he loved the day before, the shadow, the secrecy, Boussac fully commits to advertising. It makes all its products known under the brands “Loveline” (stabilized poplin), “Lava-clor” (luxury gingham and zephyrs), “Tissgar” (handkerchiefs), “Roma-nex” (upholstery fabrics), “Noveltex” (shirts), “Blizzand” (raincoats). According to the manager Robert Leduc, advertising costs several billion old francs per year. At that time, Boussac was the biggest advertiser in France, taking 130 pages of “placards” in the magazine Elle throughout the year, and up to sixteen pages in an issue of Jardin des Modes. The budget of Rhône-Poulenc in comparison was a quarter of that of Boussac. The king of cotton becomes intoxicated with the guarantee and works with his laboratories and factories so that all his fabrics deserve to bear the label. Only the personal approval of the boss gives these their mark of nobility."

"Boussac told me: “The most extraordinary impression of my life was seeing her on stage for the first time. Before knowing her, I admit, I had never set foot in the Opera. Since then, I have gone to see her sing as often as I could. It was a marvel for me.” The same seat is always reserved for him in the third row of the orchestra. Even before the performance, he will have sent a token of his thoughts to the great artist. When she enters her dressing room, she finds her vanity decorated with a garland of roses in graded tones by the florist Moreux. Before going on stage, she receives a bouquet of purple or white orchids. More than twenty years will pass, and nothing will change this ritual. To be sure of always being able to offer this variety with its ephemeral flowering, the admirer will install greenhouses on one of his properties. He will cultivate 5,000 plants from which, throughout the year, the favorite flowers of Fanny Heldy will bloom in turn. The wealthy industrialist has settled his divine singer in an apartment at 76y avenue du Bois, just a few meters from his own. Every morning, early, they go horseback riding together. “So passionate about this sport,” Boussac told me, “that she wanted to get her jockey’s license. I would not have wanted her to race. I was afraid for her safety.” This morning gallop is not enough to keep the young woman in shape: an hour of daily physical training maintains her perfect physique. She practices tennis, golf, rowing, and skiing with equal enthusiasm. Will one lifetime be enough for this fiery nature that innocently devours all the joys of the earth? The frenzy in sports, the dizziness of speed are quite a pleasure. But what exquisite nostalgia is not inspired in her by those walks in her dashing convertible, her idle victoria, or in her American car that she drives herself! The Bois de Boulogne, with its intricate meanders, once crisscrossed by carriages, the great parade ground, the meeting place of a lively and frivolous world, the kingdom of carefree wealthy idlers and young women — daredevils, courtesans — delighted to display their tastefully showy luxury, is now but a disenchanted shadow of its past. However, one can still glimpse a few ghostly riders and rare carriages, ghosts of the Belle Epoque, indifferent to the passage and the drabness of time. The great garden still sees Boni de Castellane in his ceremonious frock coat, the handsome Robert de Lesseps, who seems to have stepped out of an English engraving, and the Countess Pillet-Will playing Diana the huntress. And along Avenue des Acacias, which has remained the meeting place of regulars since the time it supplanted the tour of the lake, when Mlle Fanny Heldy parades in her brilliant carriage, one believes that for a moment the Bois of the time of hand-kisses and hat-tips, of subtle banter and charming encounters comes alive. What an attractive spectacle the sleek line of her convertible and her team is, with leader in boots with cuffs and a cape with silk tassels, whose richness and elegance are unrivaled while their passenger outshines any other beauty!"

"fortune continued to favor him because, even before he started looking for a location, someone happened to inform him that the small hotel at 30 Avenue Montaigne was for rent. Now, Christian Dior had always dreamed of settling there: “In a city as vast as Paris, only one suited me: the one I had, without knowing it, described to Boussac. Indeed, many years before this decisive conversation, I had stopped in front of two small adjoining hotels on Avenue Montaigne, 28 and 30. I praised their small proportions, sober elegance, without too overwhelming a ‘pedigree’… It had to be 30, Avenue Montaigne.”"

"For Dior was born purely by chance, and quite fortuitously, in the street! Yes, it was in the street that this whole story played out: from a simple encounter began the reconquest of a famous avenue, the Seventh Avenue in New York, where Parisian couturiers, cut off from America for five years, had completely lost ground. The miracle of Paris’s resurrection as the fashion capital will arise from a few words exchanged and a few steps taken together by two figures on the sidewalks of rue Saint-Florentin, where Boussac owns a modest and faded couture house; from rue Royale where lives a respectable but… BO^OU^^^^U^JBOUSSAÇ. an obscure designer from Lelong, Christian Dior; and from rue Saint-Honoré, which crosses the two previous streets and that Dior takes every day to get to work."

"But what Boussac dedicates to donations, other companies incorporate into compensation (bonuses based on productivity, etc.). For, although it does not pay poorly, it does not pay well either. The company has always adhered to the principle of aligning its salaries with the regional norm. Nevertheless, one can only observe the extraordinary effectiveness of the father’s policy: “The pay is not high at Boussac, but admit that 116 francs per month is not expensive for comfortable housing with a garden, basement, and garage,” is regularly heard."

"Without these initiatives questioning Jacques Rouët’s management, Boussac becomes more involved in the life of the great house. He decides to give the direction of fur to Frédéric Castet, although his resignation had been accepted by the London boutique where he was in charge of ready-to-wear, an area Boussac has always looked down upon: “You had harnessed a thoroughbred to a cart,” he says. He orders certain renovation works, encourages those with problems to come and talk to him, etc. Dior has become his favorite child."

"Yet, as strange as it may seem, Boussac is not interested in figures—here at least. The pleasure he derives from Dior’s success, on an intellectual and aesthetic level, is far greater than what financial results can offer him. Dior achieved his victory in a single stroke and Boussac found in the brilliance of this triumph a repetition of his own experience, fixed in his memory as the success of a striking idea. Dior’s example confirms his theory of success, according to the image he cherishes of grand watchmaking: if all the parts of the mechanism are perfectly in place, if all the gears have been meticulously adjusted, if the mechanism has been meticulously checked, then success is inevitable. And if, when all these conditions are met, chance also allows you to arrive at the right moment, you must know to bet everything on that moment. This is what Dior did by focusing “on the smallest detail,” as Boussac notes: he had everything in place, he"

"Yet, as strange as it may seem, Boussac is not interested in figures—here at least. The pleasure he derives from Dior’s success, on an intellectual and aesthetic level, is far greater than what financial results can offer him. Dior achieved his victory in a single stroke and Boussac found in the brilliance of this triumph a repetition of his own experience, fixed in his memory as the success of a striking idea. Dior’s example confirms his theory of success, according to the image he cherishes of grand watchmaking: if all the parts of the mechanism are perfectly in place, if all the gears have been meticulously adjusted, if the mechanism has been meticulously checked, then success is inevitable. And if, when all these conditions are met, chance also allows you to arrive at the right moment, you must know to bet everything on that moment. This is what Dior did by focusing “on the smallest detail,” as Boussac notes: he had everything in place, he HELLO, MR. BOUSSAC^ made a big impact and was there at the right time — just when, in fashion, everything was ripe for change. Dior is the perfect example of the “Boussac guarantee” success."

"Pater familias in the Roman sense of the term, Boussac has so far enlarged his house by drawing from his connections or by hiring a relative or friend duly recommended. This is true at all levels of his business. As a rule, he trusts people whose father he has known: thus the son of Pierre Forgeot is engaged in the advertising department; the son of his friend, Senator Etienne Dailly, is at the head of the agricultural operations dependent on Mivoisin, and the son of Pierre-Etienne Flandin, Rémi, is appointed director of the Rousseau establishments."

"“Beauty,” he said, “suffers no error. Beauty exists only if it is impeccable.” For the fashion mogul, creation is an assembly of details that, down to the most minute of them, have been the subject of meticulous care. Beauty is the perfection of the work. Boussac, deep down, regardless of his fascinations, the question marks that haunt him, does not believe in genius!"

"Certainly, Boussac learns quickly, remembers everything, leaves nothing to chance, goes to the bottom of things, and sees rightly. A will that nothing can bend remains his surest talisman nevertheless. Millionaire and powerful, how many dreams buried in his silent adolescence does he still have to fulfill!"

"If Boussac is a strict father with his executives, he shows the kindness of a grandfather towards his workers, and his attachment to his staff is all the greater as the beneficiaries hold a lower rank in the hierarchy. “My role is to be a creator of jobs, my vocation is to employ people,” he said. The workforce increased from 10,000 at the end of the war to 21,000 in 1955. It remained stable at this number until 1970."

"If his rise had illustrated the principle: “to govern is to foresee,” the principle of his golden age might be expressed as: to govern is to control everything. Success for Boussac, who always uses the imagery of clockwork to define it, comes from the perfect assembly of a multitude of gears."

"But what Boussac dedicates to donations, other companies incorporate into compensation (bonuses based on productivity, etc.). For, although it does not pay poorly, it does not pay well either. The company has always adhered to the principle of aligning its salaries with the regional norm. Nevertheless, one can only observe the extraordinary effectiveness of the father’s policy: “The pay is not high at Boussac, but admit that 116 francs per month is not expensive for comfortable housing with a garden, basement, and garage,” is regularly heard."

"Boussac is ill at ease with an overly visible image: vulnerable to criticisms, indiscretions, and demands. Remaining as secret as possible: this is the condition for independence."

"Fayol envisions things on a grand scale and knows remarkably well how to express them. This gift of “dimensioning” this aggregate of small textile businesses into an empire on which it seems the sun never sets, and the Louis XIV-like perspective he casts on it, provides Boussac with an ideal mirror."

"How can it be explained that from 1945 to 1970, everyone believed in this paternalism from another era? What is the mystery of its success? Isn’t it surprising that, unlike François Michelin who led a monastic life among his employees, Boussac managed, from a distance and with just an annual visit to his factories, to maintain a level of devotion and loyalty unique in the history of French industry, which withstood all the upheavals of recent years? This feat can be explained by the perfect symbiosis that existed between Boussac and his social director, Jean-Marie Compas. There lies the key to this paternalism, successful because it had a genuine face."

"It is a trait of Boussac to have a constant need for interlocutors. Fayol and he thus converse for entire hours just as much if not more about the economic situation and ongoing issues with the C.N.P.F. 1 than"

"However, Boussac is perfectly comfortable with the structure implemented by Fayol: the hierarchical organization, divided by geographical sectors and product sectors, reminiscent of ministerial organizational charts, does not seem dangerous to him. He fully approves of the recruitment choices: the spirit of order and obedience characteristic of state officials and their reputation as unadventurous managers are unlikely to introduce significant upheavals in his business."

"No more than rest, he doesn’t need good meals. He has lunch on a corner of his desk with two lamb chops that arrive at the same time as him, in the morning, from Neuilly, in an iron container that the chauffeur, wearing white gloves, is tasked with carefully bringing to the person responsible for grilling them at the appropriate time, on a stove intended for this use. Boussac finishes this meal in a quarter of an hour with a biscuit accompanied by a spoonful of Mivoisin jam, stored in a jar that he goes to fetch himself from a shelf in his cupboard. This jam is reserved for him. If he happens to receive someone during his lunch, he always takes care to offer a jar of another kind to the guest, who generally knows that it is polite to refuse. One is not there to waste time."

"Boussac recalls: “Everything had been prepared in the utmost secrecy, and the day before the first presentation of the collection, I returned home in the evening to Neuilly and saw in the entrance a bouquet of remarkable composition made of white and black orchids. It had been sent by Christian Dior. I had never seen a bouquet so beautiful. I went up to Mrs. Boussac’s apartment and said to her, ‘Don’t worry about tomorrow, there is not a florist in the world capable of making a bouquet as beautiful as the one I just saw. From now on, I am sure it will be an immense success.’”"

"Two operations revealing his plans took place that year: the capital of the C.I.C. saw its first increase since its creation. From 10 million, it was raised to 50, on July 26, 1943. Boussac, the only shareholder to use his subscription rights, was more than the majority, with 77,420 shares out of a total of 80,000, the rest"

"We know Boussac’s ideas on beauty and perfection. There is no doubt that he found immediate agreement with Dior on this point. As crucial as it is, we might be surprised to see the birth of the only venture that contradicts the strong reputation of the autocrat and remains the only example of trust the industrialist placed in someone other than himself."

"Boussac has always made great use of lawyers. His career has been marked by a good number of lawsuits. He is a Frenchman from the deep province, a landowner who reveres his judges and venerates the law. No quibble repels him. He is litigious by nature and consults extensively, “to the point of nitpicking,” say those exasperated by his prodigious ability to endlessly revisit the same comma of the same article of the Code. The businessman thus happily draws on this nursery of lawyers who populate the corridors of power."

"“I have too much respect for freedom,” he said, “to create organizations that my staff would be obliged to join.” There is no company union at Boussac, no union at all or very little, during this great era, barely 10% unionization. What need is there for a union when the boss takes care of everything? “The policy was to hold everything in order to offer better, or from a different perspective, to offer everything to hold better [4](private://read/01jjdy9maqdsy9c2bv37rfja01/#bookmark6) [5](private://read/01jjdy9maqdsy9c2bv37rfja01/#bookmark7).” The staff will recognize themselves as “emboussaqué”: a rather rare neologism in the history of French paternalism."

"Another key—and not the least—of success: integration, that is, bringing together all decision-making into one hand: from spinning to the client. At the time when he was just a “factory shipper,” Boussac understood the cost of lost time, overheads, and ultimately the inefficiency of industrial compartmentalization. At the end of the war, he bought out manufacturers’ businesses exhausted from working on order, without possibilities for expansion. Welding the links of the chain is the certainty of producing faster, at lower costs, and therefore at unbeatable prices. Boussac is already a spinner, weaver, wholesaler, and retailer with the Toile-d’avion. He now aims for garment making."

"And the Germans did not insist further. Boussac never handed over the papers and never acknowledged the lineage of Pharis born during the Occupation, even if this intransigence was to his disadvantage. At the end of the war, in May 1945, Pharis was returned to him from the stud farms of the Reich by General Patton’s armies, in a special van, on the orders of Winston Churchill’s staff and under the guidance of his friend, Lord Granard, an officer of the R.A.F. Boussac also recovered the offspring of his champion born in captivity: all the horses were “discriminated” on a list “A,” barring them from entering racecourses. The owner did not even make an exception for one of them, a truly gifted horse signed “Pharis”: this horse nicknamed “the Boche” was used to train other horses of its breed, but it never set foot on the turf."

"It goes without saying that the young “wolf” eager to have a beautiful industrial tool takes advantage of the dogmas coming from the United States with the American army: rationalization and productivity. Circumstances have offered him exceptional opportunities. He seized them. Here he is taking the lead in the movement from which modern industry will be born, a movement with a double impact: on the workforce, better employed and therefore more productive; on machines whose improvement must be incessant. In these two directions, Boussac outpaces his competitors, at the cost of an “on-the-job” action whose meticulousness borders on obsessiveness."

"Remarkable master of his luck, Boussac had bet on inflation, which always stimulates business. The victory of the Popular Front made him win his bet. His industrial establishment remained at the mercy of a restrictive policy. When Léon Blum lifted the mortgage of stagnation, a new critical milestone was reached by the one who was beginning to be called the king of cotton. With a devalued franc and more competitive for export, heightened domestic demand brought by the forty-hour workweek, new wage agreements, and paid vacations, the floodgates reopened for his factories where he took the risk of overstocking."

"Boussac applies not only a scientific but also an industrial approach: his investments as a breeder are those of a business leader."

"In the aftermath of the war, therefore, Boussac laid the foundations of what would become his empire. He owns twelve factories in the Vosges, directly employs 3,000 workers, spinners, and weavers, and, as a reseller, he employs as many outside workers. The purchase of the Polish manufacturing plant instantly doubles his own capacities. Fine dividends of victory collected by the Comptoir de l’industrie cotonnière, a holding company he founded with remarkable foresight in 1917!"

"Boussac buys back, under very favorable conditions, twelve textile companies which he acquires for the commonly cited sum of 1.2 million francs."

"Like all athletes, boxers, cyclists capable of sustaining prolonged effort, but also like those great impassive figures, self-mastered, Napoleon, General de Gaulle, Boussac has a slow-beating pulse. He belongs to the race of men of the last quarter-hour. Built for conquest, with iron health, Herculean energy, and an inflexible character, he knows he was born for victory. When it happens, why should he be moved? But while the heart remains cold in the face of triumph, the mind that conceived everything, planned everything, surely does not remain indifferent. In these victories, what part is luck, the merit of personal intuition, or the value of the advice received?"

"turning a hypothesis (payment by Germany) into a certainty, these two ministers—whom Boussac has learned to cultivate and is said to be also connected with Klotz—steer the government towards unlimited compensation."

"During the years when Boussac and Léderlin will get along like twin brothers, they will never part, sharing everything: business, cars, and, according to gossip, women. It is still the time when traders endure the dictatorship of manufacturers."

"Boussac then assigns Henri Jacquemin, who recounted it to me—a former employee of Léderlin, “poached” with his blessing—to visit each of the factories one by one. Circulating if necessary through the lines of the French armies, he will present manufacturers with the following deal: “You are offered to reopen your factories. You will be supplied with equipment and orders. Do you agree to resume manufacturing under these conditions?” The responses do not take long."

"Textile Hoarding.” Noting that “never, at any time and at any era, was a cotton company founded with such a large capital,” Boussac is presented as a henchman of Laederich and Léderlin: “The war, with its needs, offered the alliance of Mr. Laederich and Mr. Léderlin immense horizons. Companies needed to be founded to monopolize textiles, companies that would devour small industrialists and small manufacturers for the benefit of a trust.”"

"he envisions the opportunities opened by the colonial market: blacks for Indochina, indigo, boubous for Africa, and considers launching dyed fabrics for upholstery, Boussac realizes that his dyeing capacities barely suffice to handle his own weaves. In short, the young wolf is burning with impatience to have free rein in this sector. But to achieve this, he must confront a formidable opponent!"

"The production tool will soon attest to the extraordinary productivity of methods that have the originality of combining modernization with the spirit of the small business. Since there has been a textile industry, performance there has depended on the skill of its workforce. Boussac wanted to go further by giving the human gesture a quality, an almost scientific precision. He succeeded in rationalizing that indefinable talent that is know-how. At the same time, against the grain of an era that pushes towards the fragmentation of tasks and the decline of responsibility in work, he managed to instill in his staff a taste for a job well done, the demand for perfection. Reviving the spirit of companionship—honor of fine craftsmanship—the young entrepreneur knew how to transplant craftsmanship to the scale of large industry."

"Boussac finds it hard to endure the obstacle to his growth represented by Léderlin’s de facto monopoly on bleaching and dyeing. In the pyramid of his integrated structure—from spinning to the item in the shop window—it’s the level where his development is hindered. Only his Moyenmoutier factory includes a bleaching and dyeing unit, which existed at the time of the company’s acquisition."

"The driving forces are named: speed, new energies, consumer frenzy. Aviation inflames imaginations. Boussac launches these magic words: the “airplane canvas.”"

"And yet the retailers remain too timid for his taste. They do not seem to anticipate the latent demand from the public quickly enough. His representatives sometimes struggle to convince them. No matter, Boussac establishes himself as a retailer. Buying a chain of five Parisian stores under the name “Le Pauvre Jacques,” he renames it with the airy title “A la Toile d’avion,” and thereafter sells his shirts, blouses, and pajamas in shocking quantities and at astonishing prices."

"“I am giving you a fine tool,” he said to the stable director he was hiring, “I hope you know how to use it.” Mr. de Saint-Alary, another owner, had warned the candidate: “You are joining Boussac? I wish you much pleasure! You stay for three years, then you are thanked.” The stable director “held on” for more than forty years, not without having to “learn his trade” (Boussac’s favorite formula) from the master himself, who intends to teach everyone: blacksmiths, veterinarians, jockeys, trainers, et"

"veral converging indications support the thesis of the simple “carrying” by the banks[6](private://read/01jjdy9maqdsy9c2bv37rfja01/#bookmark7). This leads to the conclusion that Boussac had gathered during two and a half years of war the necessary resources to finance almost all the capital of his first company (with the restriction that in 1917 he was only required to pay a quarter of the subscribed shares, as in all public limited companies). This measures both the importance of the activity he deployed and the profits he drew from it. He was twenty-eight years old!"

"The talent lies in knowing how to transform an obstacle into an opportunity. Aircraft fabric is a material not only of legendary strength but with enough flexibility and lightness to serve as the ideal material for making clothing items… Such is at least the idea that arises in Boussac’s mind, the spark, the stroke of genius!"

"The weaving mills produce millions of meters of cotton flannel, cotton tennis, cretonne, and twill that will be transformed in garment workshops into jackets — the twill vest worn during drills — shirts, shorts, satchel cases, and gas masks. The factories produce in quantity a fabric designed to clothe the wooden wings of the nascent aviation and observation balloons. The linen thread formerly used for aircraft fabric becoming scarce, Boussac invents a cotton fabric made with special twisted yarns, which is adopted by English manufacturers."

"He bought or acquired shares in about fifty companies throughout France. Boussac closely observed this fabulous venture because Léderlin became enamored with him. Alongside industrial lessons or initiation into paternalism, the bright neophyte refined his education in many other areas."

"However, the spinners in the Vosges work much more cheaply. Now, the young Boussac realized how much the first collection he prepared for his father was appreciated: fabrics intended for women’s clothing, in light colors, with more fantasy than was previously accepted. At that time, provincial women still dressed in black, navy blue, dark brown and wore undergarments, petticoats, corset covers, knickers in calico or thick cretonne. Men of modest means wore shirts in stiff shirting or madapolam. The frills, silk, taffeta, ribbons, and seductive undergarments remained the privilege of the fashionable in high society. The villages and even the towns and cities were populated with dark silhouettes dressed in toned-down colors. Why not make more attractive attire accessible to all women? Why not expand the fantasy inspired by Roanne fabrics? And if the Vosges produce more cheaply, why not manufacture the same items in the Vosges?"

"Boussac then assigns Henri Jacquemin, who recounted it to me—a former employee of Léderlin, “poached” with his blessing—to visit each of the factories one by one. Circulating if necessary through the lines of the French armies, he will present manufacturers with the following deal: “You are offered to reopen your factories. You will be supplied with equipment and orders. Do you agree to resume manufacturing under these conditions?” The responses do not take long."

"Boussac acquires the friendship of two influential figures: René Laederich, who is at the head of a large spinning and weaving business, and Paul Léderlin, who has just succeeded his father as the director of the most important bleaching and dyeing company in the Vosges. About twenty years his seniors, they will become allies and one of them a partner. Under their protective wing, the novice penetrates the intricacies of the trade, becomes familiar with the different phases of production—he undergoes internships with each of them—and learns to mingle with important people. It is at their school that he perfects his training. From these models, he will draw inspiration when he himself becomes a Vosgian boss."

"— We must address this issue without delay because the resellers are using our name without us having any control. — It’s a sign that our fabric sales are doing well! What are you complaining about? — We are starting to sell anything and everything under the name “Boussac.” Since the public attributes market control of cotton goods to us, as soon as a seller has difficulty selling a fabric, all they have to say is: “It’s ‘Boussac’!” — How can we protect our products against these abuses? — By putting a guarantee label on everything we produce ourselves. — “Boussac Guarantee” alright, that cuts short any fraud attempts. — But we can’t stop there. This commits us to defend and promote this guarantee to the public for whom these two words mean nothing today. Then, the big boss has a revelation as decisive as those that previously led him to dress women in colors or to clothe the French in airplane fabric: — Fayol, you’ve won. But we will need to push manufacturing checks further because I want this guarantee to focus on a slogan, “Satisfied or refunded.” If he immediately embraces Fayol’s proposal, it’s because the “Boussac guarantee” represents the popular recognition of his work. The idea of signing his name on his products and pairing this contract with a refund guarantee also fully aligns with the idea he has of his responsibility as a business leader towards the public. He knows he is powerful enough to take on that risk."

"Thus Boussac undertakes a task that over the years he will tirelessly pursue, to endow his products with an undisputed reputation for quality. The goal he had set for himself was known: the best product at the lowest possible price. The methods he was going to implement to adjust his production apparatus were still unknown: draconian. It was a real war against inattention and nonchalance that he was going to wage, with the determination and stubbornness that characterized him, to instill in his staff a sense of perfection."

"Thanks to him, French breeding acquired its highest titles of nobility. In 1950, out of ten stallions purchased in Europe by American thoroughbred breeders, nine were French compared to one English. This was the reverse proportion of that observed before the war. Among these nine French horses, eight (including two, Ambiorix and Ardan, which alone were sold for 625,000 dollars, or about 220 million francs at the time) bore the orange silks, gray cap of the Boussac stable. This reversal of statistics, although less spectacular than the record of his victories, is an unrivaled performance in the world of racing. One buys from Boussac as from perpetual income. There is no mystery to such success. When the English ask him 1: “What is your secret?” he replies: “In breeding as in everything, it is work. And I would only add that experience proves that the work that yields the best results is the work done with passion.”"

"To his cousin André, who asks him why he always rushes to his jockey at the end of the event, he answers: “Because it’s in the fifteen seconds following the race that a jockey tells you exactly how it went. A few minutes later, he will have had time to concoct a completely different story.” Success is there to prove him right. Boussac carries success with great confidence. No one would dare to challenge his credit. He is one of those to whom, at twenty as at sixty, authority fits like a glove."

"Manufacturers begin to offer him privileged commercial terms. Boussac himself practices a strict selection process. For instance, he only buys his yarn from Peters in Nomexy, as he is assured of perfect merchandise from them."

"Quickly: conquer all this. Eager to get to work, he begins by learning his father’s trade. He is soon tasked with visiting the clients. “When I started working for my father,” he told me, “I would leave with a horse-drawn carriage to present his fabric samples and take orders from his resellers throughout the region. Sometimes the distances were long. At that time, the roads were dusty, so I always made sure to bring a spare shirt and a shoe polish box with a shoe brush to never present myself to a client in less than perfect attire.”"

"Boussac intends to wield influence without being subjected to the constraints of opinion. He probably also fears that his image could be tarnished by the fallout of certain wartime events. Thus, he cautiously advances on the perhaps mined field of notoriety. In doing so, he lets a myth develop around his persona and will intervene with caution in shaping its outline, before accepting, once his fears are calmed, the emergence of his name into the limelight."

"Boussac has a passion for the concrete. Between two factories, one working well, the other poorly, the difference, in his eyes, lies in 50 details neglected by the managers of the latter. And he doesn’t mince his words to let them know."

"But this triumphant gamble led to Boussac, the textile king, having a certain fixed mindset about fashion. From now on, he would think it was dictated by the designer and that he was the only inventor. The “street” only follows what is “the right creation.” Another event he often cited to support his thesis is that of Brigitte Bardot: “To give you an example, when Brigitte Bardot wore a gingham checkered white and pink wedding dress a few years later, we suddenly saw thousands of women in the street wearing outfits and blouses in small checkered gingham. That’s how fashion is created.”"

"A cartoon published in an English newspaper depicts Boussac high in the sky, reaching out of his plane to grab his prize: “Flying Boussac falls from the sky and grabs the fifteen thousand pounds [2](private://read/01jjdy9maqdsy9c2bv37rfja01/#bookmark2).” Boussac scandalizes the English. He seems to treat business as a game and manages to make money by engaging in sports."

"This was somewhat what Boussac did not like about Saint-Laurent. He believed “there was always too much black in his collections.” A man of classic, measured, tasteful tradition, Boussac found himself more in harmony with Bohan’s watercolor palette, an interpreter of gentle and carefree femininity, in the charming style of Watteau’s galant festivities or the boating parties of the Bougival painter. Saint-Laurent’s palette, darker and deeper, tinged with Nordic mists like Whistler, and full of Orientalist reminiscences, with exotic scents of musk and opium, expressed for him a woman whose perfume was too laden with modernity."