C.I.C.

"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?”⁠"

"“Mr. Boussac trusted me, he gave me freedom, he provided me with the means. He only asked me twice for the budget report. When I exceeded a billion centimes, he looked at me and said: ‘I leave that to the judgment of your conscience,’” recounts Jean-Marie Compas. The most beautiful factories, the most beautiful social achievements, those were the best days: the grand officiant of the ‘Boussac’ religion, inviting the family around the holy table, celebrated the miracle of help that comes from above. Thanks to his vicar, ‘Saint Marcel’ watched over everyone. Thus, he ensured the loyalty of this peaceful little world centered on its school, its nursery, the castle and the pond, where the noises of the city reach only muffled and which joins in the calm of the Vosges countryside the marvelous paradise of the Fortune of Gaspard by the Countess of Ségur. Confident in the solidity of the human instrument, Boussac has free hands to strengthen his power in the financial field, increasing his control and independence according to the same principles, and adding a specific objective: to remain invisible from the outside. To get rid of the oversight rights of both the staff, the public, and the state over his management, he will set up a mechanism that will make him the solitary holder of the secret of his accounts. He undertakes an operation probably unique in the history of companies. On January 20, 1947, in an extraordinary general meeting, the C.I.C., a public limited company, parent of the group, created in 1917, abandons the status of PLC for that of a limited liability company."

"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?”"

"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 *.”"

"As long as logistics follow, the leader, assured of his back, can leisurely fine-tune his strategy. As early as 1943, Marcel Boussac had his companies ready for the day of the “recovery.” Just as in January 1917, he had created the company endowed with this important capital, the C.I.C., which was supposed to allow him, when the time came, to buy out businesses that emerged bloodless from the war, he provided himself, as early as the summer of 1943, with all the “ammunition” he might need to cross a new threshold in his growth."

"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"