Fayol

"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:"

"— 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."

"“— Are you considering taking Christian Dior? What impression did he make on you? “— I’m not taking him for the Philippe and Gaston house. “— Why? replied Fayol, surprised, almost worried. “Because I believe he is not made to take over a small house. He needs to create under his own name. So, I have to choose: do I want to create only businesses that bear my name, or does this boy have enough talent for us to consider it? I feel he deserves this chance."

"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."

"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"

"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."