(eBook PDF) Marketing Communications: A European

Perspective 5rd Edition pdf download

https://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-marketing-
communications-a-european-perspective-5rd-edition/

Download more ebook from https://ebooksecure.com

We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click
the link to download now, or visit ebooksecure.com
to discover even more!

(eBook PDF) Marketing Communications : An advertising,

promotion and branding perspective

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-marketing-
communications-an-advertising-promotion-and-branding-perspective/

Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing

Communications Perspective - eBook PDF

https://ebooksecure.com/download/advertising-and-promotion-an-
integrated-marketing-communications-perspective-ebook-pdf/

(eBook PDF) Advertising: An Integrated Marketing

Communications Perspective 4th Australian Edition

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-advertising-an-
integrated-marketing-communications-perspective-4th-australian-
edition/

Advertising & Promotion: An Integrated Marketing

Communications Perspective 1st Edition - eBook PDF

https://ebooksecure.com/download/advertising-promotion-an-
integrated-marketing-communications-perspective-ebook-pdf/
(eBook PDF) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated
Marketing Communications Perspective 11th Edition

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-advertising-and-
promotion-an-integrated-marketing-communications-
perspective-11th-edition/

(eBook PDF) Macroeconomics A European Perspective 3th

by Olivier

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-macroeconomics-a-
european-perspective-3th-by-olivier/

(eBook PDF) Strategic Brand Management: A European

Perspective 2nd Edition

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-strategic-brand-
management-a-european-perspective-2nd-edition/

(eBook PDF) Financial Markets and Institutions: A

European Perspective 3rd Edition

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-financial-markets-and-
institutions-a-european-perspective-3rd-edition/

(eBook PDF) Advertising and Promotion An Integrated

Marketing Communications Perspective 6th Canadian
Edition by Belch

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-advertising-and-
promotion-an-integrated-marketing-communications-perspective-6th-
canadian-edition-by-belch/
 Marketing Communications
Marketing Fifth Edition
Marketing Fifth Edition
Communications
A European Perspective
Communications
Patrick De Pelsmacker Maggie Geuens Joeri Van Den Bergh A European Perspective
Patrick De Pelsmacker Maggie Geuens Joeri Van Den Bergh
Marketing Communications: A European Perspective is the perfect
resource for European students of marketing communications.
Providing an extensive overview of the key concepts, techniques and
applications of the field within a European context, it offers a fresh and
comprehensive introduction to the discipline.

The book covers all elements of the communications mix, including

advertising, public relations, sponsorship, brand activation, direct marketing
and exhibitions. This thoroughly updated fifth edition covers all the modern
developments in the field, constantly relating them to the contemporary
European context. A hugely diverse range of products and brands, from
Samsung and Speedo to Angry Birds and Abercrombie & Fitch, is covered.
Fifth
Edition

The book is suitable for both undergraduate and

and Van Den Bergh

De Pelsmacker, Geuens
postgraduate students of marketing communications.

About the authors

Patrick De Pelsmacker is Professor of Marketing at the University of
Antwerp and part-time Professor of Marketing at Ghent University.
Maggie Geuens is Professor of Marketing at Ghent University and
affiliated researcher at the Vlerick Business School.
Joeri Van den Bergh is co-founder, managing partner and Gen Y
expert of InSites Consulting, a global research agency, and author of
How Cool Brands Stay Hot.

www.pearson-books.com

CVR_DEPE3221_05_SE_CVR.indd 1 22/05/2013 09:11

 CONTENTS
About the authors xi Further reading 64
Preface xiii Case 2: Barco, projecting the magic 64
Authors’ acknowledgements xvi References 69
Publisher’s acknowledgements xvii
List of acronyms xx
3 How marketing
communications work 72
1 Integrated communications 1
Chapter outline 72
Chapter outline 1 Chapter objectives 72
Chapter objectives 1 Introduction 73
Introduction 2 Hierarchy-of-effects models 73
Marketing and the instruments of the Attitude formation and change 76
marketing mix 2 High elaboration likelihood, cognitive attitude
The communications mix 4 formation 84
Integration of marketing communications 6 Low elaboration likelihood, cognitive attitude
Integrating marketing communications formation 92
across cultures 10 High elaboration likelihood, affective attitude
Standardisation or adaptation 11 formation 94
Integration of corporate communications 16 Low elaboration likelihood, affective attitude
Factors leading to integrated marketing and formation 95
corporate communications 22 High elaboration likelihood, behavioural attitude
Levels of integration 25 formation 99
Barriers to integrated communications 26 Low elaboration likelihood, behavioural attitude
The integrated communications plan 28 formation 101
Summary 29 Causes and consequences of irritation evoked
Review questions 29 by advertising 102
Further reading 30 Advertising and brand confusion 105
Case 1: Walking the walk: how Walkers proved Summary 106
it can make any sandwich more exciting 30 Review questions 107
References 36 Further reading 107
Case 3: Club Med: a ‘true creator of happiness’
fights non-consideration 108
2 Branding 38 References 114

Chapter outline 38
Chapter objectives 38 4 Target groups 120
Introduction 39
Brands 39 Chapter outline 120
Successful brands 42 Chapter objectives 120
Brand strategies 45 Introduction 121
Brand portfolio 51 The segmenting–targeting–positioning
Brand equity 52 framework 121
Benefits of branding 58 Market segmentation 122
Marketing communications and brand equity 60 Requirements for effective segmentation 134
Summary 63 Positioning 138
Review questions 63 Summary 145

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd vii 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 viii CONTENTS

Review questions 145 Summary 238

Further reading 145 Review questions 239
Case 4: The ‘Ex-smokers are Unstoppable’ Further reading 239
campaign across 27 European Union countries 146 Case 7: L’Oréal’s Biotherm and Biotherm Homme:
References 151 a global brand of skin care products 240
References 245

5 Objectives 154
8 Media planning 251
Chapter outline 154
Chapter objectives 154 Chapter outline 251
Introduction 155 Chapter objectives 251
Marketing communications objectives 155 Introduction 252
Stages in the product life cycle and marketing The media planning process 252
communications objectives 168 Media objectives 253
Consumer choice situations and marketing Selecting media 264
communications objectives 171 Media context 275
Summary 173 Summary 280
Review questions 173 Review questions 280
Further reading 174 Further reading 280
Case 5: Yellow Pages: an old-fashioned brand Case 8: Maes: a challenger brand with more
that is revived through a ground-breaking character 281
campaign 174 References 286
References 181

9 Advertising research 289

6 Budgets 182
Chapter outline 289
Chapter outline 182 Chapter objectives 289
Chapter objectives 182 Introduction 290
Introduction 183 Strategic advertising planning and the role
How the communications budget affects sales 183 of research 290
Communications budgeting methods 186 Strategic advertising research 291
Factors influencing budgets 193 Pre-testing of advertising 293
Budgeting for new brands or products 194 Post-testing of advertising 301
Summary 195 Advertising campaign evaluation research 304
Review questions 195 Summary 311
Further reading 196 Review questions 311
Case 6: Budgeting in the automobile industry 196 Further reading 311
References 201 Case 9: Win for Life: reviving and repositioning
a scratch game 312
References 316
7 Advertising 202

Chapter outline 202 10 Public relations 317

Chapter objectives 202
Introduction 203 Chapter outline 317
Types of advertising 203 Chapter objectives 317
Campaign development 205 Introduction 318
Message strategy 206 Public relations as a communications tool 318
Creative idea 209 Target groups, objectives and tasks 322
Creative appeals 212 Instruments and channels 329
Rational appeals 213 Budgets 333
Emotional appeals 219 Measuring public relations results 334
Endorsers 227 Communications in times of crisis 335
Campaign implementation 230 Summary 338
Advertising in a business-to-business context 230 Review questions 338
Advertising in a cross-cultural environment 232 Further reading 339

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd viii 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 CONTENTS ix

Case 10: SUEZ: liquefied natural gas Review questions 449

in New England 339 Further reading 449
References 343 Case 13: Lotus Bakeries and LotusFriends:
applying e-CRM in an FMCG market 450
References 455
11 Sponsorship 344

Chapter outline 344 14 Exhibitions and trade fairs 458

Chapter objectives 344
Introduction 345 Chapter outline 458
Sponsorship: what it is and what it is not 345 Chapter objectives 458
How sponsorship works 347 Introduction 459
The growing importance of sponsorship 347 Types of exhibitions and trade fairs 459
Target groups 349 The role of exhibitions in marketing
Objectives 350 communications 461
Types of sponsorship 352 Objectives and target groups 462
Budgets 362 Planning an exhibition 468
Measuring sponsorship effectiveness 363 Assessing effectiveness 471
Summary 365 Limitations of fairs and exhibitions 474
Review questions 366 Online trade shows 474
Further reading 366 Summary 476
Case 11: Carrefour: setting up convenience stores Review questions 476
at music festivals 366 Further reading 476
References 370 Case 14: FISA – Batibouw: how to calculate the
effectiveness of a trade show 477
References 482
12 Brand activation 373

Chapter outline 373 15 E-communication 484

Chapter objectives 373
Introduction 374 Chapter outline 484
Sales promotions 374 Chapter objectives 484
Consumer promotions 379 Introduction 485
Trade promotions 388 The growing importance of e-media 485
Sales promotion research 391 E-communications objectives 486
Point-of-purchase communications 393 E-marketing tools 487
Brand experience 403 Mobile marketing 507
Summary 410 Interactive television 512
Review questions 411 The social media revolution 517
Further reading 411 Relationship marketing and the Internet 534
Case 12: ‘The Perfect Size’: for every moment, Tracking the effectiveness of e-communications 535
there is a Mars bar 412 Summary 538
References 417 Review questions 539
Further reading 539
Case 15: The Global Fund’s Born HIV
13 Direct marketing 422 Free campaign 540
References 549
Chapter outline 422
Chapter objectives 422
Introduction 423
16 Ethical issues in marketing
Direct marketing as a marketing communications communications 555
technique 423
Objectives and target groups 425 Chapter outline 555
Direct marketing media and tools 428 Chapter objectives 555
Database marketing 437 Introduction 556
Relationship marketing 443 Ethics and marketing communications 556
Measuring direct marketing effectiveness 445 Ethical decision-making models and rules 559
Summary 448 Unethical marketing communications practices 560

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd ix 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 x CONTENTS

Unethical use of marketing communications Further reading 582

instruments 570 Case 16: Pampers and UNICEF: helping protect
Regulation of marketing communications babies together 582
practices 573 References 588
Corporate social responsibility 578
Summary 581 Glossary 593
Review questions 581 Index 606

Companion Website ON THE

WEBSITE
For open-access student resources specifically written
to complement this textbook and support your learning,
please visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/depelsmacker

Lecturer Resources
For password-protected online resources tailored to support
the use of this textbook in teaching, please visit
www.pearsoned.co.uk/depelsmacker

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd x 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 ABOUT THE AUTHORS xi

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Patrick De Pelsmacker (b. 1957) holds a PhD in economics (University of Ghent, Belgium). He is
Professor of Marketing at the University of Antwerp, Belgium and part-time Professor of Marketing
at the University of Ghent. He is a regular guest lecturer at various institutes, such as the Solvay
Business School (University of Brussels, Belgium), the Rotterdam School of Management (The
Netherlands), the Swedish Institute of Management (Brussels, Stockholm), the Centre for Management
Training (University of Warsaw, Poland), the Institute of Business Studies (Moscow, Russia), the
University of Lugano (Lugano, Switzerland), the Copenhagen Business School (Copenhagen,
Denmark), The University of Geneva (Switzerland) and Ca’Foscari University (Venice, Italy). He also
has teaching experience in management and marketing programmes in France, Thailand, Indonesia,
the Philippines, Vietnam, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. He has undertaken
numerous in-company training and consultancy assignments.
His field of interest is in marketing research techniques, consumer behaviour and marketing
communications. He has co-authored textbooks on marketing communications and marketing
research techniques, and has written over one hundred articles in various journals, including Applied
Economics, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Psychology and Marketing,
International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Marketing Communications, Advances in Consumer Research,
Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of International Consumer Marketing,
International Marketing Review, Marketing Letters, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising
Research, Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Accident Analysis and Prevention, Health Communication,
Journal of Business and Psychology, Journal of International Advertising, Journal of International Marketing,
Educational and Psychological Measurements and Psychological Reports. He has contributed to more
than twenty books and over sixty research reports and working papers on various marketing-related
topics.

Maggie Geuens (b. 1969) holds a PhD in Applied Economics at the University of Antwerp, Belgium,
where she also worked as an assistant professor. Currently she is Professor of Marketing at the
University of Ghent. She is the academic director of the Brand Management Centre at the Vlerick
Leuven Gent Management School. She also has teaching experience in The Netherlands, Italy,
Kazakhstan, Russia and Vietnam. She is involved in consultancy on a regular basis.
Her main field of research interest is in advertising, branding and consumer behaviour. She has
co-authored a book on Marketing Management, has contributed to over sixty papers and research
reports in her interest field, and has published in journals such as Journal of Consumer Research,
International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of
Health Communication, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Advertising, International Journal of
Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Communications, International Marketing
Review, PsychologicaBelgica, Tourism Management, Advances in Consumer Research, Journal of Business
and Psychology, Psychological Review, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Applied Psychological
Measurement, International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children and Journal of Consumer
and Market Research.

Joeri Van den Bergh (b. 1971) holds a master’s degree in marketing (University of Ghent and the
Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School). He started his career as a researcher at the Marketing
Communication Research Centre, and later became senior researcher, involved in the activities of

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xi 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 xii ABOUT THE AUTHORS

this Centre, as well as the Kids and Teens Marketing Centre, and the Senior Consumer Marketing
Centre. He is co-founder and managing partner of InSites Consulting, the European online market
research pioneer. He is now director of InSites Consulting ON SNEAKERS, the children and youth
division where he manages European accounts such as MTV Networks and Nokia. He is a regular
teacher on various marketing programmes, has been involved in in-company training and consultancy,
and is Secretary of the Board of AncienneBelgique (AB), one of Europe’s leading music venues.
His main field of interest is marketing communications, especially Internet communications,
research techniques and children and youth marketing. He has contributed to various books and to
over thirty research reports in these fields. He has published in journals including International
Journal of Advertising and the Journal of International Consumer Marketing.

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xii 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 PREFACE xiii

PREFACE

Marketing communications are not only one of the most visible and widely discussed instruments
of the marketing mix, with an overwhelming impact on both society and business, they are also one
of the most fascinating. Every private consumer and business executive is exposed to advertising.
They make use of sales promotions, are approached by sales persons, visit trade fairs and exhibi-
tions, buy famous or not so famous brands, are a target of public relations activity, are exposed to
sponsorship efforts, receive direct mail, telemarketing or research calls and visit stores in which no
stone is left unturned to influence their buying behaviour. Furthermore, almost every consumer is
a regular user of the Internet.
Marketing executives constantly face the challenge of integrating their promotional effort into
strategic management and marketing plans. They must integrate the various instruments of the
marketing communications mix, build successful brands, try to find out how marketing communica-
tions can be instrumental in achieving company objectives, and how they can be applied in specific
marketing situations.
Following the success of the first four editions, this fifth edition of Marketing Communications:
A European Perspective continues to offer a comprehensive overview of the cornerstones, techniques
and applications of marketing in a European context.

The market
This text is geared to undergraduate and postgraduate students who have attended introductory
courses in marketing, and who want to extend their knowledge to various aspects of marketing
communications. The text can also be used by marketing communications professionals who want
an overview of the whole field and may find inspiration and new angles to their marketing commu-
nications practice in the many examples, cases and research results that are covered in this text.

Organisation
The text is organised as follows. Chapter 1 provides a global overview of marketing communications
and discusses the crucial topic of the integration of marketing communications activity. One of the
major objectives of marketing communications is to build and maintain strong brands. Branding is
covered in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 discusses the groundwork of all marketing communications activity.
It is devoted to the intriguing question of how communications influence consumers.
In subsequent chapters the different steps in the marketing communications plan and the various
instruments and techniques of marketing communications are covered. Separate chapters are
devoted to the definition of target groups (4) and objectives (5) and to budgeting issues (6).
Chapters 7–15 cover each of the marketing communications instruments. Chapters 7–9 address
advertising-related issues, including media planning and advertising research. Subsequent chapters
each cover one tool of the marketing communications mix: public relations (10), sponsorship (11),
brand activation (12), direct marketing (13), exhibitions and trade fairs (14) and e-communications
(15). In Chapter 16 the increasingly important ethical side of marketing communications is discussed.

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xiii 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 xiv PREFACE

Pedagogy
To help reinforce key learning points, each chapter includes the following:

z Chapter Outline, which presents the contents of the chapter graphically.

z Chapter Objectives, Summaries and Review Questions and references to interview videos assist
the reader in understanding the important elements and help test one’s knowledge.
z Main text organised in sections and sub-sections to help students digest and retain the information.
z Tables, figures, outlines and other illustrative material help the reader grasp the essential facts.
z Separate highlights throughout the text cover extended examples, mini-cases, interesting
research results or more technical issues.
z Suggested further readings offer the opportunity to refer to other, more specialised or specific
sources of information on many subjects.
z An extensive European or global case study.

Distinctive characteristics
z This is not just a text about advertising, supplemented by a brief discussion of the other instru-
ments of the marketing mix. Although advertising-related topics are thoroughly discussed, this
text is comprehensive in that it covers all instruments of the marketing communications mix.
z The text has a consistent European focus. Although research results and examples from other
parts of the world are covered, the main focus is the application of marketing communications
concepts in a European environment.
z Every chapter contains an extensive European or global case study in a wide variety of industries,
markets and countries. Most of these cases contain original and in-depth material, often pro-
vided by the marketing executives of the brands and companies discussed. Challenging case
questions are designed to encourage the reader to apply the concepts from the chapter to the
solution of the case at hand. Furthermore, many of these cases can be used with more than one
chapter.
z A number of chapters focus extensively on particularly important and/or relatively new fields of
interest related to marketing communications. This is the case for the chapters on branding, how
communications work, brand activation, e-communications and ethics.
z Throughout the text, numerous examples, case studies and research results from various coun-
tries, industries and markets are given, to illustrate and make the concepts as practice-oriented
as possible.

New to the fifth edition

While the structure of the fifth edition of this text and its chapters has largely remained the same
as the fourth edition, case studies, vignettes, examples and references have been updated and new
material has been added to every chapter. Some of the new material draws upon the following com-
panies and organisations: Hyundai, Angry Birds, Samsung, HTC, PWC, Caja Madrid, Belgian Post,
Coop, Speedo, Lotus Bakeries, Nivea, Mamas & Papas, Dunkin’ Donuts, Britney Spears, Quechua,
Coca-Cola, Sainsbury’s, KLM, Pinterest, Tipp-Ex, AS Adventure, Heinz, O’Neill, Kaiser Chiefs, Gulf
Stream, Magnum, Sonera, Kleenex, Argos, Cornetto, Red Cross, British Airways, Burger King, Yeo
Valley, Taco Bell, Axe, Cheerios, Cadbury, Bavaria, Shisheido, Abercrombie & Fitch, Philips, Rugbeer,
Adidas and Lay’s.
Furthermore, most end-of-chapter cases have been updated and several new cases and vignettes
have been added: Walkers crisps, Club Med, Yellow Pages New Zealand, and the Global Fund to
fight Aids, malaria and tuberculosis. New theories, frameworks and research results have been
added in many chapters, and these include gender role stereotyping, branding and celebrity
endorsement in India, how children react to new advertising formats, probability markers, integrating

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xiv 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 PREFACE xv

emotions and habits into the theory of planned behaviour, two-sided messages, experience
positioning of electric cars, response to online reviews, health communications, the RFM-model,
measuring online campaigns and user-generated content. The chapter on e-communications has
been thoroughly updated and extended and includes a large section on social media communica-
tions, to reflect the most recent evolutions and best-practice applications in this fast-growing area. A
thoroughly revised chapter on brand activation has been added.
Finally, we are proud to offer instructor and student support materials on our website: http://
www.pearsoned.co.uk/depelsmacker. Visit this site to find valuable teaching and learning materials
on Marketing Communications.

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xv 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 AUTHORS’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

While we assume full responsibility for the content of the whole text, important parts of it could not
have been written without the help and support of numerous people. We would particularly like to
thank the following people, and hope we have not forgotten anyone.

Guy Geerts (Darwin BBDO)

Koen Helsen, Lieven Bertier (Barco)
Isabel Raes
Yves Van Landeghem (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Bert Denis (TBWA)
Claudia Gonzalez (The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis)
DespinaSpanou (European Commission)
Derek Gosselin, Rick Grant, Julie Vitek, Katja Damman (Suez)
Nigel Lawrence (Dunnhumby)
Luc Suykens, Nicolas Frèrejean, Nada Dugas (Procter & Gamble)
Marc Frederix, (National Lottery Belgium)
Lars Vervoort, Tine Nelissen (Carrefour Belgium)
Christine Edier (Unicef)
Alain Heureux (IAB Europe)
Marc Michils (Quattro Saatchi and Saatchi)
Jorgen NygaardAndreassen (Fedma)
Joëlle Van Ryckevorsel, Teresa di Campello (L’Oréal)
A number of reviewers: Paul Copley, University of Northumbria; Claude Pecheux, Les Facultés
Universitaires Catholiques de Mons; Jane Underhill, University of Northumbria; Tania Van den
Bergh, Arteveldehogeschool, Flanders, Belgium

Finally, we would like to thank Pearson Education for supporting and publishing the fifth edition of
this text. In particular we thank the following: Rufus Curnow, Acquisitions Editor; Tim Parker, Project
Editor; Kelly Miller, Designer for cover and text; Kerrie Morton, Project Controller and Christopher
Kingston, Editorial Assistant.

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xvi 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 PUBLISHER’S
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material:

Figures
Figure on page 9 from A method for the selection of appropriate business-to-business integrated
marketing communications mixes, Journal of Marketing Communications, Vol. 8 (1), pp. 1–18 (Garber, L.L.
and Dotson, M.J. 2002), Copyright © 2002 Routledge, reprinted by permission of the publisher
(Taylor & Francis Ltd., http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals); Figure 1.1 from Integrated marketing
communications and the evolution of marketing thought, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 37 (3),
pp. 155–62 (Hutton, J.G. 1996), Copyright © 1996, Elsevier, with permission from Elsevier; Figure 1.3
from Determinants of the corporate identity construct: A review of the literature, Journal of Mar-
keting Communications, Vol. 9 (4), pp. 195–220 (Melewar, T.C. 2003), Copyright © 2003 Routledge,
reprinted by permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Ltd., http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals);
Figure 2.1 from PLMA Yearbook 2012; Figure 3.1 after How advertising works: A planning model,
Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 20 (5), pp. 27–33 (Vaughn, R. 1980), www.warc.com/jar ;
Figure 3.3 after The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion, Advances in Experimental Social
Psychology, Vol. 19, pp. 123–205 (Petty, R.E. and Cacioppo, J.T. 1986), Copyright © 1986, with permission
from Elsevier; Figure 3.6 after The role of attitude toward the ad as a mediator of advertising effec-
tiveness: a test of competing explanations, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 23, p. 131 (MacKenzie,
S.B., Lutz, R.J. and Belch, G.E. 1986), American Marketing Association; Figure 4.1 from Recycling the
family life cycle: A proposal for redefinition, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 9, pp. 271–6, Figure 1
(Gilly, M. and Enis, B. 1982), Association for Consumer Research, reproduced with permission of
Association for Consumer Research, permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.;
Figure 4.4 from GFK significant, November 2011; Figure 5.2 from Defining Advertising Goals for
Measured Advertising Results, New York: Association of National Advertisers (Colley, R.H. 1961);
Figures 6.4, 6.5 after Ad spending: growing market share, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68 (1),
pp. 44–8 (Schroer, J. 1990), Copyright © 1990 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, all
rights reserved, reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review Figure 8.5 from JFC Informatique
& Media, Paris, France (2003); Figure 12.2 from Shopping and saving strategies around the world,
The Nielsen Company (2011), http://www.nielsen.com/content/corporate/us/en/insights/reports-
downloads/2011/global-shopping-survey-oct-2011.html; Figure 13.2 after The Loyalty Effect: The
hidden force behind growth, profits and lasting value (Reichheld, F.F. 2001) Copyright © 2001 by the
Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, all rights reserved, reprinted by permission of
Harvard Business School Press; Figure 13.4 from Development of addressed mail items in the five
largest European markets, The Boston Consulting Group, as found at http://www.post.at/gb2009/
en/Postmarkt_Europa.php; Figure 13.7 from The mismanagement of customer loyalty, Harvard
Business Review, July, pp. 86–94 (Reinartz, W. and Kumar, V. 2002), Copyright © 2002 by the
Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, all rights reserved, reprinted by permission of
Harvard Business Review; Figures 13.8, 13.9 from Annual Report 2011, Lotus Bakeries p. 33; Figure 13.10
from Annual Report 2011, Lotus Bakeries p. 11; Figures 14.3, 14.4 from Geert Maes, CEO, FISA; Figure
on page 494 from Measuring the effectiveness of online advertising: Study conducted by PwC for IAB France
and the SRI (2010) p. 13; Figure on page 494 from Measuring the effectiveness of online advertising:

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xvii 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 xviii PUBLISHER’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Study conducted by PwC for IAB France and the SRI (2010) p. 22; Figure 15.2 from InSites Consulting,
www.insites-consulting.com; Figure 16.2 from Statistics Report 2010: European trends in advertising
complaints, copy advice and pre-clearance, European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) (2010)
p. 11, Figure 1, http://www.easa-alliance.org/, European Advertising Standards Alliance – The single
voice for advertising self-regulation; Figure 16.3 from Statistics Report 2010: European trends in adver-
tising complaints, copy advice and pre-clearance, European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA)
(2010) p. 28, Figure 13, http://www.easa-alliance.org/, European Advertising Standards Alliance –
The single voice for advertising self-regulation; Figure 16.4 from Statistics Report 2010: European
trends in advertising complaints, copy advice and pre-clearance, European Advertising Standards
Alliance (EASA) (2010) p. 25, Figure 9, http://www.easa-alliance.org/, European Advertising
Standards Alliance – The single voice for advertising self-regulation

Screenshots
Screenshot on page 498 from GAIA chicken squeeze screenshot, http://www.gaia.be/nl/nieuws/
gaia-lanceert-chicken-squeeze-, the image can only be used to address the welfare problems of
chickens in cages for the production of eggs

Tables
Table 1.3 adapted from W.F. van Raaij, Integratie van Communicatie: vanuit de Zender of vanuit de
Ontvanger’ (Integration of Communication: Starting from the Sender or the Receiver?), in Effecti-
viteit in Communicatie management (Effectiveness in Communication Management), pp. 169–84
(Damoiseaux, V.M.G., van Ruler, A.A. and Weisink, A. (eds) 1998), Deventer: Samson, ISBN: 9014058411,
9789014058412; Table 6.2 after Ad spending: maintaining market share, Harvard Business Review,
68 (1), pp. 38–43 ( Jones, J.P. 1990), Copyright © 1990 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation,
all rights reserved, reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review; Table 6.3 after Advertising
Media Planning, Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books (Sissors, J.Z. and Surmanek, J. 1986) © The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.; Table 6.4 from Statistics Belgium, http://statbel.fgov.be/nl/modules/
publications/statistiques/verkeer_vervoer/inschrijvingen_nieuwe_en_tweedehandse_voertuigen
_2008-2011.jsp; Table 6.5 from with thanks to Wendy Van Dyck, Communication Channel Expert,
Space Brussels, for providing advertising budgets of the car industry; Table 11.1 after Sports sponsor-
ship development in leading Canadian companies: issues and trends, International Journal of
Advertising, 17 (1), pp. 29–50 (Thwaites, D., Anguilar-Manjarrez, R. and Kidd, C. 1998), reproduced
with permission of WARC; Table 14.2 after Selecting and evaluating trade shows, Industrial Marketing
Management, vol. 21 (4), pp. 335–41 (Shoham, A. 1992), Copyright © 1992, Elsevier, with permission
from Elsevier; Table 15.2 from Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social
media, Business Horizons, Vol. 53 (1), pp. 59–68 (Kaplan, A.M. and Haenlein, M. 2010), p. 62,
Copyright © 2010, with permission from Elsevier; Table on page 579 after I. Doukakis, M. Krambia-
Kapardis and M. Katsioloudes, Corporate Social Responsibility: A pilot study into the realities of the
business sector in Cyprus, in, New Challenges for Corporate and Marketing Communications. Proceedings of
the Eighth International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications, pp. 64–80 (Bennett,
R. 2003), London Metropolitan University

Text
Box on page 132 from InSites Consulting 2008 lifestyle segmentation of Dutch youngsters for MTV Networks,
Rotterdam, InSites Consulting (Van den Bergh, J. and Verhaeghe A. 2008); Box on page 528 adapted
from ‘Sainsbury’s changes Tiger Bread to “Giraffe Bread” following advice from 3-year-old’, The
Telegraph, 01/02/2012 (O’Hare, S.), http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/
9053800/Sainsburys-changes-Tiger-Bread-to-Giraffe-Bread-following-advice-from-3-year-old.html,
Copyright © Telegraph Media Group Limited 2012

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xviii 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 PUBLISHER’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xix

Photos
The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their photographs:

(Key: b-bottom; c-centre; l-left; r-right; t-top)

12 Getty Images: Chinafoto Press. 14 The Absolut Company: Vincent Dixon. 19 InSites Consulting.
32 BBDO: (t). 49 Getty Images: AFP. 51 Patrick De Pelsmacker. 67 Reproduced with permission of
Barco. 90 Gesamtverband Werbeagenturen GWA & McCann Erickson Europe. 94 Getty Images:
Max Nash / AFP. 129 Getty Images. 131 Alamy Images: Michael Dwyer. 144 Rex Features:
Crollalanza. 158 Gesemtverband Werbeagenturen GWA & J Walter Thompson. 161 Corbis: Richard
Klune. 162 Corbis: Henry Diltz. 204 Corbis: Tony Savino. 208 Reproduced with permission of Nissan.
210 Reproduced by permission of V.F. Corporation: AMVBBDO. 211 Reproduced with permission of
De Lijn, Belgium. 220 AMVBBDO. 222 Image courtesy of The Advertising Archives. 229 Grey
Communications Group Ltd. 232 Reticel NV. 244 L’Oreal UK. 268 James Davies. 270 Corbis: John
Hicks. 314 Nationale Loterij, Belgium. 327 Getty Images. 328 Getty Images. 354 Getty Images:
Guinness (t). 375 Alamy Images: Anthony Hatley. 380 Getty Images. 384 Alamy Images: Alex
Segre. 385 Corbis: Richard Cummins. 414 NV Mars Belgium SA. 434 Lotus Bakeries. 477 Reproduced
with permission by FISA, Belgium. 540 The Global Fund. 557 Getty Images. 565 Getty Images. 584
Pampers. 585 Pampers

Cover images: Front: iStockphoto

All other images © Pearson Education

In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material, and we would
appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xix 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 LIST OF ACRONYMS

ABC Audit Bureau of Circulations

ACC Association of Communication Companies
AIM Affect Infusion Model
AIO activities, interests and opinions
ANOVA analysis of variance
ATR awareness trial reinforcement
B2B business-to-business
B2C business-to-consumer
BOGOF buy one get one free
BPS Brand Personality Scale
CARU Children’s Advertising Review Unit
CEEMEA Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
CEIR Centre for Exhibition Industry Research
CEO chief executive officer
CPM cost per thousand
CPM-TM CPM in target market
CPT cost per thousand
CRM customer relationship marketing
CSR corporate social responsibility
CTLC Community-based Technology and Learning Centres
CTR click-through rate
DAGMAR Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results
DAR Day After Recall
DEA data envelopment analysis
DM direct mail
DOSS degree of overall similarity of strategy
DRTV direct response television
EASA European Advertising Standards Alliance
EDLP every day low prices
ELM Elaboration Likelihood Model
EMEA Europe, the Middle East and Africa
ERP effective rating points
ESP emotional selling proposition
FCB Foot–Cone–Belding
FMCG fast-moving consumer goods
GRP gross rating points
HILO high–low
HSM Heuristic–Systematic Model
HTML Hypertext Mark-up Language
IAB Interactive Advertising Bureaux
IAT Implicit Association Test
ICC International Chamber of Commerce
IMC integrated marketing communications
IP Internet Protocol

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xx 6/10/13 9:07 AM

 LIST OF ACRONYMS xxi

JEP Jury of Ethical Practices

LNG liquefied natural gas
MAO motivation, ability and opportunity
MC marketing communications
MMA Mobile Marketing Association
MMORPG massively multiplayer online role-playing game
MNT mother and newborn tetanus
MPU Mid-Page Unit
MUSH Municipal, University, Social, Hospital
NGO non-governmental organisation
OOH out-of-home
OTS opportunity to see
PBC perceived behavioural control
PEOU personalised ease of use
PI product involvement
PKM Persuasion Knowledge Model
PLC product life cycle
PMT Protection Motivation Theory
POP point-of-purchase
POPAI Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute
POS point-of-sales
PPC pay per click
PR public relations
PU perceived usefulness
PURL personalised website (URL)
RE Reading Ease
RFID radio frequency identification
RFM recency–frequency–monetary value
RNR Radio News Release
ROI return on investment
RQ Relationship Quality
RSS Really Simple Syndication
SEA search engine advertising
SEM search engine marketing
SEO search engine optimisation
SMS Sports Marketing Surveys; Short Message Service
SOM share of market
SOV share of voice
SRO self-regulatory organisation
SRC self-reference criterion
STAS Short-Term Advertising Strength
STP segmenting–targeting–positioning
SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
TAM Technology Acceptance Model
TOMA Top-of-Mind Awareness
TORA Theory of Reasoned Action
TPB Theory of Planned Behaviour
UGC user-generated content
USP unique selling proposition
VNR Video News Release
WAP Wireless Application Protocol
WFA World Federation of Advertisers
WFL Win for Life
WOM word of mouth
VOD video-on-demand

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xxi 6/10/13 9:07 AM

A01_PELS3221_05_SE_FM.indd xxii 6/10/13 9:07 AM
 CHAPTER 1
Integrated communications

CHAPTER OUTLINE

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
This chapter will help you to:
z Situate marketing communications in the marketing mix
z Get an overview of the instruments of the marketing communications mix
z Understand what integrated (cross-cultural) marketing and corporate
communications mean, and their organisational implications
z Learn the factors leading to integrated communications
z Get an overview of the different levels of integration
z Understand why fully integrated communications are not easily implemented
z Get an overview of the essential steps in the marketing communications plan

M01_PELS3221_05_SE_C01.indd 1 5/28/13 11:09 AM

 2 CHAPTER 1 INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS

Introduction

The integration of the various instruments of the marketing mix is one of the major principles
of sound marketing strategy. Obviously, this integration principle also applies to the various
instruments of the communications mix. In fact, integrated communications have been
practised by good marketing communicators for decades. Why, then, has the concept of
‘integrated marketing communications’ (IMC) in recent years developed into one of the basic
new trends in marketing communications? Is IMC really fundamentally new? Or is it an old
idea which has rarely, if ever, been realised? In other words, is it something everybody agrees
on which should have been activated years ago, but for all kinds of practical reasons was not?
Or is it nothing more than traditional marketing and advertising dressed up in fancy words
and a new language?1 Whatever the case, the integration of the various instruments of the
communications mix is favourably influenced and necessitated by a number of important
trends in marketing today. At the same time, barriers to change, and to the successful
implementation of IMC, remain strong. The latter may explain why such an obvious concept
as IMC, leading to a more homogeneous and therefore more effective communications effort,
has not been put into practice much earlier. As a result, integrated communications have
a number of practical and organisational consequences that influence the way in which
communicators organise their communications function, the way in which they deal with
communications consultants such as PR and advertising agencies and, indeed, the way in
which communications consultants organise themselves.

Marketing and the instruments of the marketing mix

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and
distribution of ideas, goods and services to create and exchange value, and satisfy individual
and organisational objectives.2
Given the marketing objectives and goals, the target segments and the market position that
has to be defended, the tools of the marketing plan have to be decided upon. The marketer
has a number of tools to hand: the instruments of the marketing mix. Traditionally, these
instruments are divided into four categories, called the 4Ps of the marketing mix. Some of the
tools of the marketing mix are shown in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Instruments of the marketing mix

Product Price Place Promotion

Benefits List price Channels Advertising

Features Discounts Logistics Public relations
Options Credit terms Inventory Sponsorship
Quality Payment periods Transport Brand activation
Design Incentives Assortments Direct marketing
Branding Locations Point-of-purchase
Packaging Exhibitions and trade fairs
Services Personal selling
Warranties Electronic communication

M01_PELS3221_05_SE_C01.indd 2 5/28/13 11:09 AM

Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
HAUCHECORNE." The house, coated with ancient rusty paint, and
quite flat and unadorned amidst the surrounding mansions of the
Louis XIV. period, had only three front windows up above, square
and shutterless windows simply provided with handrails supported
by two iron bars placed crosswise. But what most struck Denise,
whose eyes were full of the bright display of The Ladies' Paradise,
was the low ground-floor shop, surmounted by an equally low storey
with half-moon windows, of prison-like appearance. Right and left,
framed round by wood work of a bottle-green hue, which time had
tinted with ochre and bitumen, were two deep windows, black and
dusty, in which pieces of cloth heaped one on another could vaguely
be seen. The open doorway seemed to conduct into the darkness
and dampness of a cellar.
"That's the house," said Jean.
"Well, we must go in," declared Denise. "Come on, Pépé."
All three, however, grew somewhat troubled, as if seized with fear.
When their father had died, carried off by the same fever which a
month previously had killed their mother, their uncle Baudu, in the
emotion born of this double bereavement, had certainly written to
Denise, assuring her that there would always be a place for her in
his house whenever she might like to try fortune in Paris. But this
had taken place nearly a year ago, and the young girl was now sorry
that she should have so impulsively left Valognes without informing
her uncle. The latter did not know them, never having set foot in the
little town since the day when he had left it as a boy, to enter the
service of the draper Hauchecorne, whose daughter he had
subsequently married.
"Monsieur Baudu?" asked Denise, at last making up her mind to
speak to the stout man who was still eyeing them, surprised by their
appearance and manners.
"That's me," he replied.
Then Denise blushed deeply and stammered: "Oh, I'm so pleased! I
am Denise. This is Jean, and this is Pépé. You see, we have come,
uncle."
Baudu seemed lost in amazement. His big eyes rolled in his yellow
face; he spoke slowly and with difficulty. He had evidently been far
from thinking of this family which now suddenly dropped down upon
him.
"What—what, you here?" he several times repeated. "But you were
at Valognes. Why aren't you at Valognes?"
In her sweet but rather faltering voice she then explained that since
the death of her father, who had spent every penny he possessed in
his dye-works, she had acted as a mother to the two children; but
the little she had earned at Cornaille's did not suffice to keep the
three of them. Jean certainly worked at a cabinet-maker's, a repairer
of old furniture, but didn't earn a sou. Still, he had got to like the
business, and had even learned to carve. One day, having found a
piece of ivory, he had amused himself by carving it into a head,
which a gentleman staying in the town had seen and praised; and
this gentleman it was who had been the cause of their leaving
Valognes, as he had found Jean a place with an ivory-carver in Paris.
"So you see, uncle," continued Denise, "Jean will commence his
apprenticeship at his new master's to-morrow. They ask no
premium, and will board and lodge him. And so I felt sure that Pépé
and I would be able to jog along. At all events we can't be worse off
than we were at Valognes."
She said nothing about a certain love affair of Jean's, of certain
letters which he had written to the daughter of a nobleman of the
town, of the kisses which the pair had exchanged over a wall—in
fact, quite a scandal which had strengthened her in her
determination to leave. And if she was so anxious to be in Paris
herself it was that she might be able to look after her brother,
feeling, as she did, quite a mother's tender anxiety for this gay and
handsome youth, whom all the women adored. Uncle Baudu,
however, couldn't get over it, but continued his questions.
"So your father left you nothing," said he. "I certainly thought there
was still something left. Ah! how many times did I write advising him
not to take those dye-works! He was a good-hearted fellow certainly,
but he had no head for business And you were left with those two
youngsters to look after—you've had to keep them, eh?"
His bilious face had now become clearer, his eyes were not so
bloodshot as when he had stood glaring at The Ladies' Paradise. All
at once he noticed that he was blocking up the doorway. "Well," said
he, "come in, now you're here. Come in, that'll be better than gaping
at a parcel of rubbish."
And after addressing a last pout of anger to The Ladies' Paradise, he
made way for the children by entering the shop and calling his wife
and daughter: "Elizabeth, Geneviève, come down; here's company
for you!"
Denise and the two boys, however, hesitated at sight of the darkness
of the shop. Blinded by the clear outdoor light, they blinked as on
the threshold of some unknown pit, and felt their way with their feet
with an instinctive fear of encountering some treacherous step. And
drawn yet closer together by this vague fear, the child still holding
the girl's skirts, and the big boy behind, they made their entry with a
smiling, anxious grace. The clear morning light outlined the dark
silhouettes of their mourning clothes; and an oblique ray of sunshine
gilded their fair hair.
"Come in, come in," repeated Baudu.
Then, in a few sentences he explained matters to his wife and
daughter. The former was a little woman, consumed by anæmia and
quite white—white hair, white eyes and white lips. Geneviève, the
daughter, in whom the maternal degeneracy appeared yet more
marked, had the sickly, colourless appearance of a plant reared in
the shade. However, a thick, heavy crop of magnificent black hair,
marvellously vigorous for such poor soil, gave her, as it were, a
mournful charm.
"Come in," said both the women in their turn; "you are welcome."
And they at once made Denise sit down behind a counter.
Pépé then jumped upon his sister's lap, whilst Jean leant against the
panelling beside her. They were regaining their assurance and
looking round the shop where their eyes had grown used to the
obscurity. They could now distinctly see it all, with its low and smoky
ceiling, its oaken counters polished by use, and its old-fashioned
nests of drawers with strong iron fittings. Bales of dark goods
reached to the beams above; a smell of wool and dye—a sharp
chemical smell—prevailed, intensified it seemed by the humidity of
the floor. At the further end two young men and a young woman
were putting away some pieces of white flannel.
"Perhaps this young gentleman would like to take something?" said
Madame Baudu, smiling at Pépé.
"No, thanks," replied Denise, "we each had a cup of milk at a café
opposite the station." And as Geneviève looked at the small parcel
she had laid on the floor near her, she added: "I left our box there
too."
She blushed as she spoke feeling that she ought not to have
dropped down on her friends in this way. Even in the train, just as
she was leaving Valognes, she had been assailed by regrets and
fears; and this was why she had left the box at the station and given
the children their breakfast immediately on arriving in Paris.
"Well, well," suddenly said Baudu, "let's come to an understanding.
'Tis true that I wrote to you, but that was a year ago, and since then
business hasn't been flourishing, I can assure you, my girl."
He stopped short, choked by an emotion he did not wish to show.
Madame Baudu and Geneviève, had cast down their eyes with an air
of resignation.
"Oh," continued he, "it's a crisis which will pass, no doubt, I'm not
uneasy; but I have reduced my staff; there are only three here now,
and this is not the moment to engage a fourth. In short, my poor
girl, I cannot take you as I promised."
Denise listened, aghast and very pale. He repeated his words,
adding: "It would do no good to either of us."
"All right, uncle," at last she replied, with a painful effort, "I'll try to
manage all the same."
The Baudus were not bad sort of people. But they complained of
never having had any luck. In the flourishing days of their business,
they had had to bring up five sons, of whom three had died before
attaining the age of twenty; the fourth had gone wrong, and the
fifth had just started for Mexico, as a captain. Geneviève was the
only one now left at home. From first to last, however, this large
family had cost a deal of money, and Baudu had made things worse
by buying a great lumbering country house, at Rambouillet, near his
wife's father's place. Thus, a sharp, sour feeling was springing up in
the honest old tradesman's breast.
"You might have warned us," he resumed, gradually getting angry at
his own harshness. "You might have written and I should have told
you to stay at Valognes. When I heard of your father's death I said
what is right on such occasions, but you drop down on us without a
word of warning. It's very awkward."
He raised his voice, as he thus relieved himself. His wife and
daughter still kept their eyes on the floor, like submissive persons
who would never think of interfering. Jean, however, had turned
pale, whilst Denise hugged the terrified Pépé to her bosom. Hot
tears of disappointment fell from her eyes.
"All right, uncle," she said, "we'll go away."
At that he ceased speaking, and an awkward silence ensued. Then
he resumed in a surly tone: "I don't mean to turn you out. As you
are here you can sleep upstairs to-night; after that, we'll see."
Then, as he glanced at them, Madame Baudu and Geneviève
understood that they were free to arrange matters. And all was soon
settled. There was no need to trouble about Jean, as he was to
enter on his apprenticeship the next day. As for Pépé, he would be
well looked after by Madame Gras, an old lady who rented a large
ground floor in the Rue des Orties, where she boarded and lodged
young children for forty francs a month. Denise said that she had
sufficient to pay for the first month, and, so the only remaining
question was to find a place for herself. Surely they would be able to
discover some situation for her in the neighbourhood.
"Wasn't Vinçard in want of a saleswoman?" asked Geneviève.
"Of course, so he was!" cried Baudu; "we'll go and see him after
lunch. There's nothing like striking the iron while it's hot."
Not a customer had come in to interrupt this family discussion; the
shop remained dark and empty as before. At the far end, the two
young men and the young woman were still working, talking in low
sibilant whispers amongst themselves. At last, however, three ladies
arrived, and Denise was then left alone for a moment. She kissed
Pépé with a swelling heart, at the thought of their approaching
separation. The child, affectionate as a kitten, hid his little head
without saying a word. When Madame Baudu and Geneviève
returned, they remarked how quiet he was, and Denise assured
them that he never made any more noise than that, but remained
for days together without speaking, living solely on kisses and
caresses. Then until lunch-time the three women sat and talked
together about children, housekeeping, life in Paris and life in the
country, in curt, cautious sentences, like relations whom ignorance
of one another renders somewhat awkward. Jean meantime had
gone to the shop-door, and stood there watching all the outdoor life
and smiling at the pretty girls. At ten o'clock a servant appeared. As
a rule the cloth was then laid for Baudu, Geneviève, and the first-
hand; a second lunch being served at eleven o'clock for Madame
Baudu, the other young man, and the young woman.
"Come to lunch!" exclaimed the draper, turning towards his niece;
and when they sat ready in the narrow dining-room behind the shop,
he called the first-hand who had lingered behind: "Colomban lunch!"
The young man entered apologising; he had wished to finish
arranging the flannels, he said. He was a big fellow of twenty-five,
heavy but crafty, for although his face, with its large weak mouth,
seemed at first sight typical of honesty there was a veiled cunning in
his eyes.
"There's a time for everything," rejoined Baudu, who sat before a
piece of cold veal, carving it with a master's skill and prudence,
calculating the weight of each thin slice to within a quarter of an
ounce.
He served everybody, and even cut up the bread. Denise had placed
Pépé near her to see that he ate properly; but the dark close room
made her feel uncomfortable. She thought it so small, after the
large, well-lighted rooms to which she had been accustomed in the
country. A single window overlooked a small back-yard, which
communicated with the street by a dark passage running along the
side of the house. And this yard, dripping wet and evil-smelling, was
like the bottom of some well into which fell a circular glimmer of
light. In the winter they were obliged to keep the gas burning all
day, and when the weather enabled them to do without it the room
seemed more melancholy still. Several seconds elapsed before
Denise's eyes got sufficiently used to the light to distinguish the food
on her plate.
"That young chap has a good appetite," remarked Baudu, observing
that Jean had finished his veal. "If he works as well as he eats, he'll
make a fine fellow. But you, my girl, you are not eating. And, I say,
now that we can talk a bit, tell us why you didn't get married at
Valognes?"
At this Denise almost dropped the glass she held in her hand. "Oh!
uncle—get married! How can you think of it? And the little ones!"
She ended by laughing, it seemed to her such a strange idea.
Besides, what man would have cared to take her—a girl without a
sou, no fatter than a lath, and not at all pretty? No, no, she would
never marry, she had quite enough children with her two brothers.
"You are wrong," said her uncle; "a woman always needs a man. If
you had found an honest young fellow over there you wouldn't have
dropped on to the Paris pavement, you and your brothers, like a
party of gipsies."
He paused in order to apportion with a parsimony full of justice, a
dish of bacon and potatoes which the servant had just brought in.
Then, pointing to Geneviève and Colomban with his spoon, he
added: "Those two will get married next spring, if we have a good
winter season."
Such was the patriarchal custom of the house. The founder, Aristide
Finet, had given his daughter, Désirée, to his first-hand,
Hauchecorne; he, Baudu, who had arrived in the Rue de la
Michodière with seven francs in his pocket, had married old
Hauchecorne's daughter, Elizabeth; and in his turn he intended to
hand over Geneviève and the business to Colomban as soon as trade
should improve. If he still delayed the marriage which had been
decided on three years previously, it was because a scruple had
come to him, a fixed resolve to act in all honesty. He himself had
received the business in a prosperous state, and did not wish to pass
it on to his son-in-law with fewer customers or doubtful sales. And,
continuing his talk, he formally introduced Colomban, who came
from Rambouillet, like Madame Baudu's father; in fact they were
distant cousins. A hard-working fellow was Colomban, said he; for
ten years he had slaved in the shop, fairly earning all his
promotions! Besides, he was far from being a nobody; his father was
that noted toper, Colomban, the veterinary surgeon so well known all
over the department of Seine-et-Oise, an artist in his line, but so
addicted to the flowing bowl that his money fast slipped through his
fingers.
"Thank heaven!" said the draper in conclusion, "if the father drinks
and runs after women, the son at all events has learnt the value of
money here."
Whilst he was thus speaking Denise began to examine Geneviève
and Colomban. Though they sat close together at table, they
remained very quiet, without a blush or a smile. From the day of
entering the establishment the young man had counted on this
marriage. He had passed through the various stages of junior hand,
salesman, etc., at last gaining admittance into the confidence and
pleasures of the family circle, and all this patiently, whilst leading a
clock-work style of life and looking upon his marriage with Geneviève
as a legitimate stroke of business. The certainty of having her as his
wife prevented him from feeling any desire for her. On her side the
girl had got to love him with the gravity of her reserved nature, full
of a real deep passion of which she was not aware, in the regulated
monotony of her daily life.
"Oh! it's quite right, when folks like each other, and can do it," at last
said Denise, smiling, with a view to making herself agreeable.
"Yes, it always finishes like that," declared Colomban, who, slowly
masticating, had not yet spoken a word.
Geneviève gave him a long look, and then in her turn remarked:
"When people understand each other, the rest comes naturally."
Their affection had sprung up in this gloomy nook of old Paris like a
flower in a cellar. For ten years past she had known no one but him,
living by his side, behind the same bales of cloth, amidst the
darkness of the shop; and morning and evening they had found
themselves elbow to elbow in the tiny dining-room, so damp and
vault-like. They could not have been more concealed, more utterly
lost had they been far away in the country, under the screening
foliage of the trees. Only the advent of doubt, of jealous fear, could
make it plain to the girl, that she had given herself, for ever, amidst
this abetting solitude, through sheer emptiness of heart and mental
weariness.
As it was, Denise, fancied she could detect a growing anxiety in the
look Geneviève had cast at Colomban, so she good-naturedly
replied: "Oh! when people are in love they always understand each
other."
Meantime Baudu kept a sharp eye on the table. He had distributed
some "fingers" of Brie cheese, and, as a treat for the visitors, called
for a second dessert, a pot of red-currant jam, a liberality which
seemed to surprise Colomban. Pépé, who so far had been very
good, behaved rather badly at the sight of the jam; whilst Jean, his
attention attracted by the conversation about his cousin Geneviève's
marriage, began to take stock of the girl, whom he thought too puny
and too pale, comparing her in his own mind to a little white rabbit
with black ears and pink eyes.
"Well, we've chatted enough, and must make room for the others,"
said the draper, giving the signal to rise from table. "Just because
we've had a treat there is no reason why we should want too much
of it."
Madame Baudu, the other shopman, and the young lady then came
and took their places at table. Denise, again left to herself, sat down
near the door waiting until her uncle should be able to take her to
Vinçard's. Pépé was playing at her feet, whilst Jean had resumed his
post of observation on the threshold. And Denise sat there for nearly
an hour, taking interest in what went on around her. Now and again
a few customers came in; a lady, then two others appeared, the
shop meanwhile retaining its musty odour and its half light, in which
old-fashioned commerce, simple and good natured, seemed to weep
at finding itself so deserted. What most interested Denise, however,
was The Ladies' Paradise opposite, whose windows she could see
through the open doorway. The sky remained cloudy, a sort of
humid mildness warmed the air, notwithstanding the season; and in
the clear light, permeated, as it were, by a hazy diffusion of
sunshine, the great shop acquired abundant life and activity.
To Denise it seemed as if she were watching a machine working at
full pressure, setting even the window-shows in motion. They were
no longer the cold windows she had seen in the early morning; they
seemed to have been warmed and to vibrate with all the activity
within. There were folks before them, groups of women pushing and
squeezing against the sheets of glass, a perfect crowd excited with
covetousness. And in this passionate atmosphere the stuffs
themselves seemed endowed with life; the laces quivered, drooped,
and concealed the depths of the shop with a disturbing air of
mystery; even the thick square-cut lengths of cloth breathed,
exhaling a tempting odour, while the tailor-made coats seemed to
draw themselves up more erectly on the dummies, which acquired
souls, and the velvet mantle expanded, supple and warm, as if
falling from real shoulders, over a heaving bosom and quivering
hips. But the factory-like glow which pervaded the house came
above all from the sales, the crush at the counters, which could be
divined behind the walls. There was the continual roaring of a
machine at work, an engulfing of customers close-pressed against
the counters, bewildered amidst the piles of goods, and finally
hurled towards the pay-desks. And all went on in an orderly manner,
with mechanical regularity, force and logic carrying quite a nation of
women through the gearing of this commercial machine.
Denise had felt tempted ever since early morning. She was
bewildered and attracted by this shop, to her so vast, which she saw
more people enter in an hour than she had seen enter Cornaille's in
six months; and with her desire to enter it was mingled a vague
sense of danger which rendered her seduction complete. At the
same time her uncle's shop made her feel ill at ease; she felt
unreasonable disdain, instinctive repugnance for this cold, icy place,
the home of old-fashioned trading. All her sensations—her anxious
entry, her relatives' cold reception, the dull lunch partaken of in a
prison-like atmosphere, her spell of waiting amidst the sleepy
solitude of this old establishment doomed to speedy decay—all these
became concentrated in mute protest, in a passionate longing for life
and light. And despite her good heart, her eyes ceaselessly turned to
The Ladies' Paradise, as if, saleswoman as she was, she felt the need
of warming herself in the glow of that immense business.
"Plenty of customers over there at all events!" was the remark which
at last escaped her.
But she promptly regretted these words on seeing the Baudus near
her. Madame Baudu, who had finished her lunch, was standing
there, quite white, with her pale eyes fixed on the monster; and
resigned though she tried to be, she could never catch sight of that
place across the road, without mute despair filling her eyes with
tears. As for Geneviève, she was anxiously watching Colomban, who,
unaware that he was being observed, remained in ecstasy, looking at
the young saleswomen in the mantle department of the Paradise,
whose counter was visible through the first floor window. Baudu, for
his part, though his anger was written on his face, merely remarked:
"All is not gold that glitters. Patience!"
The members of the family evidently kept back the flood of rancour
rising in their throats. A feeling of self-esteem prevented them from
displaying their temper before these children, who had only that
morning arrived. At last the draper made an effort, and tore himself
away from the spectacle of The Paradise and its sales.
"Well!" he resumed, "we'll go and see Vinçard. Situations are soon
snatched up and it might be too late to-morrow."
However, before starting, he ordered his junior salesman to go to
the railway station to fetch Denise's box. On her side Madame
Baudu, to whom the girl had confided Pépé, decided to run over to
see Madame Gras in order to arrange about the child. Jean on the
other hand promised his sister not to stir from the shop.
"It's two minutes' walk," explained Baudu as he went down the Rue
Gaillon with his niece: "Vinçard has a silk business, and still does a
fair trade. Oh, of course he has his worries, like every one else, but
he's an artful fellow, who makes both ends meet by his miserly
ways. I fancy, though, he wants to retire, on account of his
rheumatics."
Vinçard's shop was in the Rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, near the
Passage Choiseul. It was clean and light, well fitted up in the
modern style, but rather small, and contained but a poor stock.
Baudu and Denise found Vinçard in consultation with two
gentlemen.
"Never mind us," called out the draper; "we are in no hurry; we can
wait." And discreetly returning to the door he whispered to Denise:
"That thin fellow is second in the silk department at The Paradise,
and the stout man is a silk manufacturer from Lyons."
Denise gathered that Vinçard was trying to sell his business to
Robineau of The Paradise. With a frank air, and open face, he was
giving his word of honour, with the facility of a man whom
assurances never troubled. According to him, his business was a
golden one; and albeit in the splendour of robust health he broke off
to whine and complain of those infernal pains of his which prevented
him from remaining in business and making his fortune. Robineau
who seemed nervous and uneasy interrupted him impatiently. He
knew what a crisis the trade was passing through, and named a silk
warehouse which had already been ruined by the vicinity of The
Paradise. Then Vinçard, inflamed, raised his voice.
"No wonder! The downfall of that big booby Vabre was a foregone
conclusion. His wife spent everything he earned. Besides, we are
more than five hundred yards away, whilst Vabre was almost next
door to The Paradise."
Gaujean, the silk manufacturer, then chimed in, and their voices fell
again. He accused the big establishments of ruining French
manufactures; three or four laid down the law, reigning like masters
over the market; and he gave it as his opinion that the only way to
fight them was to favour the small traders; above all, those who
dealt in specialties, for to them the future belonged. For that reason
he offered Robineau plenty of credit.
"See how you have been treated at The Paradise," said he. "No
notice has been taken of your long service. You had the promise of
the first-hand's place long ago, when Bouthemont, an outsider
without any claim at all, came in and got it at once."
Robineau was still smarting under this act of injustice. However, he
hesitated to start business on his own account, explaining that the
money came from his wife, who had inherited sixty thousand francs,
and he was full of scruples regarding this money, saying that he
would rather cut off his right hand than compromise it in a doubtful
affair.
"No," said he, "I haven't yet made up my mind; give me time to
think over it. We'll have another talk about it."
"As you like," replied Vinçard, concealing his disappointment under a
smiling countenance. "My interest, you know, is not to sell; and I
certainly shouldn't were it not for my rheumatics——"
Then stepping to the middle of the shop, he inquired: "What can I
do for you, Monsieur Baudu?"
The draper, who had been slily listening, thereupon introduced
Denise, telling Vinçard as much as he thought necessary of her story
and adding that she had two years' country experience. "And as I
heard you are wanting a good saleswoman——" he added.
But Vinçard, affecting extreme sorrow, cut him short: "How
unfortunate!" said he. "I had, indeed, been looking for a
saleswoman all this week; but I've just engaged one—not two hours
ago."
A silence ensued. Denise seemed to be in consternation. Robineau,
who was looking at her with interest, probably inspired with pity by
her poverty-stricken appearance, ventured to remark: "I know
they're wanting a young person at our place, in the mantle
department."
At this Baudu could not restrain a fervent outburst: "At your place
indeed! Never!"
Then he stopped short in embarrassment. Denise had turned very
red; she would never dare to enter that great shop, and yet the idea
of belonging to it filled her with pride.
"Why not?" asked Robineau, surprised. "It would be a good opening
for the young lady. I advise her to go and see Madame Aurélie, the
first-hand, to-morrow. The worst that can happen to her is to be
refused."
The draper, to conceal his inward revolt, then began talking vaguely.
He knew Madame Aurélie, or, at least, her husband, Lhomme, the
cashier, a stout man, who had had his right arm crushed by an
omnibus. Then suddenly turning to Denise, he added: "However, it's
her business, it isn't mine. She can do as she likes."
And thereupon he went off, after wishing Gaujean and Robineau
"good-day". Vinçard accompanied him as far as the door, reiterating
his regrets. The girl meantime had remained in the middle of the
shop, intimidated yet desirous of asking Robineau for further
particulars. However she could not muster the courage to do so, but
in her turn bowed, and simply said: "Thank you, sir."
On the way back, Baudu said nothing to his niece, but as if carried
away by his reflections walked on very fast, forcing her to run in
order to keep up with him. On reaching the Rue de la Michodière, he
was about to enter his establishment when a neighbouring
shopkeeper, standing at his door, called to him.
Denise stopped and waited.
"What is it, Père Bourras?" asked the draper.
Bourras was a tall old man, with a prophet's head, bearded and
hairy, with piercing eyes shining from under bushy brows. He kept
an umbrella and walking-stick shop, did repairs, and even carved
handles, which had won for him an artistic celebrity in the
neighbourhood. Denise glanced at the windows of his shop where
the sticks and umbrellas were arranged in straight lines. But on
raising her eyes she was astonished by the appearance of the house
—it was an old hovel squeezed in between The Ladies' Paradise and
a large Louis XIV. mansion; you could hardly conceive how it had
sprung up in the narrow slit where its two low dumpy storeys
displayed themselves. Had it not been for the support of the
buildings on either side it must have fallen; the slates of its roof
were old and rotten, and its two-windowed front was cracked and
covered with stains, running down in long rusty lines to the worm-
eaten sign-board over the shop.
"You know he's written to my landlord, offering to buy the house?"
said Bourras, looking steadily at the draper with his fiery eyes.
Baudu became paler still, and bent his shoulders. There was a
silence, during which the two men remained face to face, looking
very serious.
"We must be prepared for anything," murmured Baudu at last.
Thereupon Bourras flew into a passion, shaking his hair and flowing
beard while he shouted: "Let him buy the house, he'll have to pay
four times the value for it! But I swear that as long as I live he
shan't touch a stone of it. My lease has twelve years to run yet. We
shall see! we shall see!"
It was a declaration of war. Bourras was looking towards The Ladies'
Paradise, which neither of them had named. For a moment Baudu
remained shaking his head in silence, and then crossed the street to
his shop, his legs almost failing him as he repeated: "Ah! good Lord!
ah! good Lord!"
Denise, who had listened, followed her uncle. Madame Baudu had
just come back with Pépé, whom Madame Gras had agreed to
receive at any time. Jean, however, had disappeared, and this made
his sister anxious. When he returned with a flushed face, talking in
an animated way of the boulevards, she looked at him with such a
sad expression that he blushed with shame. Meantime their box had
arrived, and it was arranged that they should sleep in the attic.
"Ah! By the way, how did you get on at Vinçard's?" inquired Madame
Baudu.
The draper thereupon gave an account of his fruitless errand, adding
that Denise had heard of a situation; and, pointing to The Ladies'
Paradise with a scornful gesture, he exclaimed: "There—in there!"
The whole family felt hurt at the idea. The first dinner was at five
o'clock. Denise and the two children sat down to it with Baudu,
Geneviève, and Colomban. A single gas jet lighted and warmed the
little dining-room which reeked with the smell of food. The meal
passed off in silence, but at dessert Madame Baudu, who was
restless, left the shop, and came and sat down behind Denise. And
then the storm, kept back all day, broke out, one and all seeking to
relieve their feelings by abusing the "monster".
"It's your business, you can do as you like," repeated Baudu. "We
don't want to influence you. But if you only knew what sort of place
it is——" And in broken sentences he commenced to relate the story
of that Octave Mouret to whom The Paradise belonged. He had been
wonderfully lucky! A fellow who had come up from the South of
France with the smiling audacity of an adventurer, who had no
sooner arrived in Paris than he had begun to distinguish himself by
all sorts of disgraceful pranks, figuring most prominently in a
matrimonial scandal, which was still the talk of the neighbourhood;
and who, to crown all, had suddenly and mysteriously made the
conquest of Madame Hédouin, who had brought him The Ladies'
Paradise as a marriage portion.
"That poor Caroline!" interrupted Madame Baudu. "We were
distantly related. If she had lived things would be different. She
wouldn't have let them ruin us like this. And he's the man who killed
her. Yes, with that very building! One morning, when she was
visiting the works, she fell into a hole, and three days after she died.
A fine, strong, healthy woman, who had never known what illness
was! There's some of her blood in the foundations of that house."
So speaking she pointed to the establishment opposite with her pale
and trembling hand. Denise, listening as to a fairy tale, slightly
shuddered; the sense of fear which had mingled with the temptation
she had felt since morning, was due, perhaps, to the presence of
that woman's blood, which she fancied she could now detect in the
red mortar of the basement.
"It seems as if it brought him good luck," added Madame Baudu,
without mentioning Mouret by name.
But the draper, full of disdain for these old women's tales, shrugged
his shoulders and resumed his story, explaining the situation
commercially. The Ladies' Paradise had been founded in 1822 by two
brothers, named Deleuze. On the death of the elder, his daughter,
Caroline, had married the son of a linen manufacturer, Charles
Hédouin; and, later on, becoming a widow, she had married Mouret.
She thus brought him a half share in the business. Three months
after the marriage, however, the second brother Deleuze died
childless; so that when Caroline met her death, Mouret became sole
heir, sole proprietor of The Ladies' Paradise. Yes, he had been
wonderfully lucky!
"He's what they call a man of ideas, a dangerous busybody, who will
overturn the whole neighbourhood if he's left to himself!" continued
Baudu. "I fancy that Caroline, who was rather romantic also, must
have been carried away by the gentleman's extravagant plans. In
short, he persuaded her to buy the house on the left, then the one
on the right; and he himself, on becoming his own master, bought
two others; so that the establishment has kept on growing and
growing to such a point that it now threatens to swallow us all up!"
He was addressing Denise, but was in reality speaking for himself,
feeling a feverish longing to recapitulate this story which continually
haunted him. At home he was always angry and full of bile, always
violent, with fists ever clenched. Madame Baudu, ceasing to
interfere, sat motionless on her chair; Geneviève and Colomban,
with eyes cast down, were picking up and eating the crumbs off the
table, just for the sake of something to do. It was so warm, so stuffy
in that tiny room that Pépé had fallen asleep with his head on the
table, and even Jean's eyes were closing.
"But wait a bit!" resumed Baudu, seized with a sudden fit of anger,
"such jokers always go to smash! Mouret is hard-pushed just now; I
know that for a fact. He's been forced to spend all his savings on his
mania for extensions and advertisements. Moreover, in order to raise
additional capital, he has induced most of his shop-people to invest
all they possess with him. And so he hasn't a sou to help himself
with now; and, unless a miracle be worked, and he manages to
treble his sales, as he hopes to do, you'll see what a crash there'll
be! Ah! I'm not ill-natured, but that day I'll illuminate my shop-front,
I will, on my word of honour!"
And he went on in a revengeful voice; to hear him you would have
thought that the fall of The Ladies' Paradise would restore the
dignity and prestige of commerce. Had any one ever seen such
doings? A draper's shop selling everything! Why not call it a bazaar
at once? And the employees! a nice set they were too—a lot of
puppies, who did their work like porters at a railway station, treating
both goods and customers as if they were so many parcels; taking
themselves off or getting the sack at a moment's notice. No
affection, no morals, no taste! And all at once he appealed to
Colomban as a witness; he, Colomban, brought up in the good old
school, knew how long it took to learn all the cunning and trickery of
the trade. The art was not to sell much, but to sell dear. And then
too, Colomban could tell them how he had been treated, carefully
looked after, his washing and mending done, nursed in illness,
considered as one of the family—loved, in fact!
"Of course, of course," repeated Colomban, after each statement
made by his governor.
"Ah, you're the last of the old stock, my dear fellow," Baudu ended
by declaring. "After you're gone there'll be none left. You are my
sole consolation, for if all that hurry and scurry is what they now call
business I understand nothing of it and would rather clear out."
Geneviève, with her head on one side as if her thick hair were
weighing down her pale brow, sat watching the smiling shopman;
and in her glance there was a gleam of suspicion, a wish to see
whether Colomban, stricken with remorse, would not blush at all this
praise. But, like a fellow well acquainted with every trick of the old
style of trade, he retained his sedateness, his good-natured air, with
just a touch of cunning about his lips. However, Baudu still went on,
louder than ever, accusing the people opposite—that pack of
savages who murdered each other in their struggle for existence—of
even destroying all family ties. And he mentioned his country
neighbours, the Lhommes—mother, father, and son—all employed in
the infernal shop, people who virtually had no home but were always
out and about, leading a hotel, table d'hôte kind of existence, and
never taking a meal at their own place excepting on Sundays.
Certainly his dining-room wasn't over large or too well aired or
lighted; but at least it spoke to him of his life, for he had lived there
amidst the affection of his kith and kin. Whilst speaking, his eyes
wandered about the room; and he shuddered at the unavowed idea
that if those savages should succeed in ruining his trade they might
some day turn him out of this hole where he was so comfortable
with his wife and child. Notwithstanding the seeming assurance with
which he predicted the utter downfall of his rivals, he was in reality
terrified, feeling at heart that the neighbourhood was being
gradually invaded and devoured.
"Well, I don't want to disgust you," he resumed, trying to calm
himself; "if you think it to your interest to go there, I shall be the
first to say, 'go.'"
"I am sure of that, uncle," murmured Denise in bewilderment, her
desire to enter The Ladies' Paradise, growing keener and keener
amidst all this display of passion.
Baudu had put his elbows on the table, and was wearying her with
his fixed stare. "But look here," he resumed; "you who know the
business, do you think it right that a simple draper's shop should sell
everything? Formerly, when trade was trade, drapers sold nothing
but drapery. But now they are doing their best to snap up every
branch of trade and ruin their neighbours. The whole neighbourhood
complains of it, every small tradesman is beginning to suffer terribly.
This man Mouret is ruining them. For instance, Bédoré and his sister,
who keep the hosiery shop in the Rue Gaillon, have already lost half
their customers; Mademoiselle Tatin, who sells under-linen in the
Passage Choiseul, has been obliged to lower her prices, to be able to
sell at all. And the effects of this scourge, this pest, are felt as far as
the Rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, where I hear that Messrs.
Vanpouille Brothers, the furriers, cannot hold out much longer. Ah!
Drapers selling fur goods—what a farce! another of Mouret's ideas!"
"And gloves," added Madame Baudu; "isn't it monstrous? He has
even dared to add a glove department! Yesterday, when I passed
down the Rue Neuve-Saint-Augustin, I saw Quinette, the glover, at
his door, looking so downcast that I hadn't the heart to ask him how
business was going."
"And umbrellas," resumed Baudu; "that's the climax! Bourras is
convinced that Mouret simply wants to ruin him; for, in short,
where's the rhyme between umbrellas and drapery? But Bourras is
firm on his legs, and won't let himself be butchered! We shall see
some fun one of these days."
Then Baudu went on to speak of other tradesmen, passing the
whole neighbourhood in review. Now and again he let slip a
confession. If Vinçard wanted to sell it was time for the rest to pack
up, for Vinçard was like the rats who make haste to leave a house
when it threatens ruin. Then, however, immediately afterwards, he
contradicted himself, and talked of an alliance, an understanding
between the small tradesmen to enable them to fight the colossus.
For a moment, his hands shaking, and his mouth twitching
nervously, he hesitated as to whether he should speak of himself. At
last he made up his mind to do so.
"As for me," he said, "I can't complain as yet. Of course he has done
me harm, the scoundrel! But up to the present he has only kept
ladies' cloths, light stuffs for dresses and heavier goods for mantles.
People still come to me for men's goods, velvets and velveteens for
shooting suits, cloths for liveries, without speaking of flannels and
molletons, of which I defy him to show so complete an assortment
as my own. But he thinks he will annoy me by placing his cloth
department right in front of my door. You've seen his display, haven't
you? He always places his finest mantles there, surrounded by a
framework of cloth in pieces—a cheapjack parade to tempt the
hussies. Upon my word, I should be ashamed to use such means!
The Old Elbeuf has been known for nearly a hundred years, and has
no need of any such catchpenny devices at its door. As long as I live,
it shall remain as I took it, with its four samples on each side, and
nothing more!"
The whole family was becoming affected; and after a spell of silence
Geneviève ventured to make a remark:
"Our customers know and like us, papa," said she. "We mustn't lose
heart. Madame Desforges and Madame de Boves have been to-day,
and I am expecting Madame Marty for some flannel."
"For my part," declared Colomban, "I took an order from Madame
Bourdelais yesterday. 'Tis true she spoke of an English cheviot
marked up opposite ten sous cheaper than ours, and the same stuff,
it appears."
"Fancy," murmured Madame Baudu in her weak voice, "we knew
that house when it was scarcely larger than a handkerchief! Yes, my
dear Denise, when the Deleuzes started it, it had only one window in
the Rue Neuve-Saint-Augustin; and such a tiny one, there was barely
room for a couple of pieces of print and two or three pieces of
calico. There was no room to turn round in the shop, it was so small.
At that time The Old Elbeuf, after sixty years' trading, was already
such as you see it now. Ah! all has greatly changed, greatly
changed!"
She shook her head; the drama of her whole life was expressed in
those few words. Born in the old house, she loved each of its damp
stones, living only for it and by it; and, formerly so proud of that
house, the finest, the best patronised in the neighbourhood, she had
had the daily grief of seeing the rival establishment gradually
growing in importance, at first disdained, then equal to her own and
finally towering above it, and threatening all. This was to her an
ever-open sore; she was slowly dying from sheer grief at seeing The
Old Elbeuf humiliated; if she still lived it was, as in the case of the
shop itself, solely by the effect of impulsion; but she well realised
that the death of the shop would be hers as well, and that she
would pass away on the day when it should close.
Silence fell. Baudu began softly beating a tattoo with his fingers on
the American cloth on the table. He experienced a sort of lassitude,
almost a regret at having once more relieved his feelings in this way.
The whole family shared his despondency, and with dreamy eyes
chewed the cud of his bitter story. They never had had any luck. The
children had been brought up and fortune had seemed at hand,
when suddenly this competition had arisen and ruined all their
hopes. And there was, also, that house at Rambouillet, that country
house to which the draper had been dreaming of retiring for the last
ten years—a bargain, he had thought when he acquired it, but it had
proved a sorry old building, always in want of repairs, and he had let
it to people who never paid any rent. His last profits were swallowed
up by this place—the only folly he had been guilty of in his honest,
upright career as a tradesman stubbornly attached to the old ways.
"Come, come!" he suddenly exclaimed, "we must make room for the
others. That's enough of this useless talk!"
It was like an awakening. The gas was hissing in the lifeless, stifling
air of the tiny room. They all jumped up, breaking the melancholy
silence. Pépé, however, was sleeping so soundly that they decided to
lay him on some bales of cloth. Jean had already returned to the
street door yawning.
"In short," repeated Baudu to his niece, "you can do as you like. We
have explained the matter to you, that's all. You know your own
business best."
He gave her an urgent glance, waiting for a decisive answer. But
Denise, whom these stories had inspired with a still greater longing
to enter The Ladies' Paradise, instead of turning her from it, retained
her quiet gentle demeanour beneath which lurked a genuine
Norman obstinacy. And she simply replied: "We'll see, uncle."
Then she spoke of going to bed early with the children, for they
were all three very tired. But it had only just struck six, so she
decided to stay in the shop a little longer. Night had now come on,
and she found the street quite dark, drenched by a fine close rain,
which had been falling since sunset. It came on her as a surprise. A
few minutes had sufficed to fill the roadway with puddles, a stream
of dirty water was running along the gutters, the pavement was
sticky with a thick black mud; and through the beating rain she saw
nothing but a confused stream of umbrellas, pushing along and
swelling in the gloom like great black wings. She started back at
first, feeling very cold, oppressed at heart by the badly-lighted shop,
now so extremely dismal. A moist breeze, the breath of that old
quarter of Paris, came in from the street; it seemed as if the rain,
streaming from the umbrellas, was running right up to the counters,
as if the pavement with its mud and its puddles was coming into the
shop, putting the finishing touch to the mouldiness of that ancient,
cavernous ground-floor, white with saltpetre. It was quite a vision of
old Paris in the wet, and it made her shiver with distressful
astonishment at finding the great city so cold and so ugly.
But across the road The Ladies' Paradise glowed with its deep,
serried lines of gas jets. She moved nearer, again attracted and, as it
were, warmed by that ardent blaze. The machine was still roaring,
active as ever, letting its steam escape with a last roar, whilst the
salesmen folded up the stuffs, and the cashiers counted the receipts.
Seen through the hazy windows, the lights swarmed vaguely,
revealing a confused factory-like interior. Behind the curtain of falling
rain, the vision, blurred and distant, assumed the appearance of a
giant furnace-house, where the shadows of firemen passed black
against the red glare of the furnaces. The displays in the windows
likewise became indistinct: you could only distinguish the snowy
lace, its whiteness heightened by the ground glass globes of a row
of gas jets, and against this chapel-like background the ready-made
goods stood out vigorously, the velvet mantle trimmed with silver fox
setting amidst them all the curved silhouette of a headless woman
who seemed to be running through the rain to some entertainment
in the unknown shades of nocturnal Paris.
Denise, yielding to the fascination, had gone to the door, heedless of
the raindrops dripping upon her. At this hour, The Ladies' Paradise,
with its furnace-like brilliancy, completed its conquest of her. In the
great metropolis, black and silent beneath the rain—in this Paris, to
which she was a stranger, it shone out like a lighthouse, and seemed
to be of itself the life and light of the city. She dreamed of her future
there, working hard to bring up the children, with other things
besides—she hardly knew what—far-off things however, the desire
and fear of which made her tremble. The idea of that woman who
had met her death amidst the foundations came back to her; and
she felt afraid, fancying that the lights were tinged with blood; but
the whiteness of the lace quieted her, a hope, quite a certainty of
happiness, sprang up in her heart, whilst the fine rain, blowing on
her, cooled her hands, and calmed the feverishness within her, born
of her journey.
"It's Bourras," all at once said a voice behind her.
She leant forward, and perceived the umbrella-maker, motionless
before the window containing the ingenious roof-like construction of
umbrellas and walking-sticks which she had noticed in the morning.
The old man had slipped up there in the dark, to feast his eyes on
that triumphant show; and so great was his grief that he was
unconscious of the rain beating down on his bare head, and
streaming off his long white hair.
"How stupid he is, he'll make himself ill," resumed the voice.
Then, turning round, Denise again found the Baudus behind her.
Though they thought Bourras so stupid, they also, despite
themselves, ever and ever returned to the contemplation of that
spectacle which rent their hearts. It was, so to say, a rageful desire
to suffer. Geneviève, very pale, had noticed that Colomban was
watching the shadows of the saleswomen pass to and fro on the first
floor opposite; and, whilst Baudu almost choked with suppressed
rancour, Madame Baudu began silently weeping.
"You'll go and see, to-morrow, won't you, Denise?" asked the draper,
tormented with uncertainty, but feeling that his niece was conquered
like the rest.
She hesitated, then gently replied: "Yes, uncle, unless it pains you
too much."

CHAPTER II.

The next morning, at half-past seven, Denise was outside The

Ladies' Paradise, wishing to call there before taking Jean to his new
place, which was a long way off, at the top of the Faubourg du
Temple. But, accustomed as she was to early hours, she had come
down too soon; the employees were barely arriving and, afraid of
looking ridiculous, overcome by timidity, she remained for a moment
walking up and down the Place Gaillon.
The cold wind that blew had already dried the pavement. From all
the surrounding streets, illumined by a pale early light, falling from
an ashen sky, shopmen were hurriedly approaching with their coat-
collars turned up, and their hands in their pockets, taken unawares
by this first chill of winter. Most of them hurried along alone, and
vanished into the warehouse, without addressing a word or look to
their colleagues marching along around them. Others however came
up in twos and threes, talking fast, and monopolising the whole of
the pavement; and all, with a similar gesture, flung away their
cigarettes or cigars before crossing the threshold.
Denise noticed that several of the gentlemen took stock of her in
passing. This increased her timidity; and she no longer had courage
to follow them, but resolved to wait till they had entered, blushing at
the mere idea of being elbowed at the door by all these men.
However the stream of salesmen still flowed on, and in order to
escape their looks, she took a walk round the Place. When she came
back again, she found a tall young man, pale and awkward, who
appeared to be waiting like herself.
"I beg your pardon, mademoiselle," he finished by stammering, "but
perhaps you belong to the establishment?"
She was so troubled at hearing a stranger address her that she did
not at first reply.
"The fact is," he continued, getting more confused than ever, "I
thought of applying to see if I could get an engagement, and you
might have given me a little information."
He was as timid as she was, and had probably risked speaking to her
because he divined that she was trembling like himself.
"I would with pleasure, sir," she at last replied. "But I'm no better off
than you are; I'm just going to apply myself."
"Ah, very good," said he, quite out of countenance.
Thereupon they both blushed deeply, and still all timidity remained
for a moment face to face, affected by the striking similarity of their
positions yet not daring to openly express a desire for each other's
success. Then, as nothing further fell from either and both became
more and more uncomfortable, they parted awkwardly, and renewed
their wait, one on either side at a distance of a few steps.
The shopmen continued to arrive, and Denise could now hear them
joking as they passed, casting side glances towards her. Her
confusion increased at finding herself thus on exhibition, and she
had decided to take half an hour's walk in the neighbourhood, when
the sight of a young man approaching rapidly by way of the Rue
Port-Mahon, detained her for another moment. He was probably the
manager of a department, thought she, for all the others raised their
hats to him. Tall, with a clear skin and carefully trimmed beard, he
had eyes the colour of old gold and of a velvety softness, which he
fixed on her for a moment as he crossed the Place. He was already
entering the shop with an air of indifference, while she remained
motionless, quite upset by that glance of his, filled indeed with a
singular emotion, in which there was more uneasiness than
pleasure. Without doubt, fear was gaining on her, and, to give
herself time to collect her courage, she began slowly walking down
the Rue Gaillon, and then along the Rue Saint-Roch.
The person who had so disturbed her was more than the manager
of a department, it was Octave Mouret in person. He had been
making a night of it, and his tightly buttoned overcoat concealed a
dress suit and white tie. In all haste he ran upstairs to his rooms,
washed himself and changed his clothes, and when he at last seated
himself at his table, in his private office on the first floor, he was at
his ease and full of strength, with bright eyes and cool skin, as ready
for work as if he had enjoyed ten hours' sleep. The spacious office,
furnished in old oak and hung with green rep, had but one
ornament, the portrait of that Madame Hédouin, who was still the
talk of the whole neighbourhood. Since her death Octave ever
thought of her with tender regret, grateful as he felt to her for the
fortune she had bestowed on him with her hand. And before
commencing to sign the drafts laid upon his blotting-pad he darted
upon her portrait the contented smile of a happy man. Was it not
always before her that he returned to work, after the escapades of
his present single-blessedness?
There came a knock however, and before Mouret could answer, a
young man entered, a tall, bony fellow, very gentlemanly and correct
in his appearance, with thin lips, a sharp nose and smooth hair
already showing signs of turning grey. Mouret raised his eyes, then
whilst still signing the drafts, remarked:
"I hope you slept well, Bourdoncle?"
"Very well, thanks," replied the young man, walking about as if he
were quite at home.
Bourdoncle, the son of a poor farmer near Limoges, had begun his
career at The Ladies' Paradise at the same time as Mouret, when it
only occupied the corner of the Place Gaillon. Very intelligent and
very active, it then seemed as if he would easily supplant his
comrade, who was much less steady, and far too fond of love-affairs;
but he had neither the instinctive genius of the impassioned
Southerner, nor his audacity, nor his winning grace. Besides, by a
wise instinct, he had, from the first bowed before him, obedient
without a struggle. When Mouret had advised his people to put their
money into the business, Bourdoncle had been one of the first to do
so, even investing in the establishment the proceeds of an
unexpected legacy left him by an aunt; and little by little, after
passing through all the various stages, such as salesman, second,
and then first-hand in the silk department, he had become one of
Octave's most cherished and influential lieutenants, one of the six
intéressés[1] who assisted him to govern The Ladies' Paradise—
forming something like a privy council under an absolute king. Each
one watched over a department or province. Bourdoncle, for his
part, exercised a general surveillance.
[1] In the great Paris magasins de nouveautés such as the Louvre
and Bon Marché there have been at various stages numerous
intéressés, that is partners of a kind who whilst entitled to some
share of the profits, exercise but a strictly limited control in the
management of the establishment's affairs.—Trans.

"And you," resumed he, familiarly, "have you slept Well?"

When Mouret replied that he had not been to bed, he shook his
head, murmuring: "Bad habits."
"Why?" replied the other, gaily. "I'm not so tired as you are, my dear
fellow. You are half asleep now, you lead too quiet a life. Take a little
amusement, that'll wake you up a bit."
This was their constant friendly dispute. Bourdoncle who professed
to hate all women, contented himself with encouraging the
extravagance of the lady customers, feeling meantime the greatest
disdain for the frivolity which led them to ruin themselves in stupid
gewgaws. Mouret, on the contrary, affected to worship them, ever
showed himself delighted and cajoling in their presence and was
ever embarking in fresh love-affairs. This served, as it were, as an
advertisement for his business; and you might have said that he
enveloped all women in the same caress the better to bewilder them
and keep them at his mercy.
"I saw Madame Desforges last night, she was looking delicious at
that ball," said he, beginning to relate his evening experiences. But
then, abruptly breaking off, he took up another bundle of drafts,
which he began to sign whilst Bourdoncle continued to walk about,
stepping towards the lofty plate-glass windows whence he glanced
into the Rue Neuve-Saint-Augustin. Then, retracing his steps, he
suddenly exclaimed: "You know they'll have their revenge."
"Who will?" asked Mouret, who had lost the thread of the
conversation.
"Why, the women."
At this, Mouret became quite merry, displaying, beneath his
adorative manner, his really brutal character. With a shrug of the
shoulders he seemed to declare he would throw them all over, like
so many empty sacks, as soon as they should have finished helping
him to make his fortune. But Bourdoncle in his frigid way obstinately
repeated: "They will have their revenge; there will be one who will
some day avenge all the others. It's bound to be."
"No fear," cried Mouret, exaggerating his Southern accent. "That one
isn't born yet, my boy. And if she comes, you know, why there——"
So saying he raised his penholder, brandishing it and pointing it in
the air, as if he were bent on stabbing some invisible heart with a
knife. Bourdoncle thereupon resumed his walk, bowing as usual
before the superiority of the governor, whose genius, with all its
lapses, disconcerted him. He, himself so clear-headed, logical and
passionless, incapable of falling into the toils of a syren, had yet to
learn the feminine character of success, all Paris yielding herself with
a kiss to her boldest assailant.
A silence fell, broken only by the sound of Mouret's pen. Then, in
reply to his brief questions, Bourdoncle gave him various information
respecting of the great sale of winter novelties, which was to
commence on the following Monday. This was an important affair,
the house was risking its fortune in it; for the rumours of the
neighbourhood had some foundation, Mouret was throwing himself
into speculation like a poet, with such ostentation, such desire to
attain the colossal, that everything seemed likely to give way under
him. It was quite a new style of doing business, a seeming
commercial phantasy which had formerly made Madame Hédouin
anxious, and even now, notwithstanding certain successes, quite
dismayed those who had capital in the business. They blamed the
governor in secret for going too quick; accused him of having
enlarged the establishment to a dangerous extent, before making
sure of a sufficient increase of custom; above all, they trembled on
seeing him put all the available cash into one venture, filling the
departments with a pile of goods without leaving a copper in the
reserve fund. Thus, for this winter sale, after the heavy sums
recently paid to the builders, the whole capital was exhausted and it
once more became a question of victory or death. Yet Mouret in the
midst of all this excitement, preserved a triumphant gaiety, a
certainty of gaining millions, like a man so worshipped by women,
that there could be no question of betrayal. When Bourdoncle
ventured to express certain fears with reference to the excessive
development given to several departments of doubtful profit he gave
vent to a laugh full of confidence, and exclaimed:
"Pooh, pooh! my dear fellow, the place is still too small!"
The other appeared dumbfounded, seized with a fear which he no
longer attempted to conceal. The house too small! an establishment
which comprised nineteen departments, and numbered four hundred
and three employees!
"Of course," resumed Mouret, "we shall be obliged to enlarge our
premises again before another eighteen months are over. I'm
seriously thinking about the matter. Last night Madame Desforges
promised to introduce me to some one who may be useful. In short,
we'll talk it over when the idea is ripe."
Then having finished signing his drafts, he rose, and tapped his
lieutenant on the shoulder in a friendly manner, but the latter could
not get over his astonishment. The fright displayed by the prudent
people around him amused Mouret. In one of those fits of brusque
frankness with which he sometimes overwhelmed his familiars, he
declared that he was at heart a greater Jew than all the Jews in the
world; he took, said he, after his father, whom he resembled
physically and morally, a fellow who knew the value of money; and,
if his mother had given him that dash of nervous fantasy which he
displayed, it was, perhaps, the principal element of his luck, for he
felt that his ability to dare everything was an invincible force.
"Oh! You know very well that we'll stand by you to the last,"
Bourdoncle finished by saying.
Then, before going down into the shop to give their usual look
round, they settled certain other details. They examined a specimen
of a little book of account forms, which Mouret had just invented for
the use of his employees. Having remarked that the old-fashioned
goods, the dead stock, went off the more rapidly the higher the
commission allowed to the employees, he had based on this
observation quite a new system, that of interesting his people in the
sale of all the goods, giving them a commission on even the smallest
piece of stuff, the most trumpery article they sold. This innovation
had caused quite a revolution in the drapery trade, creating between
the salespeople a struggle for existence of which the masters reaped
the benefits. To foment this struggle was indeed Mouret's favourite
method, the principle which he constantly applied. He excited his
employees' passions, pitted one against the other, allowed the
stronger to swallow up the weaker ones, and for his own part
battened on this struggle of conflicting interests. The sample
account book was duly approved of; at the top of each leaf on both
counterfoil and bill form, appeared particulars of the department and
the salesman's number; then also in duplicate came columns for the
measurement, the description of the goods sold, and their price. The
salesman simply signed the bill form before handing it to the
cashier; and in this way an easy account was kept: it was only
necessary to compare the bill-forms delivered by the cashier's
department to the clearing-house with the salesmen's counterfoils.
Every week the latter would receive their commission, without any
possibility of error.
"We shan't be robbed so much," remarked Bourdoncle, with
satisfaction. "This was a very good idea of yours."
"And I thought of something else last night," explained Mouret. "Yes,
my dear fellow, at supper. I have an idea of giving the clearing-
house clerks a little bonus for every error they detect while checking
the bills. You understand, eh? Like this we shall be sure that they
won't pass any, for rather than do that they'll be inventing mistakes!"
He began to laugh, whilst the other looked at him admiringly. This
new application of the struggle-for-existence theory delighted
Mouret; he had a real genius for administrative functions, and
dreamed of so organizing the establishment as to trade upon the
selfish instincts of his employees, for the greater satisfaction of his
own appetites. He often said that to make people do their best, and
even to keep them fairly honest, it was first of all necessary to excite
their selfish desires.
"Well, let's go downstairs," he resumed. "We must look after this
sale. The silk arrived yesterday, I believe, and Bouthemont must be
getting it in now."
Bourdoncle followed him. The receiving office was in the basement
on the side of the Rue Neuve-Saint-Augustin. There, on a level with
the pavement, was a kind of glazed cage, into which the vans
discharged the goods. They were weighed, and then shot down a
rapid slide, whose oak and iron work was polished by the constant
chaffing of bales and cases. Everything entered by this yawning trap;
it was a continuous swallowing up, a niagara of goods, falling with a
roar like that of a torrent. At the approach of big sale times
especially, the slide brought down an endless stream of Lyons silks,
English woollens, Flemish linens, Alsatian calicoes, and Rouen prints.
The vans were sometimes obliged to wait their turn along the street;
and as each bale rushed down to the basement there arose a sound
as of a stone thrown into deep water.
On his way Mouret stopped for a moment before the slide, which
was in full activity. Rows of cases were coming down of themselves,
falling like rain from some upper stream. Then bales appeared,
toppling over in their descent like rolling stones. Mouret looked on,
without saying a word. But this wealth of goods rushing in to his
establishment at the rate of thousands of francs each minute, made
his clear eyes glisten. He had never before had such a clear, definite
idea of the struggle he was engaged in. It was this falling mountain
of goods which he must cast to the four corners of Paris. He did not
open his mouth, however, but continued his inspection.
By the grey light which came in through the large vent-holes, a
squad of men were receiving the goods, whilst others removed the
lids of the cases and opened the bales in presence of the managers
of different departments. A dockyard kind of bustle filled this
basement, whose vaulted roofing was supported by wrought-iron
pillars and whose bare walls were simply cemented.
"Have you got everything there, Bouthemont?" asked Mouret,
approaching a broad-shouldered young fellow who was checking the
contents of a case.
"Yes, everything seems all right," replied he, "but the counting will
take me all the morning."
Then the manager of the silk department ran down an invoice he
held, standing the while before a large counter on which one of his
salesmen deposited, one by one, the pieces of silk which he took
from an open case. Behind them ran other counters, also littered
with goods which a small army of shopmen was examining. It was a
general unpacking, a seeming confusion of stuffs, inspected, turned
over, and marked, amidst a continuous buzz of voices.
Bouthemont who was becoming a celebrity in the trade, had the
round, jovial face of a right good fellow, with a coal-black beard, and
fine hazel eyes. Born at Montpellier, noisy, and over fond of pleasure,
he was not of much good for the sales, but in buying he had not his
equal. Sent to Paris by his father, who kept a draper's shop in his
native town, he had absolutely refused to return home when the old
fellow, thinking that he ought to know enough to succeed him in his
business, had summoned him to do so; and from that moment a
rivalry had sprung up between father and son, the former, absorbed
in his little country business and shocked to see a simple shopman
earning three times as much as he did himself, and the latter joking
at the old man's humdrum routine, chinking his money, and
throwing the whole house into confusion at every flying visit he paid.
Like the other managers, Bouthemont drew, besides his three
thousand francs regular pay, a commission on the sales. Montpellier,
surprised and respectful, whispered that young Bouthemont had
made fifteen thousand francs the year before, and that that was only
a beginning—people prophesied to the exasperated father that this
figure would certainly increase.
Meantime Bourdoncle had taken up one of the pieces of silk, and
was examining the texture with the eye of a connoisseur. It was a
faille with a blue and silver selvage, the famous Paris Delight, with
which Mouret hoped to strike a decisive blow.
"It is really very good," observed Bourdoncle.
"And the effect it produces is better than its real quality," said
Bouthemont. "Dumonteil is the only one capable of manufacturing
such stuff. Last journey when I fell out with Gaujean, the latter was
willing to set a hundred looms to work on this pattern, but he asked
five sous a yard more."
Nearly every month Bouthemont went to Lyons, staying there days
together, living at the best hôtels, with orders to treat the
manufacturers with open purse. He enjoyed, moreover, a perfect
liberty, and bought what he liked, provided that he increased the
yearly business of his department in a certain proportion, settled
beforehand; and it was on this proportion that his commission was
based. In short, his position at The Ladies' Paradise, like that of all
the managers, was that of a special tradesman, in a grouping of
various businesses, a sort of vast trading city.
"So," resumed he, "it's decided we mark it at five francs twelve
sous? It's barely the cost price, you know."
"Yes, yes, five francs twelve sous," said Mouret, quickly; "and if I
were alone, I'd sell it at a loss."