Society & Economy

The fall of the House of Potin

"Felix Potin" is an illustrious and familiar childhood name in France. It was also the name of a man who, in 1850, created large-scale distribution for food products & a modest man who was also a visionary genius, and who, along with Boucicaut, literally invented our consumer society. By creating large-scale distribution, Potin gave the impetus to a movement which has never stopped growing since & in France, distribution is a leading sector, in the process of taking over the world. ´Carrefour´ is springing up all over South America, ´Promodes´ is a European leader, ´Casino´ is establishing more and more bases in Asia. Everything is going faster and faster in this sector whose history is littered with successive waves of innovation. Each of these innovations has been, after Potin, implemented by families: it is they who, since 1850, have organized and controlled French distribution. These families wield real power & they direct what we eat, what we are, and partly govern our way of life. The story of the house of Potin, which spans one-and-a-half centuries, is a blueprint for the story of distribution, which is also the history of France, and that of a people who swapped the basket for the shopping cart.