Moreover, the concept of free service was becoming increasingly popular. Free service, prevalent in
retail by the 1990s, was invented in 1916. Prior to its institution, consumers relied heavily on assistance
from sales clerks in selecting and obtaining merchandise. Under the free service system, however,
customers used bags, carts, or baskets to collect their needs--placed within easy reach and individually
priced--while sales clerks served primarily as cashiers.
The supermarket, which first appeared in France in 1954, used the concept of free service. With larger
facilities located outside the center of cities, supermarkets could provide fresher produce, a greater
variety of products, and lower prices than the traditional grocery store. By the end of the decade,
however, only 33 free service supermarkets were in operation in France, and none of them was
modeled after the large discount supermarkets in the United States.
Thus, in May 1959, Fournier and Defforey decided to incorporate these virtually unexploited concepts
for their store in Annecy. An offering of 7,000 shares of stock was made to ten stockholders, and a
facility already under construction in Annecy was purchased.
The ground floor of the building was to be used as the supermarket, while the upper floors, containing
apartments, were to be sold to help finance the business. Marcel Fournier was elected president, and
Denis Defforey, Louis's son, was chosen as general director.
Fournier named the business Carrefour, the French transliteration of the Greek word agora, or
marketplace.
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