The rhetoric and reality of marketing in France

Modern marketing practices were implemented in French firms during the 1960s, or at least a decade after implementation started to be taken seriously in the USA. This delay can be explained not only by the specific market context in France but also by the fact that some employees were reluctant to adopt a strong customer orientation within their firms. Here, the marketing rhetoric was literally then the rhetoric of their management. This is developed in the first section of the chapter. The second section explores the case of Rodier, a French fashion brand manufacturer who tried to implement a strong marketing concept but finally failed because global customer satisfaction could not be achieved, and targeted customers who purchased once did not come back again. The last section of the chapter uses the case of ‘A-POC’, another fashion brand launched by the fashion designer Issey Miyake who has a strong presence in France, where his world-wide ‘couture’ headquarters is located. This launch was a success because the firm was able to create a strong and real (at least it was perceived by the customer as such) link between the customers and the organisation, which was indicative of a strong marketing orientation. Despite these examples of firms proclaiming allegiance to the marketing concept, France still seems somewhat apart from most other developed industrialised nations. On the other hand, some ethical issues concerning marketing rhetoric and reality are undoubtedly bringing the country closer to the marketing practices adopted by businesses in many other industrialised nations around the world.