The Mall is Not the Enemy

Emile Zola’s Au Bonheur des Dames, though written in the late 1800’s, shows modern consumerism at its best. There is the obvious realization that specialization is no longer what is wanted in the consumer market. People seem to be, at the time of the novel, switching over to the new idea of being able to get everything in one place. Many others have stated that this is the start of the downfall of localized and specialized businesses. I agree. However, the part that isn’t being touched on is that even though stores such as Target and Wal-Mart are selling a great deal of varying products, it is actually the idea of a mall, whether indoor or outdoor, that keeps smaller, more specialized businesses alive.
The mall does two things that both allow the consumer and the business owner to work in harmony. It provides the customer with a variety of needs in one large location rather than a multitude of places scattered about, while also allowing individualized or specialized stores to surround each other with there varying products in a market-esque fashion. Au Bonheur des Dames doesn’t seem to be so much a commentary on the idea of mall as a problem, especially because it doesn’t really exist yet in that sense, but rather the resentment small businesses feel toward one singular store attempting to combine everything.
Keller Easterling has described this idea as being “spatial products that attempt to avoid political entanglements.” Does this mean they try to satisfy the largest possible group of consumers only? No. It means that in order to avoid confrontation and to continue to grow you need to satisfy not simply the consumers, but also the makers of the products you wish to market. This is my only issue with Zola’s text thus far; that the specialized owners seem to be giving up. The reason a lot of these stores work is also because the businesses must like the idea of being marketed in a multi-product store. Why? Because then as someone is getting one product they need and happens to spot a different product which they may merely want, they are more likely to purchase this. I really disagree with the small businesses feeling a loss of individuality and that their store is being destroyed. Yes, the physical store may be obsolete but the business can still operate through that store and if more small business owners with specialized products knew how to play this consumerist game, maybe their products would be in Target today, or they would have their own retail space in the new Meadowlands Xanadu.