Liberty in Paris: international retailing, 1889-1932

This article considers the international retailing operation of Liberty of London in Paris between 1889 and 1932. Using data from the company archive, the article challenges assumptions regarding the nature and role of early retail activity in the internationalisation process. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from the marketing and management literature, the article considers Liberty's Paris operation from entry stage activity in the late 1880s through to the divestment process in the early 1930s. Detailed consideration of this firm shows that the specialist retailer with distinct firm specific assets developed in the domestic market was operating internationally in the late nineteenth century.