Furet du Nord is a chain of bookstores in the Nord department of France. Its origins date back to 1936 when a fur store located on Rue de la Vieille-Comédie in Lille was transformed into a bookstore. It retained its name, referring to a local tradition: rabbit hunting with ferrets.
Today, the flagship store is located in Lille on the Grand Place. It was established in 1959 and was the largest bookstore in the world from 1992 to 1999.[1] It is still one of the largest bookshops in France.[2]
History
Furet du Nord was originally a fur shop located on Rue de la Vieille-Comédie in Lille. High school principal Georges Poulard transformed the 70 m2 fur shop into a bookstore in 1936. Despite the nature of the business changing, the new owner decided to keep the original name, Furet du Nord.[3][4]