For centuries the trader was looked upon as a pariah of society. Slowly however he became more accepted and respected, until emerging - though only in the 20th century - at the top of the enterprise as a full-fledged marketing executive. The article describes how this metamorphosis came about and in what respects society had to change for this to become possible.
Marketing concept; Industrial Revolution; capitalism; profit motive; mass production; differentiation; segmentation; importance of information