At the end of the 19th century, several French doll makers combined their operations in an attempt to cut costs and compete with less-expensive dolls imported from Germany. The corporation operated under the name of Soci퀌�t퀌� Fran퀌_aise de Fabrication de B퀌�b퀌� & Jouets, and it took over the trademarks and existing stock of Fleischman & Blodel, Pintel & Godchaux, Rabert & Delphieu, Bru, Jumeau, and other makers of high-quality bebe dolls. The conglomerate survived until 1957, but it never gained dominance of the doll-making industry.