OPPORTUNITIES
V
by
HAROLD S. KAHM
A uthor of " New Business Opportunities fo r Today"
(This is the fifth in the series of
New Op e rating Opportunities we are
presenting from the pen of Harold S,
Kahm, author of "New Busin ess Op-
portunities of Today." Kahm was born
and reared in the amusement industry
and is f ully qualified to discuss oppor-
tunities existent today for enterprisin g
operato rs . An exclusive R EVIEW /eat-
ure.-The Editors. )
l. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
might not, at first glance, appear to be a
profitable place in which to install coin-
controlled machines, but actually they repre-
sent an undeveloped opportunity. It is not
that the fish have suddenly become equip-
ped with nickels, dimes and quarters, but
rather that the thousands of very human
beings who throng the seas every day in
the year definitely are so equipped. I refer,
of course, to passengers and crew members
of transoceanic vessels.
A word of explanation is needed here:
The average ocean liner no matter how
small, provides a variety of entertainment
for its passengers. There are free movies,
dances, parties, concerts, deck games and
sports, and similar attractions. However, it
is the first class passengers who receive
the bulk of this entertainment. The ship's
orchestra plays for them during mealtime,
and at their evening parties. The tourist
and third class passengers have the orches-
tra at odd hours, generally when it is not
playing for the first class.
Nevertheless, the majority of the average
liner's passengers travel in tourist or third
class. The entertainment needs of these
passengers are never fully satisfied. Hour
after hour, day after day, they have nothing
to do except sit around in their deck chairs,
and wait until mealtime--always an event
at sea because it breaks the monotony. The
day time isn't so bad-then there are deck
sports, and an hour's afternoon concert
by the ship's orchestra. It is the idle hours
of the evening after dinner, when there is
no dance or movie scheduled, that time
drags. Most of the time it is too chilly at
night after the sun goes down to sit out on
deck. So the passengers gather in the main
lounge and sit. Some play bridge listlessly,
but mostly they just sit and yawn and wait
for bedtime.
Here is the golden opportunity for the
coin machine operator. A phonograph alone
would be an excellent installation, because
nothing is quite so popular aboard ship
as music. All types of automatic amuse-
ments that do not involve rolling balls are
certain of a welcome. Pin ball and other
types of ball games where the ball must
roll over a surface are not advisable be-
cause of the movemen t of the ship.
Steamship companies are anxious to pro-
vide as much entertainment as possible for
their passengers, so it is quite likely that
most lines would be glad to entertain your
proposition.
Thus far I have Spoken chiefly of the
tourist and third class passengers as the
best potential customers. This is true, for
the most part, but on the same ships there
are potential customers equally worth cul-
tivating-the members of the ship's crew
which may number into the hundreds.
Ordinarily, no amusements whatever are
provided for them, and most of them are
bored to death during their free hours, off
duty. Coin-controlled amusement machines
installed in their quarters would be certain
of heavy patronage.
Although the big liners offer the largest
money-making opportunities, the smaller
freighters should not be overlooked. Many
freighters carry a limited number of pas-
sengers in addition to fairly large crews.
No entertainment whatever is provided for
the passengers or crew, and the Atlantic
crossing takes an average of eleven days.
The days are mighty long, when you have
absolutely nothing to do. Amusements are
at a premium. Hence the opportunity to
install machines on freighters.
The Atlantic and Pacific are not the only
oceans that have heavy boat traffic. There
are also the Carribean, and the Gulf of
Mexico, all borderinir the United States.
It's a wide-open field for alert coin
machine operators. In fact, one might say
that the field is as wide as the ocean!
2. Many of the new streamlined trains
have special lounge cars which are actually
rolling bars. A typical example is the Tip
Top Tap of the Hiawatha, plying between
the Twin Cities and Chicago. These bars
are invariably crowded during the entire
run, because of the dearth of amusements
aboard trains. There is a great demand,
in these cars, for music. A few lines have
tried radios, but these have not been suc-
cessful because stations are constantly fad-
ing out as distances change, and often there
is static. What is greatly needed in each
of these taverns on wheels is a small coin-
controlled phonograph. The railroads, eager
to offer new novelties to their passengers,
would be glad to listen to a proposition.
3. In every country in the world, from
time immemorial, flower vendors have plied
their trade. In most cities in the United
States, however, the flower business is in
the hands of a few established florists with
regular stores. In New York, however, it
has been proven that the old-type flower
vendor, hawking his wares in subwav sta-
tions. outside of theatres, restaurants," office
buildings, etc., is still a highly successful
institution. But even in New York, there
are thousands of profitable locations -for
flower sales left untouched,
Can fresh flowers, such as ~he popular
gardenia, that sells for a quarter, b_e sold
by automatic machines? The answer 1s yes!
Each gardenia spray is enclosed in a card-
board box and the vending machine, which
has a qu~rter slot, may contain an ice
compartment, or even electric refrigera-
tion. If the front of the machine is glass,
and the flowers are in boxes composed
largely of cellophane, it will afford a beau-
tiful display. If desired, the machine may
have two separate vending compartments,
one for small corsages of roses and sweet
peas.
The types of suitable locations are almost
too numerous to be listed. On the sidewalk
in front of any type of store, in hotel lob-
bies, cocktail lounges, restaurants, theatre
lobbies-anywhere where the better class of
people are to be found.
New York is by no means the only city
where these coin-controlled flower shops
may be located. Any large city is a good
bet.
The flowers may be purchased in quan-
tities from the wholesale florists. Each cor-
sage is accompanied by a long pin. The
profit is high, running in the neighborhood
of one hundred per cent. That there is
a steady demand on the part of the public
for flowers of this type is demonstrated by
the fact that the public has been buying
them steadily for more than two thousand
years - a good recommendation for any
♦
industry!
Television Forges
Ahead in L. A.
HOLLYWOOD - Unknown to most
people, television is in actual operation in
Southern California, station W6XAO,
owned by Thomas S. Lee having already,
presented 2440 programs since its founding
December 23, 1931.
There are 600 teleceivers in the South-
land and shows are fed to them three nights
a week, with plans calling for augmented
live talent shows this fall.
The Lee transmitter, located at Seventh
and Bixel streets, operates on 441 lines.
Public demonstrations of television are
given Wednesday nights at 7 by the Holly-
wood Television Society at 7377 Santa
Monica Boulevard. There, in the county-
owned auditorium of Plummer Park, mem-
bers assemble their home-made sets for
demonstration. Factory sets can be pur-
chased locally for prices ranging upward
from $250.
Because altitude of antennae increases
the range for television, Lee recently pur-
chased the 23-acre site atop Mt. Lee just
behind the giant HOLL YWOODLAND real
estate sign overlooking Hollywood and
pl,ans to erect there the first station in the
United States built exclusively for tele-
vision. The ultimate expenditure for this
will be more than half a million dollars. ♦
5
COIN
MACHINE
REVIEW
Canadian Currency
Shorts N. Y. Ops.
MONTREAL (RC)-Coin machine op-
erators in northern New York state are
losing money from Canadian nickels depos-
ited in their machines because of the de-
preciated value of Canadian money in
terms of United States currency.
With the Canadian dollar discounted as
much as 14 cents, Canadian 5-cent pieces
will represent a substantial loss when oper-
ators attempt to cash them in at their
banks.
♦
• •
"That fellow in the front row hasn't
enough meat on his ribs."
"Why, dearie! How do you know?"
"He's my butcher."
https://elibrary.arcade-museum.com