Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

Issue: 1949 August

AUGUST, 1949
For the Wrong That Needs Hesista,,,ce ___ For
tl"e Ca •• se TI"at Needs Assistance _
For tl.e
F •• t •• re i,,, the Distance - a,,,d the Good That
It Can Do!
PAUL W. BLACKFORD, Editor and Publisher
W ALTER W. HURD, Executive Editor
LOUIS KARNOFSKY, Advertising Manager
LOS ANGELES 15
NEW YORK 17
CHICAGO 1
1115 Venice Boulevard
FItzroy 8269-FItzroy 7114
35 East Wacker Drive
CENtral 1-1112
441 Lexington Avenue
Murray Hill 2-5589
Summer Tro.de Ahove Predictions
BUSINESS REVIEW . .. Coin Machines Shore Conditions
That Mark 1949 Summer As Normal
For the Coin Machine Industry, the
months of July and August usually pass
pretty much the same. Since the war coin
machine manufacturers have been getting
into the swing for fall trade by mid-August
and the arne general practice may be
anticipated this year. Manufacturers of
machines have by this time made a sound
estimate of what volume of production the
trade may be expected to absorb, but indus-
tries that cater to the general public are
still in the midst of trying to estimate what
output level will meet current demand-and
no more.
Press, radio and other mediums are alive
with opinions and guesses on the trend of
business and operators will be inAuenced
decidedly by the views on general business
that are heard everywhere, It will inAuence
their fall buying.
On the cheerful side, the con uming pub-
lic is showing much more optimism, buying
more goods than had been expected. Retail
trade has held to a much higher volume
than reports on dollar sales really show, be-
cause lower prices do not give the same
high dollar volume as last year.
This year, business and industry has
slowed up much faster than the con uming
public, has speeded up the recession during
May and June and into July by doing so.
Industry has shown more alarm than the
mass of consumers. Back of thi s slowing up
in industries is an effort to find a produc-
Call
PH. 7351
For (oin-operated Equipment,
Parts and Supplies
A. Laymon, Inc.
DISTRIBUTOR
1429-31 W. Pico
AUGUST, 1949
by Walter Hurd
CHICAGO- The summer tourist and vacation business reached higher
levels in July than had been predicted; recent reports indicate a normal
season and operators of coin machines are sharing in the wide variations that
prevail in conditions that may be called normal.
Prediction on summer tourist business tended to be on the gloomy side,
earlier in the year, many bu iness leaders fearing that the so-called rece sion
would discourage summer travel in general. Even as late as mid-June many
of the travel agencies were inclined to be pessimistic_ The oil companies in
March were revising their estimates of gasoline downward for summer traveL
Memorial Day, usually regarded as the first indicator of what summer
travel will be, was not on the optimistic side. But the principal summer resort
areas noted a pickup in reservations by late June and the long July 4 week-
end seemed to put summer travel into a full seasonal swing.
Business establishments that cater to tourists have reported conditions that
tion level in keeping with what will be the
level of demand for goods-and this is a
real problem .
In addition to the high level of con umer
pending, other cheering points in the sum-
mer business picture include the activity
in the auto and building industries. What
happens to steel by September will be
(See BUSINESS REVIEW, Page 12)
• C a I en d ar...
Th e R eVlew
Aug .4
Aug . 7
Aug. 14
IMPORTANT DATES
-Coast Guard Day.
-Friendship Oay_
- V-J Day.
CONVENTIONS
Aug. S-II-International Apple Assn .• annual con-
vention, Chicago .
Oct. 24-2i>-National Assn. of Popcorn Manufac-
turers, annual convention, Palmer
House, Chicago .
oct. 24-29-lnternational Assn. of Ice Cream Manu-
facturers, 45th annual convention, Los
Angeles.
Nov. 7-9 -National Assn. of Retail lea Cream
Manufacturers, annual convention, Hoi.
lenden Hotel, Cleveland .
Nov. 14-17-Amerlcan Bottle.. of Carbonated
Beverages, annual convention, Detroit.
Nov. 27-30-Nationa I Automatic Merchandising
Assn ., annual convention and exhibit,
Atlantic City, N. J.
may be called "spotty" and such is a nor-
mal season. In all normal years, some terri-
tories and some lines of bllsiness gain from
summer travel while others lose. Operators
are almost totally dependent on the traffic
which locations draw for patronage of th eir
machines, and hence their business goes
up or down during the summer as traffic
in locations rises or fall. Many operators
do some hifting for the summer but the
major part of coin machine placements
seem to stay put, and in readin-ess for fall
bu iness.
Earnings of most types of co in machine
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
REPAIRS and PARTS
Buy and Sell Slots

OVER 20 YEARS IN
SERVICING SLOTS
G. B. SAM
541 E. 3211d S ....... Los An.,.. .. 11. Col.
ADams 7688
7
are defi nitely affected by th e variou shifts
tha t occur duri ng the hot summer mon ths.
C igarette co nsump tion probably remains
mo re stable th a n a ny oth er prod uct rela ted
to th e Ind ustr y. A big majority of cigarette
operators say modestly that sum mer tourist
trade h elps th eir vendor sales some. In the
Chicago area a large operato r says " No,"
but in th is big city cigarette machin es are
largely confined to indu strial locations by
ci ty law. Cigarette operator draw a dis-
tin ction between fa ctory loca tions and pop-
ular establishments in relation to summer
ales.
Vendors are playing an ever increas in!!;
part in sa les of sof t dr inks a nd have shared
in the big sum mer spurt that ca me to soft
dr inks with the hot wea ther that spread
over the n ation in Jun e and July. T he en-
tire soft drink industry was taken by sur-
prise, after having cu t inventories heavily
earl ier in th e year, and some sh ortages
were reported recently.
Re ports on musi c and games have fo l·
lowed a typi ca lly normal seaso n. The main -
stay loca tions for the opera tor's year rou nd
business have generally reported a small
decline. Some of the s ummer resort areas
in th e northern sta tes have reported a more
favorable atti tud e toward consoles.
A REVIEW digest of th e reports that sh ed
l ight on summer trafTi c and trade I'eveals
the followi ng:
1. Most authoriti es say that 80 per ce nt
of the su mm er traffic is by auto, hen ce gaso-
line sales and fi llin g station trade should
shed some light. As me ntion ed , early in
the year the oi l in du stry pred icted a fall·
in g off in summ er demand for gasoline.
Bu t estima tes have been recently revised
to show a !!;eneral inc rease of about 10 per
ce nt over last summ er.
Fiftee n states this year raised th eir ga 0-
lin e tax es but thi s has not acted to dis-
courage auto trave l, cu rrent reports say.
On e state that raised its tax two cents
(tax now seven ce nts) reports a good in-
crease in gallonage sale.
2. Th e au to industry confirms these re-
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8
J.
01. 31 . .Au~tr!inU
C . J. Anderson. in charge of THE
REVIEW'S Chicago representation for
the past 15 years, passed away at the
St. Francis Hospital in Evanston July
10th at the age of 81. Funeral services
were held July 13th at the Park Ridge
Community Church.
During his years of representing THE
REVIEW Mr. Anderson made legions
of friends in the Coin Machine Indus-
try and his frequent calls. his cheerful
greeting, and his optimistic philosophy
of life will be missed by many.
Here on THE REVIEW we have lost a
distinguished member of our organiza-
tion. "Distinguished" never, insofar as
he might have judged himself. Great
pride he had in his place in the ad-
vertising profession: in the COIN MA -
CHINE REVIEW and the fulfillment of
his duties in conjunction with his rep-
resentation. Yet. to the last, he re-
mained unpretentious.
Easy to know, quick to befriend, and
generous of his seasoned good judg-
ment. Mr. Anderson will long be re-
membered by thos e he leaves behind
on THE REVIEW and in the Coin Ma-
chine Industry. His place in our organ-
ization can never be filled. but w e
sincerely hope that the indelible im-
pressions he has made upon us will b e
so interpreted by those who follow that
THE REVIEW. in part, may be his true
memorial.
Farewell. Mr. Anderson-time will not
dim the memories that live on in the
hearts of your fri e nds!
-PAUL W. BLACKFORD
I had known the late C. J. Anderson
before I became associat e d with him
on th e staff of the COIN MACHINE
REVIEW. In attending meetings of the
coin machine trade, his cheerful pres-
ence was always something to look
forward to, as I recall him now over the
past many years.
CJ. as we called him in THE REVIEW
family, was one of those rare people
who could be a cultured gentleman at
all times and yet never bore people.
could be friendly and human in every
respect. There was something about
his personality that always attracted
and made many friends for him. Many
people in the coin machine trade have
spoken to me in praise of his good
cheer.
CJ had a long and succ e ssful career
in the advertising world. knew p e r-
sonally some of the early giants in the
profession" and many advertising men
who have come into the profession
since do not know of his early work to
help build up the ethics of Gldvertising.
such as his part in shaping ABC. etc.
Quite a number of newspapers be-
yond Chicago also know of him and
his good work. I was quite surprised
once, in returning to my home town on
vacation some years ago. to learn that
C. J. Anderson had consolidated the
two newspapers into one good one and
was well known in the town. I learned
that he had helped consolidate a num-
ber of newspapers over the country.
While CJ had newspaper advertising
accounts as a part of his busin e ss. he
had grown more and more to center
his interest in THE REVIEW and wanted
to end his long and busy life in work-
ing for it. That he did. and many in
the trad e know that. for a man 81 years
old, he really could deliver the goods.
His associates in the adv e rtising bus i-
ness. Paul V. Elsberry and his s taff.
who take ove r his contacts with the
coin machine trade. will be inspire d b y
th e lif e work of C. J. Anderson.
-WALTER W. HURD
ports. D emand for u ed cars led to an in-
crease in prices in June, wh en all predic-
tions had been for a crash in used ca r
sales. ew ca r demand has also remained
h igh. A !!;eneral repo rt says th ere are abo ut
24 million cars that ca n be co unted as a
part of th e summ er trallic season.
3. Travel a!!;encies reported demand f or
th e more expe nsive places down co n ider·
ably in Jun e a nd ear ly Jul y. As last sum -
me r, th e trend i more and more to motels,
ca bins, etc. Some of th e winter r esort
states, such as Florida, have reported a
bigger summ e r traffi c than usual. Travel
ove rseas ha inc reased, but Canada has
reported fewe r American tourists.
4. Th e trend is towa rd shorter vacation
and a uto trips, as last summ er, a nd th e
parks are drawing in creasing crowds. Th e
big power dam areas in th e Tennessee
Valley and in th e West are drawin g bi gger
crowd. Early Jul y reports sa id touri sts
are spendin g les , which is a report to be
expected.
Actually, th e dollar volume of bus lll ess
in mo t lin es th at ga in by summer travel
is well above the prewar level. T here may
be decl in es from th e last two years, but
business is de fin itely hi gher in dollar vol-
um e th an in prewar years. Pri ces are also
lower on many items, exce pt on gasol ine.
5. Reports a t thi s tim e were in complete
on what part mass vacation in plants and
factori es played in th e summer picture.
On e survey report sa id th e trend this year
is toward stag!!;ered vacations for fa ctory
workers, and thi s decreased th e total num-
ber of entire plant closings. The lon g .July
4 weekend encoura ged plant closings, how-
eve r, and th e steel industry reported a
defin ite decrease in orders on thi s acco unt.
Milwaukee repo rted a bi!!; reversal in
th e mass vacation id ea among its plants;
la t summe r 120 plant closed down co m·
pletely and this summ er only 71 repo rted
clo in g; resort owners co mpl a in ed last sum-
mer beca use of th e overload ea rly in July.
Los Angeles industry repo rted a decrease
of about 10 per ce nt in plant closings for
mass vacations thi s year. Cleve land seems
to be about th e on ly city th at has repo rted
a r eal in crease in mass vacation dosing.,
a bout 60 per cent of 358 plants following
th e plan.
A summary of reoo rts sug/l:ests th at th e
touri st busin ess has held at a hi /l:her level
than had been predicted, much above pre·
war business levels, and that th e summ er
of 1949 may be regarded as normal-Qper-
ators sharinl!: in th e co ndition o,f th e tim es.
Elsberry Takes
REVIEW Post
CHICAGO-Paul V . .Elsberry has taken
over the Chicago representation for th e
COIN MACIl INE REVIEW, succeeding C. J.
Anderso n who passed away on J uly 10th.
El sberry was associated with And erso n
for a number of years and will continue
from the same offices at 35 East Wacker
Drive, CENtral }-1112.
COIN MACHINE REVIEW

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