Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

Issue: 1949 October

OCTOBER. 1949
For the Wrong That Needs Resistance ___ For
the Ca •• se TI.at Needs Assistance _ _ _ For the
F •• t •• re in the Dista •• ce - and the Good TI.at
It Ca •• Do!
PAUL W. BLACKFORD, Editor and Publisher
WALTER W. HURD, Executive Editor
LOUIS KARNOFSKY, Advertising Manager
LOS ANGELES 15
CHICAG O 1
NEW YORK 17
1115 Venice Boulevard
FItzroy 8269-FItzroy 7114
35 East Wacker Drive
CENtral 1-1112
441 Lexington Avenue
Murray Hill 2-5589
Industry Progress At High Lev"J
BUSINESS REVIEW ... Trade Signs Poinl Normal Demond;
All Divisions Shore In Advances
eptember brought a little more cautious
watching of bu in ess signs, because some
definite trends had appeared in August to
rever e th e much publ icised recession. The
most conservative expe rts on busines con-
ditions were sayi ng that October would be
the real test month, whether the rece sion
would set in again, or wh eth er the recovery
signs would hold and bu in ess level off at
a hi gh level.
The co in machine trade itself seemed
to be following the normal curve for th e
seaso n, with music seemin g to make th e
most vigorous effort toward a fall pickup.
The experts are now ca llin g the recession
flurry an " inven tory rece ion," due to
widespread cu tting of inve ntories sin ce last
year. This general red uct ion in buying hit
suppli ers in a ll industries; everybody was
cutti ng inven tori es.
Others call th e recession a "price reces-
sion ," because a genera l decline in prices
has wid espread effects, including curtail-
ment of .producti on in n1any industri es. A
(See BUSINESS REVIEW, Page 12)
by WALTER HURD
CHICAGO-Evidence of the fall pickup in the coin machine trade followed
a normal pattern for the season, with definite signs of increased activity
showin g up in the la t half of August. Distributors reported an increase in
dema\1d for machines and special interest in what wou ld appear in the way
fof Tie\v. 'machines. The coin machine picture as a who le indicates a normal
busil\Ws's l evel ~ 'gnd no ear ly fa ll signs of a boom stage in any type of machine.
totar
vol,Lime
bu iness at a hi gher postwar level in the Industry,
With :tJ!:e
. _
1
.
it appeaJ;s that future busin~s wi ll depend much on the salesmanship and
p,r omotional work of operators, distributors and manufacturers. All other
industries have come' to the point where qua lity in merchandi se and salesman-
ship in p lacing it are the thin gs that count, and the coin machine trade is in
much the same position.
The trade naturally hopes at this time fbr the appearance of orne new idea,
some new machine, that will initiate ,a boom , just as shuffieboard did more than
of
~
The Review Calendar ...
IMPOR.TANT DATES
• New Phone Number
Effective October 23rd
the Los Angeles phone numbers
of THE REVIEW will be
DUnkirk 4-8269 and DUnkirk 4-7114
Oct .
Oct .
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct .
Oct.
Oct .
Oct.
Oct .
Oct.
1-2
1-31
2
2-8
-Loyalty Days .
- National Hunters' Month .
-World-Wide Communion .
-National Employ the Handicapped
W eek.
-Yom Kippur.
9 -Grandmothers Day .
9- I5-Fire Prevention Week .
12 -Col umbus Day .
15 -Sweetest Day.
24 -United Nations Day.
27 -Navy Day .
29 -National Apple Week Beg ins .
30 -Girl Scout Week Begins.
31
-Ha llowe'e n.
CONVENTIONS
PR. 7351
For Coin-operated Equipment,
Parts and Supplies
ul A. Laymon, Inc.
DISTRIBUTOR
1429-31 W. Pico
Oct. 24-26 -National Assn . of Popcorn Manufactur-
ers, ann ual co nvention, Palm er House,
Chicago .
Oct. 24-29 -International Assn. of Ice Cream Ma nu-
facturers, 45th annual co nvention , Los
Angeles .
Nov. 7-9 -National Assn. of Retail Ice Cream
Manufacturers, annual convention, Hol-
lenden Hotel, Cleveland.
Nov. 14-17-American Bottlers of C a rbonated Bev-
erages, annual conve nt ion , Detroit.
Nov. 27-30-National Automatic Merchand isi ng
Assn . , annual convention and exhibit,
Atl antic City, N. J.
Nov. 27-3<1- National Assn . of Amusement Parks,
Pools and Bea ches, annual convention
and exhibit, Sherman Hotel , Chicago.
OCTOBER, 1949
a year ago. But on the ea rly fall horizon
there was no sign of some new thin g that
wou ld start th e boom . But there were ex-
cellen t signs of renewed effort to keep th e
business going ahead at full pace.
On th e Indu stry front, th ere were also
good reports of increased activity by vari-
ous organizations and groups to support
public C!l uses that will increase public favor.
Some of th e music organizations are especi-
ally active in such programs and even manu-
facturing firms are settin g high exa mples
in public relations work. A summary of th e
(Turn Page)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
REPAIRS ond PARTS
Buy and Sell Slots

OVER 20 YEARS IN
SERVICING SLOTS
G. B. SAM
541 E. 32nd Street, Los Angeles 11, Cal.
ADams 7688
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

9
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never drop back. insure plenty of extra coins per game.
Three possible SINGLE-SYMBOL winners and fascinating
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play in console class. See CLOVER BELL today. You'll
be convinced.
Ball,! C HAM P ION
FREE PLAY ONE BALL
MORE ways to winl CHAMPION gives player
MORE fun for his money. MORE skill-thrills.
MORE actionl That is why CHAMPION is earn-
ing MORE money for operators . . . smashing
all profit-records from coast to coast. Get your
share • . . get CHAMPION on location nowl
PAUL A. LAYMON, Inc.
1429-31 W . Pico . Bvd .. Los Angeles 15. Calif_
fall .outlook for various phases of the In-
dustry suggests the following:
1. The past summer seemed definitely to
level off the boom in shuffleboard_ A decided
weeding out of manufacturing firms in this
field has been reported, with a comparative
few of the more stable firms remaining.
These firms announce they will continu e
an aggressive program to expand shuffle-
board to all parts of th e country and to
promote popular interest in the game.
Leagues and tournaments will be the spear-
head for increasing public interest and
manufacturers will push this kind of pro-
motion, although it is expensive.
Some cities and territories report that
all locations having room for shuffleboard
already have one or more games. But th ere
. are many areas still with few boards. The
sales of equipment has shifted strongly to
scoreboards, etc. Popular interest can and
is still being increased in shuffleboard.
2. Led by a cooperative committee. of
active music associations, and by at least
two manufacturers of phonographs, the
music division of the trade has started off
in real form for action. Optimism has in-
creased in all parts of the music business
and operators are setting out to solve their
own problems. A first national convention
for music operators is in the offing.
Reductions in cost of records is reported
to have helped music operators to begin
paring down high postwar costs, and the
operating front is reported more stable than
at any time since the end of the war.
TV still poses problems but operators have
learned how to meet competition. Manu-
facturers have stud ied market demand care-
fully and plan not to overproduce on equip-
ment.
3.' The pickup in pin ball games was
marked by all the pioneer manufacturers
in this field announ cing attractive new
games for th e trade. It is a united front
which will offer operators a variety in games
to choose from, and all of them have new
player appeals. A "revolutionary game" may
be missing but there is plenty of appeal in
the new offerings. A seasonal trend to col-
lege sports in playing theme is evident.
4. Consoles and bells had a boom soon
after the war ended, and then demand
leveled off. Signs have accumulated that an
increased demand for th ese machines will
mark the coming months, and in some terri-
tories with full legal status.
5. The principal types of vending ma-
chines, with exception of soft drinks and
ice cream, are stimulated by the cooler
season. The vending trade is also being
aided by the general plans for th e annual
convention of the National Automatic Mer-
chandising Assn. in November. There are
merchandise supply conven tion s ahead also
which will aid automatic merchandising,
including the soft drink, ice cream and
pop corn trade conven tions.
Soft drink vendors were greatly aided
hy an unusually hot summer, hut neverthe-
les~, the postwar boom in placement of
bottle type vendors seems to be leveling
off. Cup vendors seem likely t.o gain next,
will bear watching, for even bottlers are
turning to the cup type. The advance in
cup type machines will be aided by in-
creased placing of coffee and soup vendors.
Candy bar and cigarette vendors, two
very stable types in th e vending world, have
problems in the national picture that may
delay the needed expansion and placement
of modern machines in these fields, The
candy industry reports that national sales
of candy bars is leveling off, and some re-
ports suggest that a similar condition may
also appear in consumption of cigarettes.
Much depends also on employment over the
nation and the activity in industrial loca-
tions.
Machines for vending hot coffee and soup
will demand increasing interest, also milk
vendors. The prolonged boom in bulk ven-
dors is said to have leveled off during the
current year. Reports on pop corn vendors
are spotty.
6. The whole Industry will be confronted
by decided regional differences in condi-
tions, earnings on machines, and business
a.ctivity. The national picture still shows
a ~general adjustment under way and the
patronage of coin machines is affected by
it. Operators in various territories will have
marked ups and downs for the next several
months, depending on how regional business
activity goes.
But there is strong faith and optimism
in the general progress of the Industry
as a whole.
Tile COIN MACHINE REVIEW PLATFORM:
1. To loster and encourage localized public relations pro·
grams for the good and well are 0/ the Industry_
2. To support adequate national trade associations and advo·
cate the formation of local and regional associations to
a/filiate themselves with the national/or mutual benefits.
3. Promote. encourage and publicize a National Coin Ma-
chine WeekI to be set yearly to correspond with the week
during which the nationcd Industry show and convention
is held.
4.
10
Promote. encourage and publicize a National Automatic
Merchandising Week. to be set yearly to correspond with
the week during which the national vending machine trade
convention is held.
5. Encourage and promote standard distributing firms and
practices within the Industry whereby the maximum pro-
tection is guaranteed the operator in the sales and servic-
ing 01 new products.
6. To oppose unfair and discriminatory taxes of all kinds on
coin-operated devices and services.
7. Urge the repeal 0/ the federal excise tax on coin-operated
machines.
8. Encourage a uniform decimal system 01 coinage in all
nations to promote the use and export 01 coin-operated de-
vices.
9. ,encourage the wider use of coin operation on new devicesl
services and inventions.
10. Publicize the immense benefits 01 coin-operated devices
and services to stores. factories and establishments of all
kinds.
COIN MACHtNE REVIEW

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