1~
FROM
NATIONAL "On- Tbe-Spot"
STOCK~·
OPERATING REPORTS
. I
The PULSE BEAT OF THE COIN-MACHINE IND,USTRY
Cineinnali
Reported by GEORGE KEITH
18 or 20 Strand
68
Color Combinations
Pushback w ire . for man y years one of
o u r leading items. has kept pace w ith
the p h e nomenal growth of the coin
machine industry.
The wide v arie ty of co lor combina tion s
ava ilable lends i:se lf to devious methods
of wiring harness-to m eet any re quire -
ments of the ind ustry.
C oin m achine serv ice org anization s a n d
distributors are invited to write for com -
plete informa tion a s to h ow they m a y
better serve th eir trad e b y fu rnish ing
them with RUNZEL quality wire.
Manufacturers of co in machines may
avail the mselves of our eng ineering
facilities for d esig ning correct a n d m ost
efficient wiring harnes s.
Send us your s pecifications fo r
Inter- Comm Cable
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:lite 195 0
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COIN MACHINE REVIEW
1115 Ve nice Blvd .
8
Los Ang eles 15 , C alif.
With promises of labor peace, and pre-
dictions from many so urces of a good year,
th e loca l Indu stry is viewing 1950 with
hope.
It is felt th at th e new yea r will see th e
long-promi sed leveling off in the coin ma-
chin e fi eld . It is believed that manufa c-
turers will produce few e r, but bette r mod els
of all kind of automatic vendors.
Several larp:e indu stri al plants now under
co nstru ction will provide thousa nds of new
jobs for possible vending machine patrons.
Automatic Music enjoyed another f a irl y
good month. th e third in a row, with re-
ceipts better th an in th e previous o ne. A
n ote of op timi sm p revai ls for 1950, offset
by th e fear of un settled employme nt con-
ditions.
APOA p resid ent, C harli e Kante r's T ell
Me Lies, which st arted off with a hanp:, is
sa id to be holdinp: up well, and will be
bill e d as the Hit of th e Month, both h ere,
a nd in Cleveland co in ma chi nes in January.
Amusement games w re patronized a bout
as well as music, in sp ite of th e fact th a t
folks started gift buyinp: early. This branch
of the Indus try has had heavy tax burdens
thrust upon it. orwood a nd Cheviot, which
adjoin C in ci nn ati, are using this means to
increase th ei r b ud get funds (statisti cs on
taxe next month probably).
Shuflleboard play. while brisk, co ntinu es
a n unknown qu an tity here, with th e pros-
pect for 1950 rather unpred ictabl e . No
tournaments have materialized, and none
co ntempl a ted in th e immediate future.
Soft drink sal es were as good as ex-
pected for th e tim e of year, and in some
cases exceeded expec ta tion s. Operators who
know look for th e early introdu ction of
more big capac ity c up vendors. Single selec-
tion machines, th ey say, will soon be passe.
to be replaced by three-column affairs with
change makers.
Experience has pro"ed this la tter fea ture
definitely increases receipts, as th e lack of
a nick el ha s lost many a sale. It also
reduces the nuisance potential in tayerns
a nd stores, where clerk h es ita te to roh
the till of chan ge needed for large r sales.
Co ffee and donuts have been popular in
the past month, with tern peratures dow n.
and a utom a ti c sa les were st imulated by
th e high price o f coffee in th e bea n a nd th e
fact that most places charge more th an
5 ce nts a cup.
1950 shou ld be a banner year for coffee
yendors unl ess something unforeseen occurs.
At present operators a re holding the lim'
at 5 cen ts.
Milk sal es con tinu ed to be good . a nd are
described as holding their own .
?llost operators do n o t believe soft drinks,
coffee a nd milk to be competi tors. Each
drink h as its adherents, with co ffee-d rinkers
in sisti n g on java , but also drinking so me-
thing el e besides.
Candy sh o wed a ni ce increase oyer th e
previous month. H e re, too, operators e xpec t
a w eed in g out of many types of vendors,
a nd th e tand ardization of larger type ma-
chin es, wh ich will not only offer a better
selection of bars, but also make change.
Cigarette a les in th e aggregate w ere as
good as expected , but operators note a
definite decrease in th e per unit sales, so
that it i n ecessary for th em to place more
machine th a n needed during the lush
year . Prospects for 1950 are p:ood, de·
pending grea tly on wh eth er employment
pick up and remains steady, as anticipated.
Popcorn, while doing about 10 per cent
Ie
business th a n in th e same month last
year, e njoyed a goo d in crease over last
month , whi ch is th e yard-stick by whi ch
operators measure this bus in ess he re.
In c rea e in placements took an upturn
last month , and good seaso nal bu sin e
is
expected for 1950.
Scales may be ex pected to hold better
th a n th eir own nex t year, if th e numbe r
of location s is any cr iterio n. Business for
th e past mon th was excelle nt, to fair,
acco rdin g to locality.
Che wing gum receipts were better than
in th e previous month, and cond ition are
expected to improve in 1950, especially in
s ingl e sti ck a nd ball gum types.
Nuts went better than la st month. Opera-
tors see a need for price declines in all
kinds of nuts, as th e public is inclined
to s hy a way from peanut, only, in ma chin es.
Th ey demand a good mix, a nd unless th e
so urce can s upply more of the better nuts
at lower pri ces, th e 1950 a utomati c vending
I rospect will not be as good as it should be.
Coin-opera ted radios in five local hotels
a re reported to h ave enjoyed a good year.
The o utfit which serv ices these, reports
onl y a no rmal amo unt of se rvicing is needed
to keep them u p to snuff.
Employment was stimulated by holiday
hirings, which were somewhat offset by
secondary lay-o ffs, many of which h ave now
been call ed ba ck to work.
Dol lar sales in depa rtm e nt tores h ere
in c reased 5 per cent over th e previous
month , but we re down 13 per ce nt from th e
~ame month las t year.
Colunabus
Reported by W. C. ARTHURS
With th e Chris tm as ,eason's arrival husi-
ne
took its customary upswing in many
circles, with music box operators bene-
fiting more than th ey have for ,o me tim e.
The usual run on Ch ristm as music was
seen. Some phases of th e entertainm ent
world were hit rather h a rd, however.
Th e labo r s ituation r emain s fo r th e mo t
part '·good ." Th e diversified industry h ere
helps maintain an even market so far as
demand for jobs and p ople to fin th em
i co nce rn ed. To be sure, th ere is some
unemployment, but in mo t cases th ere is
work . The sto res employ in g holiday help
keep the flow of money going.
The Timken Roller Bearing Co. in five
citi es in Ohio, including Columbus, has
been set back by strikes, with workers out
during December. H ere is an i olated ha rd-
s hip case for many lo ca l workers, but the
resumption of steel a nd coal production
(thou gh th e l a tter is sca nty) kep t many
production worke rs on th e job.
On e pla ce wh ere music. box operators and
pin ball ga me owners h ave been reaping
a golden harvest is down on th e Ohio Rive r
a t llipley. The only loose leaf burley toba cco
market in Ohio , Ripley has been th e cene
of sales of the leaf s in ce late
ovember.
COIN MACHINE REVIEW