Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1907 Vol. 44 N. 1

Page 10 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
10
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
ACCORDING TO SALES—OR PROFITS?
The Apportioning of General Expenses Among
Departments Always a Live Question to
Piano Merchants as Well as the Thoroughly
Up-to-date Business Men.
The apportioning of general expenses among
departments is a question that always comes up
for consideration and discussion about this time
of the year. The method which is perhaps most
generally employed, and the one used in some
of the leading stores of the country, is to pro-rate
all general expenses, with the possible exception
of rent, advertising and fire insurance according
to sales. Serious objections are made to this
plan by department heads. And not without rea-
son. As is well known, in almost every depart-
ment, some goods are sold at or below cost, and
it stands to reason that when general expenses
are apportioned according to sales the more
the department sells the more it has to pay, de-
spite the fact that if a department's volume of
business is unduly swelled by sales effected a t
a small profit it can ill afford the additional bur-
den thus thrust upon it. To put it more clearly
—just as the sales of a department forge ahead
of those of other departments so does that de-
partment's share of the store's general expenses
increase, and this independently of whether
the gain in sales represents increased profits or
not. It may be urged that the store management
does not want its departments to sell at a small
profit any more goods than they can possibly
help, but it must be remembered that if the cus-
tomers call for the goods the department must
supply the demand.
Some merchants may ask: "Since this is true
of all departments, doesn't it even itself up in
the long run?" It by no means follows, how-
ever, that the proportion of goods sold at or be-
low cost is alike in all departments, seeing that
the sales of some departments may involve a far
larger percentage of "leaders" than do those of
others.
Some merchants may say: "Each department
head ought to be able to overcome the small per-
centage added by him on some goods by increas-
ing the mark-up on others, thus effecting the
proper average." The fact remains, however,
that different departments in a house show alto-
gether different ratios of average gross profit.
Pro-rating general expenses solely according to
sales ignores these facts; whereas the method of
pro-rating • general expenses according to gross
profits not only recognizes it, but in a simple
way protects those departments whose gross
profit was smaller than that of other depart-
ments.
Another point which, is practically ignored
when general expenses are pro-rated on the basis
of sales is the question of the value of the serv-
ices rendered. Take, by way of example, the
case of a property owner. If such a one is about
to rent a store to a business which he knows
will render a good, round profit, he will in all
likelihood demand more rent from the prospec-
tive tenant than if the business is known to be
a far less profitable one. In the same way, if the
store divides general expenses according to gross
profits it practically says to the department
head: "We are going to charge you for these
services just what they were worth to you, and
the more your department earns in the way of
gross profits the greater will be the assumed
value of the services rendered to it by the store."
To sum up: If it could be clearly demonstrated
that every time a department increased its sales
it increased the quota of service derived from the
store—in the way of general expense—then i t
would be just to pro-rate this general expense
according to sales; but since it can by no means
be generally proven that increased sales in a de-
partment are necessarily followed by increased
general expenses of the character enumerated by
us on our store accounting page last week, it is
obviously unjust to use the increase in sales as a
basis for increasing the charge for such expenses.
On the other hand, as the Dry Goods Economist
properly says, if no fixed standard can be found
for determining precisely how much service was
rendered to each department, and if no fixed
value can be set upon the
perfectly fair to assume
worth to each department
it helped that department
said service, is it not
that the service was
precisely as much as
to earn?
SHERMAN CLAY & CO. IN SPOKANE.
(Special to The Review.)
Spokane, Wash., Dec. 24, 1906.
Sherman Clay & Co. have opened their new
branch in this city, thereby completing their
chain of music stores on the Pacific Coast. The
Spokane store is at 810 Sprague avenue, an ideal
business location, and is most attractive in ap-
pearance both as regards interior and exterior
fittings and makes a welcome addition to the
city's handsome stores.
The company have inaugurated an extensive
advertising campaign in the interests of their lat-
est branch and have installed a line of high grade
instruments that should insure the success of the
project.
THOMAS & SONS ANNUAL CELEBRATION.
Will T. Thomas & Sons, Sharon, Pa., held their
fifteenth annual opening recently and scored an
immense success. An orchestra furnished music
both afternoon and evening and souvenirs were
distributed. This house expects the year 1907 to
be a record breaker and they have started in a
fair way to gain that result.
Their line includes the Packard as leader, the
Behr Bros., Poole, Briggs, Keller Bros., Schiller
and Van Dyke pianos, as well as the Farrand
Co.'s line. They also handle the Victor talking
machine and Edison phonograph.
COL.
ESTEY IS A DELEGATE.
Among the delegates to the foreign commerce
convention to be held in Washington on January
14, is Col. J. Gray Estey, of the Estey Organ Co..
who was appointed to represent Vermont by Gov.
Proctor.
WARNING TO INFRINGERS!
This Trade Mark is cast in the plate and also appears upon the fall board
of all genuine SCHUMANN PIANOS, and all infringers will be prosecuted.
Beware of imitations such as SCHUMANN & COMPANY, SCHUMANN & SON,
and also SHUMAN, as all stencil shops, dealers and users of pianos bearing a
name in imitation of the name SCHUMANN, with the intention of deceiving the
public, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
FACTORY AND GENERAL OFFICES,
ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.
SCHUMANN PIANO CO.,
209 State St., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Page 11 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Leeds—51 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $372.
Pianos and Other Musical Instruments Shipped ^ Liverpool—2 cases organs and material, $102;
Abroad from the Port of New York for the 267 pkgs. talking machines and material, $1,729;
2 cases music strings, $104; 9 cases piano play-
Week Just Ended.
ers and material, $1,162; 384 pkgs. talking ma-
(Special to The Review.)
chines and material, $1,802; 138 pkgs. talking
Washington, D. C., Dec. 31, 1906.
machines and material, $3,991.
The following were the exports of musical
London—1,827 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
goods and kindred lines from the Port of New terial, $16,986; 6 cases piano players and ma-
York for the week just ended:
terial, $563; 5 cases music, $3,306; 186 pkgs.
Amsterdam—29 cases organs, $1,334.
talking machines and material, $1,608.
Antwerp—50 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
Limon—7 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $4,500.
terial, $316.
Batavia—2 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
Manchester—53 pkgs. talking machines and
terial, $188; 5 cases musical goods, $225.
material, $379; 1 case piano material, $240; 161
Bangkok—2 pkgs. talking machines and ma- pkgs talking machines and material, $981.
terial, $270.
Newcastle—11 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
Berlin—235 pkgs. talking machines and ma- terial, $104.
terial, $2,628.
Nuevitas—15 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
Bombay—17 pkgs. talking machines and ma- terial, $338.
terial, $627; 3 cases organs, $114.
Savanilla—1 case organs, $540.
Bradford—48 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
Singapore—2 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $293.
terial, $220.
Bremen—5 cases organs, $467; 3 cases music,
St. Johns—6 cases pianos and material, $975.
$300.
St. Petersburg—7 pkgs. talking machines and
Bristol—3 cases organs, $135.
material, $675.
Brussels—50 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
Sheffield—82 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $265.
terial, $546.
Buenos Ayres—12 pkgs. talking machines
Sydney—8 cases organs, $251.
and material, $1,029.
Tampico—30 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
Cardiff—19 pkgs. talking machines and ma- terial, $410; 1 case pianos and material, $235;
terial, $160.
10 cases organs and material, $220; 4 cases musi-
Christiania—28 cases organs, $1,000.
cal instruments, $144.
Colon—1 case organs, $120.
Vera Cruz—175 pkgs. talking machines and
Copenhagen—2 cases organs, $200.
material, $2,408; 1 case piano and material, $300.
Glasgow—71 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
Vienna—15 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $1,045.
terial, $610.
Halifax—22 cases pianos and material, $470.
Havana—17 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
HUBERT 0 . FOX COMPLIMENTED
terial, $443; 14 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $286.
By His Old Associates on His Assumption of
Havre—4 cases music, $180.
the Vice-Presidency of the Seaverns Co.
Hamburg—32 cases piano material, $2,298; 7
pkgs. talking machines and material, $229; 1 pkg.
In the latest issue of The Record, published
musical goods, $106; 6 cases musical instruments, by the Farrand Co., Detroit, Mich., the follow-
$118.
ing appears:
"Mr. Hubert O. Fox, who, since the Cecilian
piano player was first placed upon the market,
has been our special Cecilian representative on
the road, some few weeks ago resigned his posi-
tion with us to become the vice-president of the
Seaverns Piano Action Co., of Boston, Mass. We
understand that in his new position Mr. Fox will
have general oversight of the sales department
and will also spend a portion of his time calling
upon the trade.
"Mr. Fox is probably known to almost every
music dealer from Maine to California, and pleas-
antly known at that. To know Mr. Fox is to
like him, and his thorough acquaintance with
the trade is one of his most valuable assets. He
is a hustler who, carrying the interests of his
house above all else, never misses a chance to
push the firm he represents to the front. His
The Lauter Playerpiano is
service with us was peculiarly efficient in that he
took hold when the Cecilian was practically a
unquestionably as fine an in-
new and untried proposition, and through his
earnest work and his skill in properly display-
ing its undeniably great merits, he soon gained
strument in every detail of
for it a ready welcome from the trade.
"We are glad that the opportunity has come
piano and player as is manu-
for him to enter into business for himself, and
that he will 'make good' goes without saying."
OUR FOREIGN CUSTOMERS.
LA U T E.
PLAYIkEIANO
factured.
This is a
beauti-
RELEASED FROM BOND.
< J, ful instrument in e v e r y
respect.
We invite inquiries.
LAUTE1? CO,
(Special to The Review.)
Knightstown, Ind., Dec. 29, 1906.
Caswell and Fred Boxley, father and son,
piano dealers of this city, who were arrested a
few days ago on charges preferred by the
Becker Bros. Piano Co., of New York, have been
released from their bond and the charges against
them will be dismissed.
A branch store has been opened in Berkeley,
Cal., by Benjamin Curtaz & Son, of San Fran-
cisco, in order to handle their growing trade in
that town in a more satisfactory manner.
11
RUNGS IN THE LADDER OF SUCCESS.
How the Honest Traveling Men Get the Trade
—How Character arrd Small Capital Often
Win Over a Poor Reputation and Plenty of
Money—Some Interesting Pointers for the
Ambitious Music Trade Man.
A traveling man who has been on the road
twenty-li\e years or more will be able to recall
some painful experiences—sometimes in connec-
tion with men to whom he has been of the great-
est help and benefit.
"I can recall," said C. T. Wettstein, of Chi-
cago, when in a reminiscent mood the other day,
"several cases where a young man with small
capital has started out in business—one in par-
ticular: He needed time for his payments in
order to get a good start. I induced the firm to
give him all the time he needed—sometimes six
and eight months—in order to help him along.
The man was successful, after a few years, was
able to stand on his own feet, and—never bought
a dollar's worth of goods of me since.
"Such experiences always pained me deeply,
not so much on account of the dollars and cents
involved as on account of the heartlessness and
ingratitude shown. I should be hardened against
such cases now, but whenever they turn up now
and then I can't help feeling bad about it. Such
experiences are common among my friends on
the road. A drummer I know was treated shab-
bily by a customer.
"Now, this same man made money for a few
years, but at the end of his career was a good
subject for the poor house. He has worked his
business on these methods at first with success,
but by and by his customers found out his
tricks and left him faster than they came.
"But it is not only the business man whom
dishonesty and dubious dealings will ruin. The
salesman who is dishonest will go under pos-
sibly just a little quicker than the merchant of
the same disposition. And not only is it doubt-
ful dealing that will do for him. Indecency of
any sort, particularly the kind that leads to the
telling of questionable stories, also will kill off
the drummers. There are not many salesmen,
but off and on you find one who thinks he can
influence the merchant to buy goods by telling
him a smutty story. I have no use for such
fellows; they disgrace our calling.
"Some years ago," says Wettstein, in another
story told in the Chicago Tribune, "I met a
traveling man who was new on the road. I took
him to a store where I sold goods. He was a
perfect stranger and had never been in the man's
store, yet as soon as I had introduced him he
began to tell a story which made me feel like
slapping the fellow's face. When he was
through he laughed over his own story, but
found no response. The merchant didn't say a
word, but his looks said enough. I could plainly
see how disgusted he was with him. Not a
dollar's worth of goods did he buy of the man.
Sometimes I can't understand how it is possible
for these fellows not to see what big fools they
make of themselves.
"One morning I met a piece goods man in
Jefferson, Wis., who said he hadn't had much
sleep the night before. He had been up with a
customer until 12 o'clock; then, after making
the man drunk had sold him a bill of goods.
" 'I can't sell a bill of goods except I get the
man drunk before,' he concluded.
"I told him if he depended upon such methods
to make customers he would not be on the road
a year. A good merchant never would allow
himself to be so lowered. If there were such
merchants in the country, who could be bought
by such despicable methods—which I doubt—•
they certainly are not worth having. I never
have seen the man again. He probably was
called in by the firm before his year was out.
"There are some young boys on the road who
think they can't sell a man a bill of goods un-
less they buy him a cigar or a drink.
"We have a young man in our house—a nice
fellow, too, and a hard worker—who will make
a success in his business. We sent him out on

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