Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1912 Vol. 54 N. 5

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
TALL TOWEL.
U n d e r THE
I
N offering testimony disproving certain statements made in some
advertising announcing a> sale of used pianos taken in ex-
change, a piano manufacturer and dealer in an eastern city inci-
dentally dug up some statistics regarding the depreciation in value
of pianos that should prove interesting to the trade as a whole.
The piano man in question sent a salesman to the competing store
and secured the numbers of the instruments of his make offered
for sale, which he looked up in his records and traced from the
U.ve of their original sale. The results of the investigation were
decidedly interesting not only to the manufacturer, but to all those
who make a study of piano values. One instrument had been sold
eight years ago for $225 and was offered as a used piano at special
sale for $150, a depreciation of only 33}$ per cent, in value during
the eight years. Another piano which was sold as a used piano
nearly nine years ago for $225 cash and an allowance of $75, was
offered at the sale for $175, a depreciation of approximately 42 per
cent, during nine years in the case of a second-hand instrument.
Such information should, and in fact did, make decidedly striking
and convincing advertising copy and gave real proof of the staying
qualities of a well made piano. It would seem as though other
manufacturers could dig up some telling quality arguments by
watching for instances where second-hand instruments of their re-
spective makes are offered for sale and by tracing the instruments
through the numbers in an effort to discover how long the instru-
ments have been in use and the percentage of depreciation. Such
statements of facts carry much weight with the man who desires
to purchase an instrument that will retain its value in a manner to
make its purchase a good investment.
m, *, *
N the educational field it is a noteworthy fact that many of the
technical colleges are beginning to realize that education for
factory management must include a broader training than at the
present time. In this connection Mr. Hugo Diemer, a well-known
authority, in discussing this subject, said: We are beginning to
realize that although we must give great credit and a rightful place
to machinery invention and the development of power generating
devices, the industrial manager has to cope with other economic
factors equally as important, if not more so. The writer ventures
to say that further recognition will be given by colleges and uni-
versities within the next few years to the more inclusive field of
industrial engineering than has hitherto been accorded to it. The
schools of business administration have developed courses in gen-
eral accounting, insurance, banking, transportation and ebns'ular
service, but have not treated in an inclusive, comprehensive way
the field of manufacturing. The past year's agitation has .brought
home to many educators the realization of this fact. Among the
industries we find a decided tendency toward introspection or self-
stiidyj accompanied by a considerably increased demand for the
service of professional engineers and accountants. With the in-
creased demand for such services, we must expect that services
will be offered by persons incapable of accomplishing desired re-
sults, a condition which may in individual cases cause a reactionary
tendency. The attitude of organized labor has thus far not been
friendly to the movement. It is noteworthy, however, that the
attitude of labor in plants where scientifically correct improvements
have been installed is decidedly friendly. • .
I
n n n
.
NE of the many important questions to be taken up by Con-
gress is Postmaster-General Hitchcock's recommendation
for the establishment of a parcels post. He desires legislative
authority to start parcels post not only in rural routes, but also
for such service in cities and towns having delivery by carrier.
He also suggests that after the organization of such limited parcels
post service is completed its extension to include railway and other
transportation can be more readily accomplished without impeding
•the handling of ordinary mail. To this end he has inserted in the
estimates of the parcels post service three kerns of $50,000 to cover
O
REVIEW
the initial expense along the lines suggested. He desires that Con-
gress shall act speedily, so that the experiment may be followed by
a fuller development within a year of the plan for the establish-
ment of a general parcels post. Opinion is greatly divided in this
country as to the establishment of a parcels post, and while it is
true that it is a great 1 success in Germany and England, it may be
far from desirable in the United States. The matter of parcels
post rates in a country so expansive and apparently so sparsely
settled as our own is a problem far more difficult of solution than
it is abroad. In the smaller cities and towns merchants in all lines
of trade are opposed to parcels post, as they fear the competition
of the big mail order houses and department stores in the larger
cities. At the present time the small merchants are having their
hands full fighting the mail order houses. On the other hand, there
is a large army of merchants who believe that the parcels post would
be a helpful institution to the business of the country—that it would
end the monopoly in express rates now controlled by private cor-
porations, and would be helpful all around. It is time for those
who are honestly impressed with the difficulties and dangers sur-
rounding the parcels post in the United States to make their views
known to Congress. While the members of Congress, irrespective
of party, are willing to vote millions for pensions, yet they may
hesitate to incur any vast outlay which the establishment and main-
tenance of a parcels post would necessitate, provided those who
oppose it are willing to make the effort of transmitting their views
for the enlightenment of this body of legislators.
H
«
H
CCORDING to an authoritative source, 1,300 pianos were sold
during December by Wanamaker's New York store. These
A
figures may seem a little large to the dealer who considers that
10 per cent, of this month's business is Jarge for a whole year.
And when you think of it there was a time when a dealer who
sold 130 pianos a year, and sold them right, considered he had a
fine little business. Then multiply 130 by ten and it would seem
that Wanamaker sold in December what would be a good busi-
ness for ten dealers for a year. If Wanamaker can dispose of
1,300 instruments, and we understand a third of this number were
sold for cash, it shows that the piano business hasn't gone to the
eternal bow-bows. Far from it. It is just up to the hustler to
go and get it. One thousand three hundred pianos is a good out-
put for many piano factories on an annual basis; a bunch of fac-
tories do not turn out that number; perhaps they never will unless
they .revolutionize their policies on business promotion. So if
Wanamaker maintained that selling speed from month to month,
it would consume the output of twelve factories of the 1,300 a
year output or twenty-five factories of the fifty a month produc-
tion. Figuring out 1,300 pianos for the month of December, the
hoi\se sold 52 pianos a day, which is at the rate of seven an hour,
or a piano for every nine minutes.
H * *
INE minutes for selling a piano is rather quick work, notwith-
standing we are getting accustomed to see time-honored speed
records continuously smashed in all ways. Placing these 1,300
pianos on end it would cover an approximate distance of over a
mile and a half, and if they were piled one on top of each other,
the piano pillar would be approximately 5,850 feet high, about
eight times as high as the famous tower of the Metropolitan Build-
ing of New York, where The Review offices are located. If 1,300
performers played the same composition on these instruments per-
haps the volume of tonal sound might wake up some of those trade
members who are wearing three buttons on their business coat just
because their ancestors did. The total amount involved in this
monthly sale of 1,300 pianos would run anywhere from a third to
a half million dollars. Then add what was sold by other depart-
ment stores, piano dealers, manufacturers and agents, and one can
realize that the retail piano business in New York during December
totaled a stupendous sum.
N
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
8
THE: MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
ONE PRICE JiN) SUCCESS.
pkgs. music, $319; 6 cases pianos and material,
Its Application to the Business of the Whitney
& Currier Co. Demonstrates This—Policy
of This Company Forms Basis of an Adver-
tising Sermon by W. C. Freeman.
Havre—1 case piano players and material, $164;
18 pkgs. talking machines and material, $1,136;
4 cases piano players and material, $849.
Kingston—2 cases organs and material, $145.
London—170 cases organs and material, $1,591;
19 cases pianos and material, $10,829; 37 cases
piano players and material, $10,750; 29 pkgs. talk-
ing machines and material, $4,742; 18 pkgs. talking
machines and material, $530.
Milan—13 pkgs. talking machines and material,
$497.
Montevideo—7 pkgs. phonographic goods and ma-
terial, $841.
Puerto Mexico—9 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $234.
Rio de Janeiro—5 cases piano players and mate-
rial, $1,769; 4 pkgs. phonographic goods and mate-
rial, $511.
Santos—20 pkgs. talking machines and material,
$2,556.
Savanilla—3 pkgs. phonographic goods and mate-
rial, $159.
St. Petersburg—8 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $267.
Sydney—1 case piano players and material, $247;
12 cases pianos and material, $1,657; 5 cases piano
players and material, $306; 54 cases organs and
material, $2,622; 50 pkgs. phonographic goods and
material, $715.
Turin—1 case pianos and material, $3J0.
Valparaiso—24 pkgs. phonographic goods and ma-
terial, $349; 2 cases organs and material, $302.
Vera Cruz—263 pkgs. phonographic goods and
material, $5,509.
Vienna—2 cases pianos and material, $750.
The achievements of Lewis H. Clement, of the
Whitney & Currier Co., Toledo, O., formed the
basis of one of Wm. C. Freeman's advertising
talks in the Evening Mail of January 26. In this
connection he said:
"Lewis ^H. Clement, whose acquaintance I first
made when he was an active spirit in an effort to
suppress puzzle contests in piano advertisements,
has established a record in Toledo, O., in his con-
nection with the Whitney & Currier Co.
"This house has been in business fifty-two years.
Its business was operated successfully by following
the usual methods—that is, an occasional special
sale—but they never harmed their reputation by
not making good.
"They had as full a measure of confidence as
any piano concern in the West. Mr. Clement, when
he went there, had some fixed ideas about the
management of a piano business, and the board of
directors of the company gave him full swing
to act as he saw fit.
"One of his ideas was that one price, and that as
low as possible, was the proper way in which to
run a business, so, starting fifteen months ago, the
Whitney & Currier Co. established a one-price
system. The results have been very gratifying.
"The elimination of special sales for the first
few months discouraged some of the salesmen,
and the business did not thrive as quickly as was
expected, but all were agreed to stick to the plan
of operation They did and finally won out. In
November the business increased 96 per cent, over
November, 1910, and in December it increased 88
per cent, over December, 1910.
"Mr. Clement recently took a full-page adver-
tisement to explain to the readers of Toledo news-
papers the methods adopted by piano advertisers
who did not sell according to the Golden Rule.
"He explained wherein some of the piano an-
nouncements were deceptive, and how they fleeced
the public. It was an educational advertisement
and was very effective.
"As an illustration of the confidence established
in Toledo by this firm—a lady telephoned the store,
said she wanted a piano and that all she could
afford to spend was $300. She said, Tf you will
send a man to my house I will give him $300 and
will leave it to you to select a piano at that value,
feeling sure that what you will sell me will be all
right.
"This is an unusual happening and is the direct
result of doing business in the right way."
OUR FOREIGN CUSTOMERS.
Pianos and Other Musical Instruments Shipped
Abroad from the Port of New York for the
Week Just Ended—An Interesting Array
of Musical Specialties for Foreign Countries.
(Special to The Kcview.)
Washington, D. C, Jan. 29, 1912.
The following were the exports of musical in-
struments and kindred lines from the port of New
York for the week just ended:
Alexandria—1 case pianos and material, $142.
Antwerp—1 pkg. talking machines and material,
$200.
Asuncion—2 cases pianos and material, $457.
Bahia Blanca—17 pkgs. phonographic goods and
material, $1,760.'
Barbadoes—2 cases pianos and material, $131.
Brussels—3 cases pianos and material, $601.
Buenos Ayres—734 pkgs. phonographic goods and
material, $29,680; 9 cases pianos and material, $1,-
285; 1 pkg. phonographic goods and material,
$175; 2 cases piano players and material, $192; 2
cases pianos and material, $473.
Cape Town—2 cases pianos and material, $739.
Christiania—2 cases organs and material, $200.
Colon—6 cases organs and material, $368.
Genoa—1 case pianos and material, $100.
Havana—40 pkgs. phonographic goods and mate-
rial, $1,647; 2 cases pianos and material, $210; 3
FIGHT DISREPUTABLE METHODS.
Grand Rapids Piano Houses Join in Crusade
Against Contest Ads and Fly-by-Night Con-
cerns—Some Telling Text.
(Special to The Review.)
niture Co., and the Heyman Co. Some of the most
prominent makes of pianos in the country are han-
dled by the houses in question.
Full-page advertisements in the daily papers are
used to acquaint the public with the disagreeable
details connected with puzzle contests and to at-
tack those piano houses which open temporary
stores in the city and close out a carload or two
of pianos by a contest or special sale. In dis-
cussing such methods of doing business the follow-
ing telling paragraphs have been printed in the local
papers over the combined signatures of the perma-
nent dealers:
"If the common council of Grand Rapids would
give the icy mit to every fly-by-night business that
opens a store for a period of about three to six
months they would overcome the special license
privilege and win the approval of the public. Did
a fly-by-night campaign ever win? Has a mer-
chant ever become permanent in business by fly-
by-night methods, even if he held the cards? The
things we really know in this world are by com-
parison. That's why the piano dealers advertising
in this paper are placing before the public the
reasons why they sell the pianos mentioned in this
advertisement. It's for comparison.
"These piano dealers have been established for
years in Grand Rapids, paying taxes, maintaining
a force of sales people throughout all seasons of
the year, and they will continue to give the pub-
lic the same square deal which has been the lead-
ing factor in making their business a great success.
The fly-by-night merchant goes and comes, uses
schemes, offers something for nothing, gives all
kinds of inducements to influence trade, knowing
he will be gone before the customer returns."
The public is also asked, "Did you hear of getting
a high-class piano with soap wrappers?"
DEATH OF HARRY L. MILWARD.
Harry L. Milward, president of the Milward
Piano Co., Lexington, Ky., died recently in Clear-
water, Fla., where he was spending the winter,
from the effects of a complication of diseases from
which he had suffered for some months. Mr. Mil-
ward had sold pianos throughout the central part
of Kentucky for many years and was well known
throughout the State. He is survived by a widow
and four children. The funeral was held at Lex-
ington.
Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 29, 1911.
The crusade against local contest advertising
and other undesirable forms of piano publicity
being carried on by the leading piano houses of
this city, who have joined forces for that purpose,
is beginning to produce results through having
aroused the interest of the general public in the
matter.
Do you wish to make five dollars? Then send
The concerns interested in the campaign are your ideas upon leading trade I'opics, embodied in
Friederich's Music House, the W. W. Kimball Co.,
two hundred and fifty words, to The Review. You
the Herrick Piano Co., the Young & Chaffee Fur- will find full particulars elsewhere in this issue.
THE
ONONDAGA
MUSIC ROLL RACK
Is an absolute necessity to.every dealer in player
music.
They keep the stock in shape—assist stock
taking—add to the neat and orderly appearauce of the
store y and allow the customer to make his own selections.
They are everlasting.
YOUR CUSTOMERS NEED THEM
Many of your customers seeing these racks in
use in your store will want them to keep their
own rolls.
These racks are made of bright-finished copper
gracefully interwoven.
CAPACITY: 400 to 500 Rolls. As shown
3 ft. x 6% ft. Price, $12.00 Net.
REVOLVING STYLE: 800 Rolls. Size, 30
in. square. Price, $30.00 Net.
THE SYRACUSE WIRE WORKS
YOU
NEED
THIS
RACK
NOW
:: Syracuse, N. Y.
THE R. S. WILLIAMS & SONS CO., Canadian Representative*, Toronto and Winnipeg

Download Page 7: PDF File | Image

Download Page 8 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.