Music Trade Review

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THE
8
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
COLD WEATHER HURTS PACIFIC COAST BUSINESS.
Heavy Loss of Fruit Growers in Southern California Expected to Affect Piano Sales in That
District—Prominent Pianos Being Used in Concert—Kohler & Chase Activities—Separate
Organization to Handle Electric Pianos—Portland Piano Men Entertained.
(Special to The Review.)
San Francisco, Cal, Jan. 13, 1913.
The weather as we'll as the season has been a
little against business this week. California has
been sharing with the rest of the country in the
cold snap that arrived about the opening of the
year. In fact, California has been hit with a week
of the coldest weather known here in a quarter of
a century and, with the exception of two or three
days, the coldest ever recorded. Singularly enough,
the South has been the coldest, and California as
a whole has been colder than Oregon, though the
northern Coast States have also suffered from
storms.
.Jn this city the immediate effect has been to
keep buyers at home and to defer the closing of
sales to a more propitious time. This is, of course,
not a very serious matter, as most of these sales
will be made later and what is this week's loss will
be next week's gain; but in the southern part of
California, and perhaps in the orange growing dis-
tricts of the central portion of the State, the per-
manent loss will 'be very heavy. The citrus fruit
growers of Southern California alone will lose
anywhere from $20,000,000 up to twice that
amount. This is bound to react not only on the
retail trade of the southern cities and towns, but
on the wholesale business of San Francisco and
Los Angeles as well. Nevertheless, as a dealer
points out, this loss, though large, is really a very
small matter as compared with the total industry
of the districts affected, and will react more on
inflated real estate values than on the piano trade.
Godowsky Scores with the Knabe.
The musical history of San Francisco for the
year 1913 opened with the recitals of Leopold
Godowsky. The Knabe piano used by GodoVsky
was supplied by Kohler & Ghase, who have ac-
cordingly enjoyed an excellent Knabe week in
spite of the weather. In Los Angeles, where
Godowsky now is, the Fitzgerald Music Co. is get-
ting the benefit of the Knabe publicity.
CLOVER
Mason & Hamlin in Concert.
In Portland, the Wiley B. Allen Co. is in the
front with the Mason & Hamlin at the opening of
the new year. That company has already supplied
Mason & Hamlins for two artists since the first of
bhe year. These were Carrie Jacobs Bond, on
January 3, and Olga Steeb, on January 9.
Kohler & Chase Plans for the New Year.
year with a well advertised sale as an introduc-
tory matter.
Grant Falkenstein, manager of FalkensLein's
Music House at Fresno, Cal., believes that he has
made a good start for the new year by dosing a
contract with the management of the new Hotel
Fresno at bhat place for a Knabe Bros, grand
piano. This was used for the first time at the
opening of the big hotel on January 7.
R. J. Eilers, managing director of the Eilers
Music House, who passed through San Francisco
a few days since on his way to Pasadena, Cal., in
company with the Royal Rosarians of Portland,
Ore., has now returned to San Francisco for a visit
of a week or two with Manager Gannon, of the
San Francisco Eilers store. Mr. Eilers is more
than usually enthusiastic as to the trade possibili-
ties all along the Coast. He has started the year
with a big advertising campaign at practically all
of the "forty stores" of the company.
C. H. Harwood, advertising manager in Califor-
nia for the Eilers Music House, left this week on
an observation tour through the State. This week
he is in the Sacramento Valley noting business
conditions in that section.
Mr. Grosskopf, a well-known salesman from the
Seattle store of Kohler & Chase, who has been
made head salesman of the same company's Oak-
land, Cal., store, arrived from the north this week.
W. B. Ragland, vice-president and manager of
Kohler & Chase, who has been in the north for a
couple of weeks, returned this week and is now
busied with general plans for the new year. He
reports that the growth of the company's business
in Oregon, Washington and Idaho has been so
great in the last f^ months that it has now be-
come necessary to divide the territory for whole-
sale purposes. Heretofore >the whole Northwest
has been considered more or less as one unit under
the management of a-single manager. The division
of the territory has been under consideration for
some time, and the phenomenal business of De-
cember, the best month of 191*2, has brought the
matter to a head. A new manager for Washington
and Oregon will be named shortly, while the whole-
sale business for Oregon will continue in charge
of Manager Phillips, of the Portland store. While
NEW STOREJVUKING GOOD.
in the North Mr. Ragland assisted in installing A.
(Special to The Review.)
K Schumacher as manager of the store at Spo-
Troy, O., Jan. 13, 1913.
kane, Washington. Mr. Schumacher has hereto-
The
Correy
Music
Store,
which was opened here
fore been with the Portland store, where his good
a little over a month ago, reports that the outlook
work attracted attention.
for the sale of pianos and player-pianos in this
Bad Weather Hurting Business South.
territory is very fine. The store, of w-hich Charles
George K. Hughes, of the Wiley B. Allen Co., H. Miller is the manager, handles the H. P. Nelson,
states that the recent cold weather will undoubtedly
Steger and Singer pianos and player-pianos and
have a very adverse effect on business, and espe- carries a stock of about thirty instruments. The
cially on collections, in southern California. This, proprietor of the store is John Correy, a wealthy
he says, will make it necessary for the house to farmer, who is now devoting his full time to the
confine its spring campaign in that district largely piano business.
to the cities which have other lines of activity be-
sides the citrus fruit industry to fall back upon.
NEW BUILDING COMPLETED.
In view of the rain which followed the cold snap,
Mr. Hughes feels greatly encouraged regarding
The new seven-story building of the J. W.
conditions in northern and central California, Jenkins' Sons Music Co., Kansas City, Mo., has
v here the company is preparing for a steady in- been completed and the company is already occu-
crease of business. Contracts have been let for pying six of the floors with its piano stock. The
the changes in the Sacramento branch, which will new building is of heavy construction and is de-
have several rooms added on the ground floor and signed to permit the erection of seven additional
in the basement, as well as a new front and in- stories when required.
terior fittings. The work will be done during the
rainy season, when business is naturally slow, so
that the branch will have practically new quarters
for the spring trade.
r-Glue Bills
BRAND
New Concern to Handle Electric Players.
or
A change of some importance is announced in
the policy of Kohler & Chase, who are preparing
to discontinue handling electric pianos and similar
goods as an integral part of their business. It is
understood that the firm will remain in actual con-
trol of these lines, but that a new company witli
separate organization and management from the
parent concern will be organized to conduct the
sale of this class of goods. Some details of the
plans are still to be worked out, but the personnel
and management of the new company wil^ prob-
ably be known in a few days. The lines will be
moved to another location and the space vacated
used for the regular player lines.
No Pay For Me
Employes in Portland Entertained.
THE FELfERS 01
WEWYORK
CHFCAGO
BOSTON'
PHILADELPHIA
Last week J. H. Dundore, general manager for
the northern part of the Coast for Sherman, Clay
& Co., gave a dinner to twenty-eight employes of
the company's Portland store, the occasion being
worthy of the season as well as the closing of a
successful year and the opening of an auspicious
one for the house. Mr. Dundore, who has been
connected with Sherman, Clay & Co. for many
years and who has been manager at Portland since
the resignation of G. F. Johnson some months ago,
gave his guests a heart-to-heart talk on the ethics
of salesmanship and on the practical and other
benefits of loyalty.
Personals.
L. H. Schrader, of Richmond, Cal., has opened
a piano department at that place and is starting the
The Chute & Butjer Co., of Peru, Ind.,
express their degree of satisfaction as fol-
lows :—
"You will be interested to know that the
scientific method of testing glue, which you
have installed, has proven very satisfactory.
It has enabled us to reduce our total glue
cost 50%, and has given more satisfactory
results as to quality of work.
"As a practical man, I cannot recommend
it too highly, and I should be glad to speak
a good word for it to any wood working or
piano company. Thanking you for the great
care you took in teaching us, -and wishing
you the very best of success, I am, yours
very truly, E. J. Fishbaugh, Supt."
Send me a % pound sample of your glue,
with price attached, and amount used per
year, together with number of square feet
you are spreading per pound of glue. I will
analyze your glue and make you a proposi-
tion that you cannot afford to turn down.
John W. Beiger
Mechanical Engineer and Glue Expert
Room 11, Guaranty Bldg., Mishawaka, Ind.
Not connected with any Glue Factory