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THE MUSIC TRADE
11
REVIEW
GRAND OPERA AND WINTER CARNIVAL DIVIDE THE HONORS
Twin City Music Dealers Report an Excellent Trade—Foster & Waldo Expect an Increase of
200 Per Cent.—Raudenbush Holding Removal Sale—Krossin With Starck Co.—Other News
MINNEAPOLIS and
ST. PAUL, MINN., January 16.
—Minneapolis is reveling in grand opera with
the San Carlo Co. as the inspiring source, and
St. Paul is reveling in enthusiastic preparation
for the great winter carnival.
Both of the
twins—or each of the twins, whichever is pref-
erable—are or is extremely busy, and with them
the piano dealers. Trade has been excellent
in the first fortnight of 1917, and if the pace
is retained to the end January will set a high
mark for that month.
The Metropolitan Music Co. is experiencing
the busiest January it has seen in the thirty-
five years of the existence of this house, de-
clared Edward A. Dyer, president of the com-
pany. It would be necessary to go back several
years to even find a comparison, he said. The
main sales are in the better grades of pianos.
Mrs. F. M. Steiner made arrangements for the
installation of a beautiful Steinway art grand
piano in her home, and other desirable orders
were entered on the books.
An increase in business of over 200 per cent,
will be the January record for the house of
Foster & Waldo, according to Robert O. Fos-
ter, providing the month continues as sturdily
as it began. This will, of course, include the
talking machine business, which is at least on a
par with the piano trade of this concern. Plans
have been made for remodeling the first floor
mainly to enlarge the office quarters, which
are far too small for the effective work of the
office force. A modern switchboard in charge
of an experienced operator will be installed.
Harry S. Krossin, late of the Cable Piano
Co.'s Minneapolis staff, and formerly in charge
of the P. A. Starck Piano Co.'s St. Paul store
took charge of the latter company's Minne-
apolis store on Monday (January 15). He suc-
ceeds George Currier, known as the ''boy man-
ager," who in a strange city and in a new store,
alone and unaided, sold sixty-five pianos in two
weeks. Mr. Currier is a lawyer, and may re-
turn to the practice of his profession, although
admitting a fondness for pianos.
More and more the piano stores are becoming
music stores. The William A. Lindquist Piano
Co. recently added the Stewart phonographs
and Perfectrolas to the business. As far as is
known the stores of the P. A. Starck Piano
Co. and the Holland Piano Mfg. Co. arc the only
exclusive piano houses in St. Paul and Minne-
apolis.
"Removal Sale" signs ornament the windows
of the Raudenbush & Sons Minneapolis store,
but no information as to the date or place of
removal is vouchsafed at this time.
Appar-
entl}' this is the only change in sight for the
immediate future in Minneapolis, while the
RaudeTibush and Bcrkland stores in St. Paul
are scheduled to close by February 1.
Having directed the W. J. Dyer & Bro. busi-
ness through a successful year ending with a
semi-annual dividend of 3y 2 per cent., W. J.
Dyer will seek a more balmy climate at St.
RUDOLF
PIANOS
are conscientiously made good
instruments; in other words,
the sweetest things out.
RUDOLF PIANO CO.
72 East 137th Street
NEW YORK
Petersburg, Fla. Mrs. Dyer will accompany
him.
It develops that business is to be had in
the rural sections. William A. Lindquist is drum-
ming it up in the provinces as is George H.
Redel of the Holland Piano Mfg. Co..
We would like to add that the Brooks-Evans
Piano Co. is enjoying a most satisfactory post-
holiday trade, and has made several attractive
sales of Everett pianos in the past fortnight.
TRADE NEWS FROM KANSAS CITY
T. E. Johnstone Teaching Salesmen How to
Handle Pianos—Jones Store Department Re-
ports Busy Week—B. J. Pierce Returns From
Trip to Washington—Other News of Interest
KANSAS CITY, MO., January 13.—T. E. Johnstone,
manager of the local store of the Smith, Barnes
& Strohber Piano Co., is putting in a new school
of salesmanship in the store. Mr. Johnstone has
had considerable difficulty in procuring salesmen
of the first order. They have seemingly had the
wrong idea of how to do the modern business
way of selling pianos, so Mr. Johnstone has bor-
rowed the idea of a school of salesmanship from
the National Cash Register Co. He was trained
in this company for seven years and "knows
whereof he speaks."
He already has about
fifteen students enrolled in the school. The
young men—Mr. Johnstone is a strong advocate
of young, men—will be trained in the policy of
the store,jand when through the training course
will be added to the sales force. However, there
is no obligation on the part of the students to
take up the piano selling game. But the proposi-
tion will be made so attractive that they will
probably enroll in the force of the store. The
store is large enough to accommodate any num-
ber of salesmen so no one will have any trouble
in landing a job if he can "put over the goods."
This store has been doing a good business right
along.
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde C. Thomas were in Kansas
City recently, visiting friends. Mr. Thomas was
formerly manager of the Field-Lippman store
here. He is nov: manager of the Massey Piano
Co., Des Moines, Iowa.
Grant Pauley, of the Kroh Music Co., Mus-
kogee, Okla., spent several days here recently.
The piano department of the Jones Store Co.
has been doing a very good business in the last
month. Justin Oug, manager, attributes this to
a rather peculiar circumstance. Professor Mun-
ter, an exhibitor for the Nulife corset has been
exhibiting his line of goods in the Jones Store.
When he was figuring on a department to give
his health talks in Mr. Ong asked that they be
given at the far end of the piano department.
This brought through the store a large number
of the better class people, highly desirable to
Mr. Ong. Several hundred passed through daily
and many were impressed with a knowledge of
the store more forcibly than ever before. In
fact many sales were made from this one factor.
Nat Brenner has joined the Jones Co. sales
force. Mr. Brenner was formerly at Cleveland,
O., with various piano firms.
Lester Burchfield, manager of the talking ma-
chine department of Sanger Bros., Victrola dis-
tributors at Dallas, Tex., was recently a visitor
in Kansas City and called at the retail stores as
well as the distributors.
B. J. Pierce, manager of the Victrola depart-
ment of the J. W. Jenkins' Sons Music Co., re-
turned recently from a convention of Victor job-
bers and dealers at Washington, D. C. He said
that he had heard the Stephens Bill and hoped
heartily that it might pass.
Earl Holland, of the Melville Clark Piano Co.,
traveler in the Southwest territory, was in town
Saturday and visited the piano department of
the Jones Store Co.
Frank Finnerty recently opened a music store
at Hudson, Mass.
Schmidt
Hammers
cannot
makefa
poor piano
good
but they do
Make
A Good
Piano
Better
David H. Schmidt Co.
Poughkeepsie, N. Y.