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THE MUSIC TRADE
16
REVIEW
SEPTEMBER 21, 1918
ERNEST URCHS HOME FROM COAST
PHILADELPHIA PIANO TRADE SHORTENING SELLING TERMS
Manager of Wholesale Department of Steinway
& Sons Visits Representatives in All Sections
of Country and Makes Pleasing Report
Shortage of Instruments Makes This Move Imperative—Heppe Issues Schedule of Sales Terms—
Weymann Drums Ordered for the Navy—Former Piano Men Now at the Front
Ernest Urchs, manager of the wholesale de-
partment of Steinway & Sons, returned to his
desk Monday after a three months' trip, which
included a visit to Steinway representatives in
all parts of the country. Mr. Urchs left for
the West by the Northern route, going as far
Ernest Urchs
as Seattle, Wash. He went as far south as
Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast, and returned
to the' F.ast via the Southern route.
While on the Coast Mr. Urchs was the guest
of Sherman, Clay & Co., Steinway representa-
tives in that territory, and he spent about a
month visiting the different cities in this section
of the country. He also spent a few days'at
Paso Robles, Cal., on the estate of I. J. Pader-
ewski, the world-famous pianist, and one of Mr.
Urchs' closest friends.
Discussing the general industrial situation
with a representative of The Review Mr. Urchs
said: "Business conditions in all parts of the
country are excellent, and wherever I visited
the dealers reported the closing of a very sat-
isfactory business. In some sections there is
a shortage of goods, but the majority of deal-
ers anticipated this shortage, and recognizing
the abnormal conditions existing in manufac-
turing circles, placed their orders for the fall
and holiday season well ahead of time.
"Industrial conditions on the Coast are splen-
did and the tremendous activity in the shipbuild-
ing yards throughout the Northwest is natural-
ly booming business in this part of the coun-
try. Piano dealers everywhere are optimistic
regarding the business future, and they are all
making plans for an active fall trade.
"Wherever I visited 1 preached the gospel of
higher cash payments and shorter time, point-
ing out to the dealers that such a policy is ab-
solutely imperative at the present time in order
to have their business show an adequate profit.
The great majority of dealers have already rec-
ognized the necessity of 'cleaning house' in their
collection departments, and there is a notice-
able improvement in this important division of
the retail piano business, which is very pleasing.
The dealers are also paying more attention to
their second-hand stock, and this department is
proving a gold mine for the live merchant.
"Our own business may well be considered
phenomenal, and our domestic sales totals for
the first eight months of 1918 showed a substan-
tial gain over any preceding year in our his-
tory. Our dealers tell us that the sale of Stein-
way pianos is limited only by the available sup-
ply of merchandise, and meanwhile our factories
are endeavoring to co-operate with our trade in
every possible way."
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PHILADELPHIA, PA., September 18.—The local
piano trade so far as selling conditions are con-
cerned has been moving forward the past week
in a very satisfactory way. There is already
plentiful evidence of the shortage of pianos this
fall, and this fact has caused the dealers to
stiffen their prices and shorten their terms ma-
terially.
C. J. Heppe & Son have just issued a state-
ment setting forth a new schedule of terms with
minimum figures that will serve to shorten ma-
aterially the terms of payment on all types of
instruments. In issuing the statement the com-
pany says: "The present shortage of instru-
ments makes the following schedules and regu-
lations absolutely necessary.
Every effort
must be made now to place our business as near
as possible on a cash basis. Cash sales or
short term leases will receive every preference,
both in credit and delivery. Large down pay-
ments will be required. We must be sure that
each sale is secure and substantial.
Monthly
payments must be as large as the customer can
possibly afford. The minimum that we will ac-
cept will depend entirely on the down payment."
The schedule fixes 10 per cent, as the mini-
mum down payment, and on that basis monthly
statements must equal 4 per cent, of the pur-
chase price.
Other houses are adopting the same rigid
course.
At Snellenburg's, for instance, that
firm have placed all their furniture on a cash
basis. As yet pianos have not been included,
however, but they are not leaving any instru-
ments go out except on a high first payment,
and they have reduced their time payments to
thirty months, and expect to be compelled to
put them to twenty-four months.
Among the visitors at the Snellenburg depart-
ment the past week were: Harry Snyder, of
Steger & Sons; J. C. Klein, of Bristol & Barber,
New York; Mr. Ashford, of the Q R S Co.; Mr.
Waugh, of the Biddle Piano Co.; L. C. Wag-
ner, representing the Rythmodik Roll Corp.; and
Dan Fabyan, of the Poole Piano Co., Boston.
David A. Claffy, of the Heppe force, has been
drafted and has been sent to Camp Dix. Roy
Simpson, a former Ileppe employe, was recent-
ly reported killed in France, but later word came
that he was in a prison camp in Germany. He
was accorded a D. S. Cross of honor for vol-
unteering to take a message back to headquar-
ters. He was wounded and crawled fifty feet
until he was rescued. Heppe's now have tweri-
ty-two men in the service.
H. A. Weymann & Son report that they have
received quite a large order from the navy for
their own make of orchestral drums. The
high-grade ukuleles are still in great demand
notwithstanding the fact that the cheaper grades
have been considerably pushed.
In order to introduce the Weymann special
violin E string, No. 216, to all dealers in the
United States, the firm are still supplying at $2
per hundred to the trade, notwithstanding they
are equal to many higher priced strings.
The Weymann's report that the demand for
Victrolas and Victor records is greater than
ever, although the supply is considerably below
normal. William J. Smith, of New York, called
on the Weymann firm the past week and placed
a large advance order for their make of instru-
ments for fall shipment.
Samuel Chadwick—not infrequently referred
to as Sam Weller by his co-workers at the Cun-
ningham store—has just returned from a very
pleasant trip to Skippack, where he spent his
vacation with his family.
DETROIT TRADE PREPARES
FOR NEW LIBERTY LOAN
everybody, and people are buying better mer-
chandise than ever before.
The J. L. Hudson Co. music store is offering
two specials for the month of September in con-
nection with its thirty-seventh anniversary sale.
One is the Gulbransen player-piano, and the
other—which was just announced last Friday—
is the Brinkerhoff piano, both at special prices.
Good business is reported at the Hudson music
store. While Manager Andrew has lost sev-
eral salesmen in the past six weeks he has re-
placed them and is still on the lookout for busi-
ness-getting salesmen.
The Hudson Male Quartet, composed of four
employes of the J. L. Hudson Co. store and
who have several times given recitals in the
music store, will leave shortly for the war zone
of Europe. They will entertain the soldiers un-
der the auspices of the Y. M. C. A., although
their entire expenses will be paid by the J. L.
Hudson Co. It is a part of the Hudson Co.'s
contribution to their "winning the war" policy.
C. W. Cross, former manager of the Detroit
store of the Bush & Lane Co., recently connected
with Grinnell Bros, main store as salesman in
the piano department. Mr. Cross was with the
Bush & Lane Co. on the Pacific Coast, and was
also connected with several Cleveland piano
houses for many years.
In another few weeks we will see a number
of piano dealers urging the public to buy early
for the holidays. This is in accordance with
the recent Government announcement that peo-
ple should do their Christmas shopping now.
Several dealers, with whom the writer talked
last week, are planning something special for
October as a part of their Christmas campaign.
The service flag and honor roll of Grinnell
Bros, show that more than seventy-live em-
ployes out of their organization have enlisted
for military service.
Piano Men Getting Ready to Put Fourth Loan
"Over the Top"—Business Exceedingly Good
—Hudson Quartet to Go to Europe
DETROIT,
MICH.,
September
17.—Under
the
auspices of the Detroit Board of Commerce the
auto city is making extensive plans for conduct-
ing the Fourth Liberty Loan drive. The lead-
ers in this patriotic movement have called upon
every member for assistance, and have also sug-
gested to the local merchants that they co-
operate with appropriate window displays. In
the music lines the Board of Commerce has
many representatives among the piano dealers.
C. A. Grinnell, of Grinnell Bros.; Frank Bayley,
of Bayley's Music House; J. Henry Ling, of
Ling's Piano House, and E. P. Andrew, of the
J. L. Hudson Music Store, have been active in
selling the first three Liberty Loans, and they
will do their part again in the fourth drive.
Besides those mentioned nearly all of the other
dealers, both in pianos and talking machines,
have taken some part.
Detroit is fast becoming a really important
war work center. Last week the Ford Motor
Co. and the Packard Motor Co. announced that
they had become 100 per cent, war plants, hav-
ing discontinued entirely the manufacture of
passenger vehicles. Several other large motor
plants will take similar action before another
few weeks.
We noted in our previous Detroit letter that
August was one of the best summer months
Detroit dealers ever had, and now we can say
that September so far is by far the best month
dealers have had in several years. The first
two weeks have been exceedingly brisk fur
PIANOS
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