Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
OCTOBER 1, 1921
MUSIC
TRADE
TRADE NEWS FROM WASHINGTON
TRADE SERVICE FOR MUSIC DEALERS
Fall Business Has Begun and Local Music
Dealers Are Quite Optimistic—Knabe Ware-
rooms Hold Clearance Sale—Other News
Trade Service Bureau of Music Industries Cham-
ber of Commerce Offers Two Attractive Series
of Advertisements to Merchants
WASHINGTON, D. C, September 27.—Like a
breath of mountain air on a parched plain
comes the first refreshing hint of the real, solid
Fall increase in trade. Not all dealers have
been able to sense the pick-up as yet, but to
some it has come unmistakably. All are opti-
mistic over the prospect for the Winter months.
One of the first indications of the long-awaited
Fall increase is the revival of interest in the
cheaper grades of instruments and goods. Dur-
ing the Summer the trade, while fairly good,
has been almost exclusively confined to the
higher grades.
The only factor which is at present causing
dealers concern is the wholesale cut in the wages
of navy yard employes, approximately 7,000
Washingtonians being affected. Lesser reduc-
tions have been made from time to time in the
pay of other workers, but these have come
gradually, so that there has been no abrupt
change.
A number of the navy yard workers, who
have been purchasing goods on the instalment
plan, have been forced to withhold payments,
in many cases forfeiting what they had already
paid.
One of the local music houses which is able
to report a material increase in the volume of
trade is that of McHugh & Lawson, 1222 G
street northwest. They are concentrating their
efforts on pianos and players, with the result
that a brisk trade has been built up during the
Summer and an excellent groundwork laid for
the Fall airtl Winter trade.
Hallet & Davis and Conway lines are also
going very well. Trade in Q R S player rolls
has been unusually brisk for the season and is
steadily increasing in volume.
Henry Eberbach, 808 H street northwest, has
also found a noticeable increase in the volume
of business. Small instrument trade, especially,
has picked up. Piano sales have not advanced
so noticeably and the demand is not confined to
any special grade.
The Knabe Warerooms, Inc., have secured
good results from a September clearance sale,
which is just closing. A large number of used
pianos has been disposed of and at the same
time a steady trade has been continued in the
new goods. All types of pianos manufactured
by the American Piano Co. are handled here.
A brisk trade in higher class instruments is
being carried on. by O. J. De Moll & Co. Dur-
ing the past week a Duo-Art piano was sold
and in the previous week two Steinway, Duo-
Arts were placed. Five high-grade pianos of
various makes were sold in one day this week.
In practically all of the local houses the vaca-
tion season has closed and everybody has turned
in for an intensive selling campaign.
Following the completion of extensive altera-
tions and repairs at the G street store of J.
Edgar Robinson, Alan Bachrach, manager, is
taking a short vacation. He will visit New York
and expects to take in a few of the world's
series games.
American
Piano Wire
"Perfected"
"Crown"
Highest acoustic excellence dating back to the
days of Jonas Chickering. Took prize over whole
world at Paris, 1900. For generations the
standard, and used on the greatest number of
pianos in the world.
Services of our Acoustic Engineer always available — fiee
Illustrated books—free
American Steel & Wire
ACOUSTIC DEPARTMENT
106 9. LA SALLE ST., CHICAGO
11
REVIEW
The Trade Service Bureau of the Music Indus-
tries Chamber of Commerce, under the direc-
tion of C. L. Dennis, has announced that it is
prepared to furnish to the members of the Na-
tional Association of Music Merchants a num-
ber of service items for individual use covering
problems of advertising and' selling, business
forms and methods, collection helps and sources
of information on the music industry.
As the first feature of the service there is
being offered to the music merchant a selection
of two series of copyrighted illustrated adver-
tisements taken from the previous co-operative
advertising campaigns of the National Bureau
for the Advancement of Music and representing,
it is said, the cream of these advertisements.
Under the plan the use of the advertising will
be limited to the first dealer in each town who
places a definite order for either series, the order
including full sets of newspaper mats, which are
sold to the dealer at cost, the amount of the
charge being 'extremely small. The first of the
series of advertisements includes twelv-e pieces
of copy, four-column size, twelve inches deep,
under the caption, "What the Great Minds of
All Time Say About Music." The second series
of eight advertisements, also four-column size,
twelve inches deep, represent the development
of the subject, "Music—the Birthright of Every
Child."
It is expected that the offer of the special ad-
vertising service will prove interesting to music
merchants just now, in view of plans being made
for Fall and Winter business.
Other features of the Trade Service Bureau
will be announced at intervals as they become
ready for operation.
SEND BRAMBACH NOVEMBER DATA
Brambach Piano Co. Mails Entire Prospectus
to Dealers—Worked Out on Economy Plan, It
Gives Aid Which Should Bring Good Results
The Brambach Pia*no Co., New York, is this
week mailing to every Brambach dealer the
complete analysis and plan for the coming No-
vember campaign announced recently in The
Review.
The copy of the proposition as outlined to
Brambach dealers is one of the most compre-
hensive intensive sales activities that have been
offered to a piano merchandiser by this house.
It calls for twenty-one newspaper inserts, four
of which are three-column advertisements and
seventeen of which are single-column eight-inch
insertions. Thus the dealer has a newspaper
campaign which gives the dealer an insertion
practically every selling day of November and
which measures only 268 inches of newspaper
space.
The same economy in operation runs through
the entire campaign. The entire materials are
furnished to the dealer—show cards, mailing
folders, prospect letters, suggestions for win-
dows, etc. The only expense which the dealer
has is the cost of the newspaper space and the
cost of postage and mailing over his prospect
lists.
Tt is expected that not only will business be
stimulated during the month of November, but
the effect of this .constructive advertising will
undoubtedly extend through the entire Christ-
mas season and through the early buying months
of next season.
T
*ADE M A * *
lUtlNESS FOUNDED IN
rim-six
Satisfaction that builds
for the future is found
in
EST. 1856
& SON
Pianos and
Player-Pianos
<€
Made by a
DECKER
Since 1856"
Dealers who have han-
dled these instruments
for nearly three-quarters
of a century can readily
attest to this. Sell the
old reliable Decker and
watch your business
grow.
TO CONTINUE BUSINESS
The Floyd Piano Co., of Memphis, Tenn., will
continue its business, according to a recent an-
nouncement. C. Q. Floyd, brother of L. F.
Floyd, president and founder of the business,
whose death was recently announced, will con-
tinue as office manager.
DECKER & SON, INC
697-701 East 135th Street
NEW YORK