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THE MUSIC TRADE
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Vol LXXVI
NEW YORK, JUNE 9, 1923
No. 23
THE DUTY WE OWE OUR TRADE
O less a person than the late Theodore Roosevelt said: "Every
N
man owes a portion of his time and money to the upbuilding
of that industry of which he is a part," and this, in a nutshell, offers
one of the best reasons possible for the music merchant taking an
active interest in the affairs of the national and local associations in
his trade.
Perhaps the individual merchant cannot see at a glance just
how association work is going to benefit him directly and perhaps
the Association does not function as successfully as it might, but
at least it forms a medium through which the merchants in one par-
ticular line of business can meet, exchange ideas and sponsor those
movements in and out of the trade likely to prove of general benefit.
The retailer who makes an investment of time and money in the
general work of improving the business in his particular line is
working for his own advantage, regardless of how indirect the
method may appear at first glance, for anything that will help the
trade as a whole will likewise help every individual in it.
It takes a certain amount of vision and courage, sometimes,
for the individual retailer to give up time and money for the benefit
of business as a whole, but when members of the trade in general
realize that such an expenditure represents a wide investment move-
ments looking toward.trade betterment are likely to receive more
general support.
A CASE OF POOR DISTRIBUTION
page of The Review this week attention is called
O N to another
a practice that is spreading in New York and in some of
the other cities of the country, namely, that of placing pianos and
players on consignment with owners of small phonograph and
specialty shops, impressing upon them that in selling the instru-
ments they have a chance to make a little extra profit without tying
up capital or using a great deal of energy.
It seems as though this practice should be strongly condemned
by the organized trade for several reasons, the chief being that,
having no sense of piano values or of piano merchandising methods,
these itinerant dealers, as they may be called, are rapidly upsetting
trade values and shattering public confidence in those dealers who
depend for their living on piano selling, who maintain warerooms
JUNE 9, 1923
and sales organizations for the purpose, and who must get fair
prices in order to keep the balance on the right side of the profit
and loss account.
It may be argued that it is eminently desirable to promote
increased retail distribution of pianos, but placing a piano here and
there with some merchant in another line of business is likely to
harm rather than help the trade. It handicaps the legitimate mer-
chant and can accomplish no permanent good for the manufacturer
who follows that line of distribution. Were these small dealers
to go into piano selling seriously, carrying stock and selling on a
businesslike basis, there would be no criticism, but as it is now they
simply kill sales for reliable houses without obtaining any real
benefit for themselves.
As a matter of fact, instances have been cited where instru-
ments have been sold by this class of dealers at prices that in their
minds, used to small profit margins and quick turnover, represent
a real profit, yet an analysis of these same sales showed that the
dealers had actually lost cash money in the transaction.
Perhaps local associations cannot legislate effectively against
this new problem, but at least they can give it consideration and
voice organized disapproval, if nothing else.
NOTHING HAPHAZARD ABOUT EXPORT TRADE
J
ULIUS KLEIN, director of the Bureau of Domestic and For-
eign Commerce, has given exporters in the piano and other
trades something to think about in his recent declaration that Ameri-
can concerns were rapidly losing their foothold in certain foreign
markets through their neglect of export business in a desire to
take care of the heavy volume of domestic demand.
Mr. Klein very properly points out that the manufacturer who
seeks to go into the export field on a permanent and profitable
basis must set aside a definite proportion of his output each year
for shipment to foreign markets, and must see to it that that pro-
portion is maintained, even though to do so some domestic business
must be allowed to go by the board.
The truth seems to be that a number of concerns regard foreign
markets simply as a dumping ground for excess production when
things are not so active at home, and when the domestic orders pile
up let their export trade lag in the belief that they can pick it up
again without effort when necessity requires. As a matter of fact
the export business has long passed the hit-or-miss stage. Those who
have been successful in the field are concerns who have definitely
established foreign representatives and see to it that they are sup-
plied with the goods to take care of any .demand that they may
build up through advertising and by other means.
The use of the export field as a dumping ground for excess
production often proves a source of unexpected expense to the
manufacturer for the reason that without some definite guarantee
of shipments he cannot secure the services of competent and trust-
worthy foreign representatives, and, dealing with a lot of irresponsi-
ble agents, he finds that he is swindled quite frequently in one way
or another.
Foreign markets afford an outlet for overproduction, it is true,
and when properly exploited serve to maintain the balance of output
when the domestic market is lax, but if the foreign field is expected
to prove a savior in time of need it at least is entitled to definite
consideration during the periods in between emergencies.
SOMEBODY IS BUYING MERCHANDISE
in and out of the music industry who profess to see the
T HOSE
passing of prosperity and are inclined to bewail the fact that
business is on the slump may find some difficulty in explaining
away the fact that the volume of railroad carloadings continues to
break records, and the end is not yet in sight. During the week
of May 19, for instance, the last week for which figures have so
far been compiled, 991,797 carloads of revenue freight were handled
by the railroads, being the heaviest movement of freight for the
corresponding week in history and representing 17,000 cars over
the preceding week's figures.
A fact that cannot be argued against is that there must be
business somewhere to warrant these heavy shipments of goods and
to warrant the operation of factories of various sorts to capacity in
an effort to keep up with dealers' orders. It takes considerable
merchandise to handle ten thousand cars in a single week, and until
this movement of merchandise drops off materially there is no rea-
son to feel that business has really gone by the board.