Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MAY
2, 1925
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Cincinnati Reports Steady Demand for
Pianos During Entire Month of March
Sales of All Types of Instruments Fairly Steady—John Church Co. Featuring Ampico in the
Mason & Hamlin—Starr Piano Co. Adds Radio —Baldwin Reports Betterment
/CINCINNATI, April 25.—The month has
been a good one in the music trade, houses
in the different lines report, with sales greater
than they were in the corresponding period of
last year. As a rule, this is considered an off-
season, because the minds of the women are
devoted to home renovation to a great extent
and the buying of musical merchandise is de-
ferred. However, sales have kept up well and
increases are expected.
At the store of the Otto Grau Piano Co. it-
was reported that the higher-class merchandise
is the most active, with grand and reproducing
pianos in good demand. Still, it was stated, the
demand is good'for instruments that cost less,
including uprights, players, . phonographs and
phonograph-radio combinations. At present
the company is doing considerable "missionary
work," and this is meeting with a satisfactory
response. Mr. Grau regards conditions as nor-
mal for the season. A recent visitor at this
establishment was Fred P. Bassett, vice-presi-
dent of the Schulz Co., of Chicago.
Arthur Mergott, of the John Church Co., re-
ports that they find players and uprights to be
moving best at this time, but the demand for
the more expensive instruments is fairly good.
This store has just arranged a show window
that is attracting more than a usual amount
of attention. It contains a Mason & Hamlin
with the Ampico, placed in very "homey" set-
ting, with potted flowers in profusion and with
music rolls scattered around. In an attitude
of listening and seemingly enraptured sits a
tastefully dressed woman. The company did
not begin to handle the Ampico in connection
with the Mason & Hamlin until the first of the
year, and the object of this artistic display is
to give the public a chance to see this com-
bination in a most attractive way. Presi-
dent Roswell Burchard is on a trip to different
branch stores of the company. Arthur Mergott
has succeeded H. L. Whitman as head of the
publicity department.
The Starr Piano Co. has added a complete
line of radio instruments. At this store busi-
ness is reported to be about normal, the greater
demand being for small goods. W. M. Purnell
is making a business trip through southern
Ohio. Alton White, who formerly was a mem-
ber of the staff of the local store, is now with
the Lyon-Starr store, in Shelbyville, Ky.
"Business is fine—much better than it was
this time last year," stated Philip Wyman, head
of the publicity department of the Baldwin
Piano Co. The company has just turned out
some new styles of pianos, following the lines
of the grand, called the Louis XVI, the Queen
Anne and the Sheridan. Lucien Wulsin, who
after a long illness with typhoid fever went to
Hawaii to recuperate, has returned and resumed
his duties. The latest Baldwin romance was
that of Carl Fessler, auditor, and Miss Edna
Geek, of the same department, who have just
been married and who are now on their honey-
moon.
Otto Grau, head of the piano company that
bears his name and president of the Ohio Music
Merchants' Association, has been re-elected a
member of the Board of Directors of the Cin-
cinnati Automobile Club. On account of his
ever-increasing activities in the music trade, Mr.
Grau felt that his activities in the Automobile
Club should be given up, but members of the
organization could not see it that way.
Walter Timmerman, manager of the Lyric
Piano Co., says that they have no complaint to
make in regard to Spring business. He is a
great believer in the law of suggestion as an aid
to making sales, and he always arranges the
show windows with this in view. A recent win-
dow display contained a reproducing grand
which was placed in homelike surroundings,
with quantities of rolls scattered about.
Warm Weather Slows Up
Business in Detroit
one would hardly know they are in business.
Grinnell Bros, this week announced their an-
nual Spring Sale of new and used pianos. This
is one of the big semi-annual events of this
At Least That Is One of the Reasons Given for
Slow Trade—Mitchell Co. in Larger Quarters
—Clearing Out New Piano Stocks
DETROIT, MICH., April 28.—There has been a
little improvement in piano sales but nothing
of great consequence, and with the early arrival
of warm weather many dealers seem to think
that it is going to be late Summer before there
will be any real pep to the business. For the
past week the thermometer has been around 85
degrees, which is the warmest weather Detroit
has experienced for this season in over fifty
years. Such weather is by no means a stimu-
lant to the industry.
The Mitchell Co., dealer in pianos, players
and phonographs, is moving this week to it's
new store across the street from its present lo-
cation, the new number being 3000 Gratiot ave-
nue. Here the company will have more up-to-
date quarters in every respect and more room
so that it will be able to make better displays
and separate each department. This concern
deserves a lot of credit for the success it has
made the past three years. Situated at least
two miles from the heart of the city, this firm
is a consistent newspaper advertiser and a large
buyer of space. Were it satisfied to cater to
its own neighborhood, newspaper advertising
would be unnecessary, but it goes after the
business of the entire city and the fact that its
business has grown steadily in view of this
policy proves that it has been successful. We
know of some downtown piano stores that
never buy newspaper space, as a result of which
11
company and much preparation is made in ad-
vance of the opening day of the sale. The ads
are carefully prepared; full pages are used in
every town in which there is a Grinnell store;
heralds for the home are widely distributed on
top of which there is a direct-by-mail campaign,
all for the purpose of impressing upon the pub-
lic the real importance of the event. The sale
lasts for one week during which time the stores
are all open evenings.
The J. L. Hudson Music Store has been con-
ducting, with much success the past week, a
special sale of console phonographs.
This week the Janney-Bowman Co. is mak-
ing a special drive to dispose of used instru-
ments, having gathered together the greatest
number in its entire history. It represents an
accumulation since last Fall when many instru-
ments were taken in on Knabe Ampicos.
A new institution downtown is the Broadway
Piano Store, which recently opened on Broad-
way, near Grand River avenue. This gives
Broadway four retail piano stores, the other
three being Roy Dupraw, Cady & Burke and
Bailey Bros.
At the annual auction sale of boxes for the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra concerts for next
season, among those who paid high prices were
Jerome H. Remick, music publisher, and Grin-
nell Bros., both paying $1100 for season boxes.
George Clark Returns
• George Clark, wholesale representative of the
Henkelman Piano Manufacturing Corp., New
York, just returned from a New England trip.
When seen by a representative of The Review
this week, Mr. Clark stated: "The thing that
impressed me the most on this trip was the
fact that I was very successful in opening up
some new accounts which I attribute to the fact
that the Henkelman line is composed of instru-
ments which represent exceptional value. One
of the most popular models seems to be Style
P, a 4-ft. 6-in., player. I was only successful
in opening up new accounts but received re-
peat orders from many of our old customers
with the result that the trip proved to be most
satisfactory."
Mme. Marie Kimball, soprano, gave two re-
citals in the remodeled warerooms of the Gibbs
Piano Co., on Dwight street at Harrison ave-
nue, in connection with the opening of the store
recently.
It is a MERRIAM
The New No. 600
M o s t successful dealers
have built up their success
in the sales of quality mer-
chandise.
M e r r i a m benches w i l l
m a i n t a i n your prestige.
They will give your cus-
tomers entire satisfaction
and build good will for
you.
Send today for catalog
A. MERRIAM CO.
Established
Box
65
1870
SOUTH ACTON, MASS.