Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MAY
THE MUSIC TRADE
30, 1925
REVIEW
149
Window Display as a Selling Asset
Two Striking Examples of the Profitable Use of the Musical Merchandise Window in a Hohner Harmonica
Display by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. and a Paramount Banjo Display by the George J. Birkel
Co., of Los Angeles, Both Based on Current Tie-up With Local Events
OME music dealers have very good win-
dow displays and profit considerably as a
result. Other dealers have ridiculously
poor window displays and suffer great loss of
possible profits as a result. The difference be-
S
window, a band window, something with a cen-
tral keynote, a unity of idea.
Notice the harmonica window illustrating the
article which we are able to show through the
courtesy of M. Hohner, Inc. This window is
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Featuring the Hohner Harmonica
tween the two types of dealers, the reason one
has beautiful window displays while the other
shows atrocious ones to the public, is usually
the mere fact that the one knows how and the
other does not.
Of course there are a few dealers who are
indifferent to the matter. They care very lit-
tle whether their windows are attractive to the
public gaze or not. It is usually enough for
them to wash the window about once a month
—this is all the attention the window display
problem receives and sometimes not even this
much is done.
The dealers who fail in the matter of window
displays fail through carelessness, indifference
or ignorance. Generally it is ignorance, for a
man with gumption enough to go into business
generally has enough life to want to make
his store presentable and it is only the not
knowing how that keeps him from so doing.
Simple Rules for Good Displays
The dealers who succeed in making their win-
dows one of the talking points of their stores
do it by following a few simple rules that have
been laid down as the result of the experience
of many thousands of dealers not only in this
line but in many other lines of retail endeavor.
One of the very good rules to be observed
is that there should be a certain amount of unity
in the picture. Perhaps it will be a good idea
for the dealer to think of the display of mer-
chandise as a picture and set out to arrange
it much as an artist would paint a picture. Just
as the artist strives for unity of subject matter
so will the experienced window trimmer con-
trive for a certain unity of construction in his
display.
His purpose is to focus the gaze of the public
on one idea. Usually it is the idea of one in-
strument or one type of instrument. That is
why one-instrument windows are so effective.
A saxophone window, a banjo window, a har-
monica window, a drum window, an orchestra
that of Wurlitzer's, on Forty-second street, New
York, a store renowned for its fascinating win-
dow displays of musical instruments. This is
an out-and-out harmonica display. The central
keynote is a large life-size cardboard cut-out
published by Carl Fischer, Inc., which is prov-
ing to be a popular seller in spite of the fact
that thousands of instruction booklets are dis-
tributed free by dealers every day.
Everything in the window has something to
do with the harmonica. There is a radio set
in the background but it is introduced merely
to convey the idea that harmonica music is
now a prominent feature of radio broadcast-
ing. There are a few accordions in the fore-
ground but these arc introduced merely because
it is a Hohner display and they are products
of M. Hohner, Inc.
It is said that this interesting display of har-
monicas sold thousands of harmonicas for Wur-
litzer's during the few days it was before the
public. Which gives proof of the old axiom
that the better the display the richer will be
the reward in sales.
Tying Up With Local Events
Another factor in successful display of mer-
chandise in windows is that of timeliness. The
display should feature seasonable merchandise
and should tie-up if possible in some way with
the season of the year. Holidays should be
recognized in the windows as well as local
events of unusual interest. Among the latter
would conic local visits of nationally prominent
musical organizations, for they offer a splendid
chance for the live merchant to boost his sales
of instruments.
An interesting example of this tying-up with
local musical events is reproduced herewith in
the window of the George J. Birkel Co., the
big Los Angeles store. This represents a tie-up
with the recent appearance in that city of the
Paul Whiteman orchestra on its nation-wide
tour and we are able to show the photograph
through the courtesy of William L. Lange,
New York, manufacturer of the Paramount ban-
Featuring the Paramount Banjo
showing a scene from Elsie Janis's "Puzzles of
jo, which is used exclusively by Mike Pingitore,
1925," showing Miss Janis listening to Borrah
the famous banjoist with Whiteman.
Minevitch, the world's greatest harmonica
While this window shows a variety of instru-
player and one of the stars of the show, playing ments it features most prominently a display
his Hohner Chromonica.
Around this is of five Paramount banjos. Across the entire
grouped a large assortment of Hohner harmon- window front is a display of about sixteen pho-
icas. There are big harmonicas, little harmon- tographs of prominent Los Angeles banjoists
icas, expensive harmonicas and low-priced who use and endorse the Paramount banjo,
ones, samples of every harmonica the store car- every one a customer of the Birkel store.
ries in stock.
There is also a large poster showing the
Then there are the instruction books. There Whiteman orchestra and Mike Pingitore, the
are heaping piles of Hohner harmonica free in- banjoist, featuring his endorsement of the
struction books with the invitation to step in- Paramount banjo. Scattered profusely about
side and take one away. Prominently featured the window is a large quantity of Paramount
is the Borrah Minevitch instruction method literature supplied by Mr. Lange,