Music Trade Review

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The Retail Piano Merchant and the
Medium-Grade Instrument
John H. Parnham, President of the Cable-Nelson Piano Co., Analyzes the Position of This Type of Piano
in the Retail Selling Field and Points Out That Neglect of This Instrument on the Part of the
Retail Piano Merchant Is a Powerful Factor in Preventing Increased Sales
T
H E question of the medium-grade piano,
its demand and the way. in which it is
handled by the retail piano dealer is one
that is arousing a great deal of interest in the
piano industry at the present time. John H.
Parnham, president of the Cable-Nelson Piano
Co., has devoted a great deal of attention to
this problem, and in a recent interview with
The Review he summed up his impressions in
the following manner.
"During the past ten or twenty years," said
Mr. Parnham, "there has been a comparatively
high mortality rate in the piano manufacturing
business. This has not manifested itself so
much in failures as in liquidations and con-
solidations so that to-day there are fewer piano
manufacturing units than there were a decade
ago.
"During this period, which has witnessed the
elimination of so many independent piano manu-
facturing units, that small group of manufactur-
ers making the highest-priced pianos, instruments
featured on the concert stage and which are
strictly leaders in trade parlance, have been
steadily increasing their business. They are in
a stronger position than ever to-day both in re-
gards to sales and prestige. At the same time
the conditions in the cheap piano manufacturing
field remain about the same,
"The high mortality in the piano manufac-
turing business has been among that inter-
mediate group of manufacturers, the group com-
posed roughly of those who make neither the
cheapest pianos nor the highest-priced pianos,
the medium-price group, terms which describe
them not very definitely but sufficiently so for
the purpose.
"If one analyzes the purchasing power of the
people throughout the country, he is forced to
the conclusion that the manufacturers who
have suffered most by attrition are making the
very goods which are of the greatest potential
profit to the dealer and which should be pur-
chased by the public in constantly increasing
quantities.
Expressing Alarm
"Many thoughtful men in the piano business
have expressed alarm because the sales of
pianos are not increasing, because in fact annual
production some twelve or fifteen years ago
was numerically greater than the production in
1925. I believe if the problem is carefully
studied it will be seen that the static condition
is confined almost exclusively to the medium-
price piano.
"The highest-priced leaders are of much
greater value to the piano industry than is rep-
resented by the actual profits made upon their
sale. These pianos used and endorsed by great
artists set the seal of authority upon the piano
as a type of musical instrument. They lend
atmosphere to the business. They set examples
of artistic achievement. While their prices are
beyond the means of the vast majority of pur-
chasers they add character to the-music store
and their very presence draws purchasers of
less expensive pianos.
"Most dealers rightly take pride in the fine
representation they give these high-priced
pianos of distinction. But I have seen many
places during the past few months where that
pride was an obstacle in the way of volume
business in good medium-priced pianos. I have
been in stores where the very atmosphere was
so charged with pride over some high-priced
piano of distinguished lineage that the common
people were unconsciously discouraged in their
ambition to procure an adequate piano
musically at a moderate price. I have seen
stores wherein actually 90 per cent of the sales
efforts was placed behind the pianos that can
be sold, to but about 5 jier cent of the people.
John H. Parnham
Naturally, these stores are selling some of the
good medium-priced pianos but nothing near
the volume that could be had, in my opinion,
if the management and the sales forces would
simply realize that the only way to make money
out of class business is to do a mass business
also.
"On the other hand, many stores do almost
exclusively a cheap piano business. The pro-
prietors of many of these stores proceed on the
theory that the public, the small public, does
not know one piano from another anyhow and
that the profitable way to merchandise is to buy
the cheapest pianos and sell them at the largest
possible mark-up. There we have the two ex-
tremes of piano merchandising constituting the
process of attrition that is squeezing out the
most useful instrument of all, the good medium-
priced piano.
"There is a broad law of compensation which
provides that an individual or an industry will
profit to whatever extent he or it deserves to
profit. A piano is fundamentally an instrument
of music and those who are selling inadequate
musical instruments out of their class as musi-
cal instruments are undermining the very foun-
dation of the piano business, which is the re-
gard of the people for the piano as an instru-
ment of music.
"Eliminating from consideration the minority
of people who can afford nothing better than
the cheapest pianos and also eliminating those
people who can afford and do buy nothing
but the highest-priced pianos, we find a vast
majority of people who, when they start out
to purchase a piano, really seek a good, honest
musical instrument at a moderate price. Such
a prospect should have what he wants. If, be-
cause of his lack of piano knowledge, he obtains
a poor piano, an inadequate piano musically, he
is not going to get his money's worth, he is not
going to enthuse over the piano as a musical
instrument, and he becomes unconsciously a
force opposed to the value of the piano as a
home instrument and he scatters seeds of piano
indifference.
Restoring Confidence
"More intelligent and honest sales efforts put
behind a good medium-priced piano will by no
matter of means decrease the sale of the
highest-priced instrument. In fact, quite the
contrary. And it will do something for the re-
tailer and will, in my opinion, in time restore
the confidence of the public in the piano as a
musical instrument, will in fact increase the
popularity of the piano, which after all is the
main objective.
"Is it not rather strange that in the class of
pianos which are sought and desired by some
80 per cent of piano purchasers there are so
few outstanding names with national or even
local prestige? Perhaps that is partially the
fault of the manufacturers, few of whom do na-
tional advertising. But the manufacturing piano
margin is so small and the distribution so
spotty that the average manufacturer who con-
templates an adequate national advertising cam-
paign faces an actual loss in operations until
his campaign is effective in creating distribu-
tion and stimulating sales, which may be a
matter of years. Considering nothing more
than the potential benefits to the retailer him-
self, I believe the average dealer would profit
vastly greater in the long run did he put more
advertising and merchandising force behind
good, moderate-priced pianos made by manu-
facturers in whom he has confidence."
Hardman Official Piano
of "Vagabond King" Company
Instrument Used for Rehearsal Purposes and
Also for Outside Appearances of the Company
Members
One of the features of entertainment at the
recent dinner given at the Waldorf-Astoria,
New York, by the American Newspaper Pub-
lishers' Association, was the double male quartet
from the "Vagabond King," the popular operetta
with a Rudolph Friml score. The octette was
chosen from the best male voices of the the-
atrical company, which has won special distinc-
tion for the quality of its singing.
The program on this occasion included the
"Mulligan Musketeers," "My Lady Cloe," "The
Archers' Song" snd the celebrated "Song of the
Vagabonds," which is the hit number of the
"Vagabond King."
Music Roll Co, Chartered
Incorporation papers have been filed recently
for the Columbus Music Roll Mfg. Co., New
York, which has an authorized capital stock of
$4,000. The officers -of the company are O.
Dibbell, A. C. Valente and V. Burreci. The con-
cern has for its attorney F. J. Rivaldi, 167 East
121st street.