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HE piano business in Costa Rica, that
must pay around a hundred Colones a month
mountainous little Republic in Central
lor an unfurnished house. A day laborer re-
America just to the northwest of the ceives about three Colones a day and a pound
Republic of Panama and the Panama of butter, very ordinary butter at that, costs
Canal, is decidedly on the upswing, so much
three Colones. Rice retails for one Colon for
so that baby grands are beginning to be called
three pounds and a little can of Campbell's
for and dealers are importing them for a trial.
Soup is exactly a Colon and a half. Other
The cheaper upright piano which has held the prices are on a par with these, which makes
center of the sales stage for years in Costa
it quite apparent that life is none too easy in
By
Rica still continues to be the popular seller
Costa Rica.
but there are signs of an improvement in the
The one result of this upside-down economic
market and dealers are happy. And this im-
situation is that people have little to spend for
provement is in the face of an economic situa-
anything and everything. Naturally this is
rights selling at a fair rate. The best seller
tion that has the country within its grasp and
reflected in all lines of business, the piano busi-
with us and 1 believe with the other dealers,
which is not only making business difficult but
ness not excepted. But although conditions
too, is one that we can retail for eighteen or
life itself difficult. Let us first, then, look at
are as they are, the Latin loves his music and
nineteen hundred Colones here in San Jose.
this upside-down economic situation that is
so if possible he buys his piano. Thus we
Such an upright costs in the country of origin
ruling Costa Rica and after we have lined that
find the different dealers fairly well satisfied
irom two hundred to two hundred and twenty-
up, get a picture of the piano business and its
with business as it is today and quite confident
five dollars. For that grade of piano there is
immediate prospects.
that the future will bring an improvement. a steady demand, not large in itself but good
for Costa Rica, which isn't any
In the years that have passed
too large a country.
into history Costa Rica was a
happy little country with a peso
"There is absolutely no de-
or Colon, as it is called there,
mand for the small upright.
worth roughly fifty cents gold.
This can be explained by the
In those days business went
fact that there are no apart-
ahead as usual and almost
ments in Costa Rica and so no
everybody was happy. But one
necessity for saving space. In
day a bad president came in
addition it would be impossible
with a coup d'etat and stayed
to sell a small upright for less
just about long enough to
than thirteen hundred Colones
gather up the gold reserve of
and a person who has thirteen
the country. With this nicely
hundred Colones to pay for a
packed away on a ship he
piano has a few hundred more
escaped to Paris and lived in
to pay and get a regular full
luxury for a time.
size upright.
The Colon with nothing be-
"We do find, however, that
hind it but history did a series
there is a growing interest in
of ups and downs with the
player-pianos despite the price
downs far more numerous than
that we must ask for them in
the ups and much more severe.
order to make our legitimate
At times nobody knew what it
profit. A player, the cheapest
was worth and it is doubtful
one here, retails for two thou-
whether it had much of any
sand and two hundred Colones,
Interior of Store of Piza e Hijos, San Jose, Costa Rica, the Largest Dealer
fixed value. Finally, in order
which is high priced for this
of Pianos in the Republic.
to save the country from abso-
'......
country with its peso or Colon
worth only twenty-five cents.
lute ruin, the Congress met
Yet we are selling players at that price and
and stabilized the Colon at four to one where
Certainly with baby grands in demand it would
even at higher prices, which is helping in no
it is today. That gives it a value of exactly
seem that there was an improvement in the
small way to make the piano business here
twenty-five cents gold—the price of a good
piano business in that republic.
quite good.
magazine or a package of cigarettes.
"The piano business is quite bright right
The full importance of what this means to
"One thing to remember, however, is that
now," says Benj. E. Piza, manager of Piza e
the country may be gained from this simple
we must wait for our money since there are
Hijos, one of the largest dealers in pianos in
recital of facts, Costa Rica is not a manufac- Costa Rica, with a store located in San Jose,
practically no cash sales in Costa Rica. For
turing country but a country that depends for
the most part we get from twenty to twenty-
the capital. "One reason for this optimism is
almost everything that it uses and consumes
five percent as a down payment with the un-
that the people are beginning to ask for baby
on other foreign countries where the monetary
paid balance distributed over a period of twelve
grands for the first time in piano history in
unit is higher in value than is the Colon. On
months. In some instances we have to wait
Costa Rica. A baby grand cannot be sold for
the other hand the people of the country work
less than three thousand six hundred Colones a little longer for our money, which gives us
for and receive Colones for wages which gives in this country, yet we have people who want
still less net profit and lowers our turnover.
them an unusually low purchasing power. Per- them. We are seriously considering this de-
"We handle both American and European
haps a few actual figures will make the whole
mand and it is quite likely that we shall im-
made pianos and in the years that we have
situation even clearer.
port one or two for a trial.
been in business I have picked up some likes
and dislikes that might possibly help American
A bookkeeper in Costa Rica receives about
"Outside of this demand for baby grands the
manufacturers who want to get into this
two hundred Colones a month and out of that
piano business is good with the regular up-
Accepting Costa Rica as typic
and worse off than most of the
while market in the South f
RUSSEI