Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, JANUARY, 19U
OME of our dealers believe that
the record department should
be at the store entrance, some
advocate that it should be at the
back; others have it either on the right
or the left of the store. But where
should it be is not yet actually deter-
mined, altho the principle of one school
is that it should be near the entrance
for quick buying; the other school says
to let the store traffic see the entire dis-
play by walking thru to the back. There
must be one right way to insure getting
the most results. It might be a good
idea for piano dealers to find out
whether such products as refrigerators,
washers, etc. are worth while handling,
the plan back of these being that a
piano customer is a possibility for
something else. But isn't the buyer of
a refrigerator from someone else as
logical a prospect for your piano;
wouldn't the time spent chasing these
for pianos pay out better?
S
R
ADIO and refrigerators work
hand in hand with radio deal-
ers who do not sell pianos,
but a piano man being in a
"number" business would have to sell
more appliances in proportion to pianos
to net the same results. The theory
being different from the practice, would
piano men eliminate appliances, disre-
garding the so termed summer lull for
maintenance of volume and using that
time to increase the circle of piano
sales via proper preparation? If a
music store is to handle all musical in-
struments, isn't that enough of a job
to do right? Appliance mfrs. do not
want their lines handled in a perfunc-
tory manner, and while a dealer doing
$100,000 in total sales of all com-
modities might lose from $18,000 to
$20,000 by skipping appliances, he
would only have to do about $12,000
in music to offset the $20,000 lost from
giving up the appliances. We know of
piano dealers who are wasting time
with refrigerators, judging from their
net results on this item but they con-
tinue to handle them to "save their
face." This comment is general, and
does not apply to the specific cases
whereby a box man handles this dept.
without supervision and makes money.
P
IANO selling is a magnificent
business of quality character-
istics and its high level of dig-
nity and graciousness is at the
top of all retail work even if so much
retail copy is borax. The high class
piano salesman is likewise at the head
of all the public contacts. So the gen-
eral all 'round ensemble of piano store
appearance exceeds appliances, and
this is said without disparagement of
the latter. The difference is embraced
in the difference between the living
room and the kitchen, altho both are
vital to living. Few "exclusively piano
dealers" remain, and they do so well
that they are now setting an example of
efficiency that beckons the policy of
music only" for music dealers.
W
ITH a nation wide tradi-
tion of quality and service
becoming stream lined, as
the trade remembers the
recent emphasized promise for Lester
pianos, the result has been increased
business of sizeable volume. Inasmuch
as the success of all business starts at
the top, the great group of Lester deal-
ers feel proud of the leadership of G.
Laurence Miller.
Part of the "modernizing" was the
changing of the name of the retail divi-
sion to Lester Pianos Inc. This adop-
tion of a one name policy, creation of
new artistic retail headquarters, and a
rational, aggressive plan of retail sell-
ing has not only swelled- the retail
sales of Lester Pianos Inc., to a new
peak of leadership particularly in the
Philadelphia area, but has created an
example to other dealers for efficient
and modern wareroom business devel-
opment.
In other words, Lester is proving by
intent that profitable piano operations
are insured by linking the power of
tradition to the wheels of modern skill-
ful activity.