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RECORDS-ACCESSORIES
Emerson Piano House Solves Three
Speed Record Demonstrations by New Setup
Hearing On RCA's Color
Appeal Set for March 26th
Aware that the introduction of the two
new record speeds called for a scien-
tific revision of display and selling tech-
niques, Emerson Piano House, Decatur,
111. music store, streamlined the opera-
tion of its record department. Store
executives now report the changes
reaped amazing customer response.
The store's record department had
been geared to function as a top retail
outlet for 78 r.p.m. records. Like other
such operations, it was unprepared to do
an adequate job of handling 33 1/3
and 45 r.p.m. records. So Emerson
changed its operation.
In the design of their new display
racks, they combined visual selling
theories and the self-service idea. The
racks were designed to permit the cus-
tomer to find and handle the greatest
number of records possible. A single
record storage and display unit was
remodeled to afford a categorized dis-
play of 33 1/3 albums with from eight
to ten different categories. This was de-
liberately aligned with the entrance of
the record department so that it is one
of the first things the customer sees
upon entering.
Horizontal slides were mounted par-
allel with the walls and pillars to form
display racks for 45 r.p.m. albums. Open
at both ends, they permit the display
of the covers of 225 45 r.p.m. alburns.
The albums can be readily removed for
inspection and demonstration.
The listening equipment was. how-
ever, the most important part of the
store's remodeling program. In the past.
Emerson's had eleven listening booths,
each equipped with a one-speed demon-
strator. In addition, they had a shop
demonstrator. With the advent of
33-1/3 r.p.m. records, one of the booth
demonstrators was equipped to play
33-1/3 r.p.m. records, as was the shop
demonstrator.
As sales of 33-1/3 speed records in-
L. F. Cramer Dti Mont Liaison
Officer for Government Work
Leonard F. Cramer, Vice-President
and Director, Allen B. Du Mont Labora-
;ories, Inc., has been named to head the
firm's newly-formed Government Liaison
Department, it was announced recently
at company headquarters in Clifton,
New Jersey.
The new department will be respon-
sible for Du Mont's defense mobilization
planning and will work with govern-
ment officials on armed forces contract
negotiations.
During World War II, Mr. Cramer
had charge of Du Mont's negotiations
with the government and planned the
firm's war production, from its first con-
tract with the Signal Corps.
22
creased and 45 r.p.m. records were in-
troduced, this was, naturally, found to
he inadequate.
Eight of the eleven booths were con-
verted to remote control units. A speak-
er was mounted in each booth but the
playing equipment was not. Instead,
nine Webster - Chicago three - speed
changers were mounted on shelves at
the right end of the sales counter. Eight
of these played into the booths and
the ninth was used as a shop demon-
strator. A micro-switch on each Web-
ster-Chicago changer leads to a light
panel mounted just above the changer
section. This panel shows at a glance
from any part of the record shop just
what booths are being used. This al-
lows the record salesmen to direct cus-
tomers to any empty booth without the
necessity of peering into each booth in-
dividually in the search for an empty
one. All records in these eight booths
are played from the control section
near the counter. The customer selects
his records and they are piled on the
changer and the mechanism is started,
the sound traveling to the amplifier
mounted out of sight behind the sales
counter and. through a second wire, in-
to the listening booth. Each speaker in
each of the booths is equipped with a
ieject button so that the customer may
reject the records at will. A control in
each booth also permits the customer
to adjust the volume.
Because a good many of Emerson's
customers confine their purchases to
45 r.p.m. records, two booths were
equipped for the playing of 45 r.p.m.
records exclusively, also played by re-
mote control from behind the sales
counter. The other booth is equipped
with just a 78 r.p.m. demonstrator and
is for the use of those few customers of
Emerson's who still prefer to play their
selections themselves.
The Supreme Court has agreed to
review government approval of Colum-
bia Broadcasting System color tele-
vision.
The approval by the Federal Com-
munications Commission was attacked
by the Radio Corp. of America. RCA's
competing TV color system was rejected
by the FCC when it gave a go-ahead to
the CBS color plan.
The Supreme Court set March 26 for
arguments on the long-standing dispute.
In its order accepting the RCA ap-
peal the high tribunal also let stand a
temporary court order against the start-
ing of CBS color telecasts while the case
is m litigation.
The order blocked such telecasts be-
fore next April 1. It was issued by a
special three-judge U. S. District Court
in Chicago last Dec. 22. The special
court at that time, however, upheld by
a two to one vote the FCC's approval
of CBS's mechanical method of color
telecasting.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, MARCH, 1951