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Answers of Piano Dealers
(Cont. from Page 6)
pay on exhibit pianos, extra cost for
transportation for our men. etc.
"Vie are just not going to put up
with anything like this in 1954. I can
assure you—even if there is a boom
on."
'"We just don't get an adequate re-
turn on extra expense of this kind that
has been mounting each year to a point
that it just doesn't make good sense to
go on with it.
"I just want you to know that I am
all for you as to the very timely com-
ments you made in the Editorial herein
referred to.
"'It is just about time that people who
foot the bills principally, namely, the
manufacturers, looked into ihis whole
picture from a hardboiled. practical
standpoint—rather than be carried away
by the total number of registrations
which means absolutely nothing at all.
"Even if there were only 300 piano
dealers here, which is the figure men-
tioned in your Editorial, it is still too
large a group to make it possible to
give more than brief amounts of time
to each one. Therefore, there is little
opportunity at the Convention to sit
down with the individual dealers and
discuss problems that are important to
them and to the manufacturers mutu-
ally, and by the same token there is
little time to sit down and talk with
dealers individually about their fall re-
quirements. Dealers in a group just
don't place their individual orders.
"A lot of them just come to the Con-
vention to see how much they can get
their manufacturing connections to
spend on them in entertainment, and
they have all the excuses in the world
why they are not in a position to place
orders now.
"We are never able to invite to the
merchants banquet more than about half
of our dealers who attend the Conven-
tion. This year 25% of those who were
invited left town before the banquet,
sometimes with their banquet tickets in
their pockets and didn't even tell us
they wouldn't attend. As a result, deal-
ers can buy their own banquet tickets
next year as far as we are concerned.
Such a situation not only reflects ill-
breeding but a complete lack of appre-
ciation on the part of the people the
manufacturer tries to be courteous to
at a very large out-of-pocket cash ex-
pense."
Other interesting developments which
have been discovered by the REVIEW
in its endeavor to bring out the facts
regarding pros and cons of the Conven-
tion arc that some piano manufacturers
have told officials of the Convention one
story and then told other people just
the opposite story. In other words, the
officials of the Conventions have been
told that it was a great Convention, but
in discussing the matter with others,
these very manufacturers have admitted
that the expense is too great for the re-
turn which was received and feel very
much the same as the official of the com-
pany who has expressed himself so em-
phatically in the preceding paragraph.
Chairman Callaway Answers
After reading the REVIEW Editorial
last month. Harry E. Callaway, who
retired as President and is now Chair-
man of the Board of Directors of the
\.A.M.M.. stated: "Following our re-
cent correspondence and your warning
me that I might not like the Editorial
in the August REVIEW, may I compli-
ment you? I cannot agree with you on
every instance because as I have writ-
ten you previously a number of manu-
facturers have told me they received ex-
cellent orders (even larger than ever
before in some instances), and even
since my last letter to you I have had
some correspondence with well-known
manufacturers other than piano stating
that it was the very best Convention
year for orders.
"It has always been the desire of the
Board of Directors and the Executive
Committee, so long as I can remember,
to arrange business sessions so that they
would not interfere with the visits to
the displays. On the other hand, you
can well realize that a number of meet-
ings come from the requests of the mer-
chants. In my opinion, serious-minded
merchants attend the Convention to visit
with their manufacturers, to view new
products, to gain information pertain-
ing to the trends of business and to
learn better methods of merchandising.
In other words, it is a clearing house
and for the most part the Convention
has accomplished that, I believe.
"If all of this is the intent, it is de-
sirable that top executives and salesmen
accompany the owner of the retail busi-
nesses. Many men who are now heads
of retail businesses have gained much
knowledge by attending the Convention
over a period of many years, and while
on their early visits they were not buy-
ers in any sense of the word, the educa-
tion they received has proved valuable
to them as they have advanced in their
respective firms and become owners and
managers.
"So. when the attendance at the Con-
vention totals approximately 8500, a
great many of those who are not now
owners of businesses are potential own-
ers and, therefore, are a real asset to
the manufacturers who are showing
their wares and meeting their customers,
present and potential. And so, I be-
lieve a summary of those attending as
retailers and most of the manufacturers
and distributors will reveal that the Con-
vention as a whole w r as most satisfac-
tory.
"Your recommendations pertaining to
business sessions will certainly be wel-
comed by the Executive Committee as
well as the Board of Directors. I am
sure that every effort will be made to
comply with the desires of the manu-
facturers and dealers alike to the end
that the wonderfully pleasant relation-
ships of all these past years will con-
tinue."
Hammond Booklet Contains
Valuable Organ Information
The Hammond Organ Co., Chicago,
has issued a booklet entitled "Are You
Wondering About Organs?" The sum-
mary of facts it contains is not available
in any other literature. It immediately
created a great deal of interest, and
Hammond has received numerous re-
quests for copies.
Because to many persons the organ is
a rather unfamiliar instrument, this
booklet explains, pipe organs, reed or-
gans, amplified reed organs, electronic
organs and the Hammond organ. On
two of the pages appears a chart listing
the points a church committee should
check before purchasing an organ.
Joseph & Lucas Look Forward
to New Quarters Next Spring
August first marked the beginning
of construction of a new building for
the Hollywood Branch of the First Na-
tional Bank in Portland. Ore. This
wat- good news for Joseph & Lucas
Music Mart, who a year ago pur-
chased the present bank building.
The co-owners. Frank M. Joseph and
Harold E. Lucas boast, when moved,
they will have one of the most spa-
cious and finest music stores in the
West.
Construction of the new building
and remodeling the old for Joseph &
Lucas is scheduled to be completed
next May.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, SEPTEMBER, 1953