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Growing Pains in the Organ Business
and What it Needs to Guarantee Permancy
by Robert C. Campbell, General Sales Manager
Connsonata, Division of C. G. Conn Ltd.
From an address made at Southeastern Regional Conference Atlanta, Oa.
title "Growing Pains in The
T sume, HE Organ indicates
Business." as you will as-
my belief that there
has been some real growth in the or-
gan market over the past few years,
and it indicates an equally strong con-
viction that the organ market despite
this growth, is not yet mature or sta-
bilized. It is my belief that the organ
market will, under the enlightened par-
entage of this country's progressive
music merchants, emerge from this
stage of growth into a maturity that
will be both gratifying and profitable
to those who are connected with it in
any way.
I fully realize that the manufacturer
who tries to tell the retailer how to run
his business sticks his neck out a con-
siderable distance. Also I suspect that
what I am about to say will seem to
indict the music dealers as being sole-
ly and completely responsible for what-
ever may be wrong in the organ busi-
ness today. On the first point I shall
hope to vindicate my position by sug-
gesting the need for a closer alliance
between manufacturer and dealer and
the importance of complete cooperation
on this two-man team. As to my lay-
ing all the blame on the dealer's door-
step—this too should not be taken at
face value. The criticisms, are meant
purely constructively and it is by no
means my intention to imply that all
is peaches and cream as far as the
manufacturers are concerned. Natural-
ly there are a great many things which
this country's organ manufacturers
must do if the organ business is to
reach its proper maturity. The record
of accomplishment is rather good so
far but I am sure these manufacturers
would readily admit that the goal has
not yet been attained.
Standardization Necessary
Speaking in behalf of the manufac-
turer I think I can generalize to the ex-
tent of saying that most of the criti-
cisms by dealers arise because of the
fact that the manufacturer must, of
necessity, have a high degree of stand-
ardization both in the productive and
the distributive aspects of his business.
ROBERT C. CAMPBELL
Phis standardization is an economic
necessity for without it, without the
assembly-line approach in both pro-
duction and distribution, organs—or
refrigerators, would be restricted to the
top luxury market. The product and
ihe sales program must both be de-
termined on a national average basis
which, unfortunately, does not allow
for local or regional variations. Prod-
ucts and the manufacturer's sales cam-
paigns cannot be tailored to local
trends except as these same local trends
are part and parcel of what is very
nearly a national trend. All this lakes
time and can be very taxing on the
dealer's patience. And of course with
certain peculiarly local market varia-
tions, the manufacturer will probably
continue to seem, at least in the deal-
er's eyes, as though he is either stub-
born or unseeing—or both. And so it
goes; however. I think that the dealer
sees the manufacturer in proper per-
spective, realizes that some truly king-
size headaches can develop in the pro-
cess of making things as well as in
selling them, and in general accepts the
manufacturer's guidance and counsel.
dealers. From Maine to California, the
manufacturer's problems remain pret-
ty much the same. But in the retail
aspect of the organ business, the grow-
ing pains in Atlanta, Ga. may be quite
different from those in Dallas, Texas.
The number 1 pain - this one hurts
all over—is the deep-seated suspicion
that this organ market which is cur-
rently bursting at the seams may, nev-
ertheless, one day drop dead just like
the player piano did a few decades
back. Most any music dealer—^particu-
larly an organ dealer—will deny this
with vehemence. Yet I will continue
to argue that the '"temporary" evalua-
tion on the organ market can be the
only valid reason for the existence to-
day of so many conditions and prac-
tices which defer the maturity of a
market that can very well be the big-
gest thing in the music business.
Not a "Fast Buck" Business
Very few dealers would appraise or-
gans as a "fast buck" business. In
other words, it is not the type business
which either the dealer or the manu-
facture enters knowing, or even suspect-
ing, that after a period of lush business
activity the curtain will suddenly ring
down and the show will be all over.
If by chance anyone does get into the
organ business with this misconception
he is very quickly disillusioned. Short
range thinking and planning are excus-
able and actually quite proper in any
business activity which by its very na-
ture is temporary. Even though the
organ business is admittedy no "quick-
ie, " still the short range thinking that
is all too frequently in evidence at the
retail level would seem to indicate that
the true nature of the organ business
has not been fully sensed.
Admittedly, a dollar's profit today is
a very important and desirable thing.
Appraising the organ market as of Yet if our one dollar of profit today
today I cannot feel that there is any-
in any way jeopardizes the chance for
thing wrong which will not be cured in
a 5 dollar profit in one. or two. or
due time. Actually ''cure* is not the five years then it must be admitted that
right word for there's no sickness here
the thinking lacks vision. The safe-
—just growing pains. But how long
guarding of that larger future profit
we remain in this stage is. I think,
may dictate that we earn only part or
pretty much in the hands of the organ
possibly even none of that dollar profit
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, APRIL, 1954