Presto

10
July 18, 1925.
PRESTO
SINGLE BUYER IS
NOT BEST PLAN
A Newspaper Story in Which the Policy of
Selling the Output to One Customer Is Ad-
versely Illustrated in a Way Instructive
to Piano Industry.
ALL EGGS IN ONE BASKET
One of the Distinctly Piano Topics Set Forth in a}
Way to Amuse and Possibly to Serve
as a Warning.
One of the topics frequently discussed in piano
factory offices, as well as "on the road," is the policy
of selling a large proportion of the output to a single
dealer. It is the part of the manufacturer to decide
whether the plan is the better one or not. But, what-
ever the viewpoint of the manufacturer—or the dealer
either, for that matter—the following little story is
timely and makes good warm weather reading. It
appeared in the New York Times commercial section.
Times Were Dull.
The company had come through a period of
marked depression. Business had not been good,
failures had been numerous and the amount of money
due on outstanding accounts was sufficient to give
cause for worry to older and financially stronger con-
cerns than it was. In fact, things looKed so bad fhat
it was an open question of whether the company
would be able to go on.
It was when things were darkest that the buyer for
a chain of prominent retail stores called up Larkin,
the head of the company, and asked him to drop in
that afternoon. Larkin was so surprised that he
nearly dropped the receiver, but he managed to get
his breath back in time to say that he would be glad
to come.
About 3:30 he came rushing into the company's
office with an expression on his face like that of a
man who had been pardoned just as the hangman's
noose was being tightened around his neck. Grab-
bing his astonished partner by the shoulders, Larkin
pulled him to his feet and began cavorting around
the room with him. His surplus enthusiasm having
worked out in a minute or two of this, he began to
explain what it was all about.
"Oh. boy," he half shouted, "Who said there isn't
any Santa Claus? Here we were getting all packed
up to go to the poor house and Lady Luck was star-
ing us right in the face."
"Snap out of it, Dick, and get to the point," said the
partner.
Relief in Sight.
"The point is this," resumed Larkin, "we're through
worrying for some time to come. The Elite people
have done so well with that No. 136-R of ours that
they want us to concentrate our entire production on
it. If we do, they'll contract to take all we can turn
out for a year. He paused a moment. "Gee!" he
went on. Think of being able to sleep nights again!
Think of going to bed without a head full of can-
cellations, returns, bad accounts, notes due and a
million other things to worry about!"
"Did you close with them, Dick?" asked the part-
'ner.
"\ T o. I wouldn't do anything without talking to
you first, even if you're not supposed to have any-
thing to do with the selling end. What do you
think about it?"
"What are they going to pay us for the stuff?
There must be a catch in it somewhere if that crowd
wants to go in as heavily as that."
"Well," replied Larkin, "they put the screws on
pretty tight when it came to price, but the final offer
they made will give us a fair profit on the year. A
good production man like you ought to be able to
find several ways of stretching it."
"You mean cut the quality to meet their price?"
"W 7 hy not?" countered Larkin. "They expect us
to, otherwise they wouldn't put the price where they
did."
It's His Problem.
The partner did not seem fully convinced. "They
have a pretty good reputation for handling quality
stuff and they throw down a lot of goods because
they are not up to sample," he said.
"That's your problem, Al," Larkin replied; "you've
got to get it out of the goods and you've got to do it
where they won't see it. We can't let a chance like
this slip by. They're giving us an opportunity to
get in right, and you know as well as I do how much
we need it."
Still the partner did not seem pleased. "How about
our other accounts?" he asked. "There isn't any
reason why we should cut off people that have given
us business when we needed it, is there?"
"Don't be sentimental, Al. They will get along
without us. Most of them have been in business a
lot longer than we have."
"Oh, they'll get by all right. I wasn't thinking so
much about them, to tell you the truth, as I was
about ourselves. Can we get by without them?"
"Let's cut out the palaver and get down to cases,"
retorted Larkin, a little testily. "The Elite bunch
has offered us a way out, and if we don't take it we
soon won't be in a position to worry about any one
getting by without anybody. What do you say?"
"Well, to be honest with you, I don't like the idea,
but if your judgment tells you that it is the right
thing to do, go ahead and I'll try to keep my end
up in the factory."
"Now wou've said something," answered Larkin.
Old Buyer's Kicked.
When the news got around that the Company had
decided to concentrate on a single number and to sell
all its production to the Elite stores, it caused quite
a little talk in the trade. The Company was not a
large one, but its action was a novel one in its par-
ticular industry. There was some speculation as to
just how well things would work out for the com-
pany.
Aside from protests on the part of certain buyers
who had done well with the "numbers" in the line
and who wanted more of the goods, the change took
place without friction. Goods were made and shipped,
and checks came regularly in payment. By "taking
down" the merchandise here and there, by letting
out the few salesmen the company had employed,
and by effecting other measures of economy, the net
return was made much larger than the two owners
of the business had hoped.
Things went very well until late in May, when
Larkin's telephone rang again, with the Elite buyer
on the other end.
"Say, Larkin," said Bronson, the buyer, "I want to
sec you right away. Come over now, and that don't
mean maybe." He hung up at once.
A few minutes later Larkin presented himself at
Rronson's office.
Without any preliminaries, Bronson got down to
business. "I've just been going over your goods,
Larkin," he said, "and I've got to hand it to your
production man. He's good. He can take more out
of the things in more different ways than any other
man I've ever seen, and the cleverest part is the way
he mixes up his tricks. I've been wise to what's
been going on ever since you shipped the first lot,
but as our customers didn't kick about the goods
and throw them back on us, I figured that there
was nothing for us to get mad about. The only
thing is that if we go on with this arrangement for
another year you've got to price your stuff on the
basis of the production cost of the goods you've
been delivering and not on the sample. You've had
all the sugar you're going to get from us."
It's "Never Again!"
He drew a memorandum pad with some figures on
it from a drawer and pointed to one of them with a
pencil. "That's what you're going to get for your
stuff if you go on doing business with us, Larkin,"
he said. "If you don't want to take it I've got three
manufacturers who would kill each other cheerfully
for a chance to get the business at that price. What
dn you say?"
Larkin turned white. "Give me a chance to talk to
Al, won't you?" he asked.
"That's fair enough," said the buyer. "Ring me
up in the morning and tell me what you want to
do."
The Company is no longer selling to the Elite
stores. A short session of the partners with pencil
and paper showed them that they could not accept
the Elite offer and survive commercially. The "num-
bers" that have been dropped have been restored and
several salesmen hired. The partners have put into
the business practically everything they owned but
the clothes on their backs. Orders are coming in
slowly and, if their creditors don't ride them too
hard, the partners may pull through. One thing they
have decided is that they will never again put all their
eggs in one basket.
FORMALLY OPENS ENID STORE.
The general offices of the McDowell & Castator
Music Co., Enid, Okla., are now located at 110
South Indianapolis avenue, with Frank Castator as
general manager and John Cantwell as sales man-
ager. The company carries a fine line, including the
Knabe with the Ampico, the A. B. Chase, Straube,
Starr, Strohber and other makes of pianos and play-
ers, musical merchandise and sheet music.
NEW ARKANSAS BRANCH.
Beard's Temple of Music of Paragould, Ark., is
establishing a branch house in Walnut Ridge on
West Elm street which will be one of a chain of
music stores owned and operated by Mr. Beard. A
stock of pianos, talking machines, musical merchan-
dise and supplies will be carried in stock.
INDUCEMENTS TO LUNCH
AT PIANO CLUB OF CHICAGO
Take Your Coat Off and Make Yourself Comfortable
Is Invitation of President Schoenwald.
"Dear Fellow Member: Come over to the Illi-
nois Athletic Club next Monday noon, at 12:15, July
13. No speeches or entertainment during the hot
weather. The 'captain' has promised us a good hot
weather lunch/' is the invitation mailed to members
of the Piano Club of Chicago by Harry D. Schoen-
wald, president.
"If it's warm, take your coat off. Come over and
spend a few minutes with the fellows you enjoy
being with. Make America Musical" is still the real
hi-light of the convention. Yours to get back to
work by 1:15,"
Summer weather may cause desirable changes in
the menu by the club chef, but the opportunities for
social engagement and spiritual profit remain the
same. It is a fact that accounts for the compara-
tively big attendance these mid-summer days.
The new unit of the piano factory of the Straube
Piano Co., Hammond, Ind., is nearing completion.
SPENCER
The Intrinsic Qualities of This
Piano Command Attention
A High Grade Instrument at a
Moderate Price
First Class Factory and Equipment
Ample Production and Service
SPENCER PIANO COMPANY, Inc.
FACTORY: Thirty-First S t and First ATB.
OFFICES: 338 East 31st Street, New York N. Y.
E. Leins Piano Co.
Makers of Pianos and
Player Pianos That Are
Established L e a d e r s .
Correspondence from Reliable
Dealers Invited
Factory and Offices, 304 W. 42nd St
NEW YORK
••Built on Family Pridt"
Doll & Sons
Represent the Artistic
in Piano and Player Piano
Construction
JACOB DOLL & SONS
STODART
WELLSMORE
Jacob Doll & Sons, Inc.
Southern Boulevard, E. 136rd S t .
E. 134th St. and Cyprwtt Av».
NEW YORK
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