10
Septeml)cr 26, 1925.
PRESTO
FAILURE TO GAUGE
TRADE LIMITATIONS
newspapers. It was in the arduous period following
the settlement of the region, and, although the new
Oklahoma citizens had splendid opportunities for
success, plus hard work, they were not immediate
prospects for my hopeful corps of salesmen. I only
found that out later.
It Frequently Occurs When a Successful Mu-
sic Merchant Lets His Enthusiasm Blind
Him to Deterrent Conditions in Chosen
Field for Expansion.
Invaded Oklahoma.
Anyway we annexed that Oklahoma strip. And
we didn't consider it a problem requiring the reduc-
tion of hope, optimism and general information and
misinformation to numerical values in order to deter-
mine with precision the profitable limits of the field.
Even the amateur experts of the schools of com-
merce today could tell us the enormity of our fool-
ishness. It was an occasion calling for cold, impar-
tial reasoning, whereas all we had were hearsay, per-
sonal opinion and enthusiasm.
Sinews of War.
Yes, we had about $10,000 spare cash made in our
Missouri field, and that was good as far as it went to
keep the enthusiasm of our six salesmen gassed up.
But for the salesmen and the restless manager at
headquarters every day brought enlightenment and
disappointment. They found the future cattle barons
and Elberta peach kings more interested in providing
a weather-tight roof for the shack than in procuring
a piano. Outside of the few growing towns our
piano salesmen were several years too previous. By
experience we learned the limitations of the piano
business in the invaded section. We sold a limited
number of pianos in the towns, but the beginning of
impossibility was the edge of every little burg.
Measuring Possibilities.
I know now that a field, a market, can be measured
and that it can be determined whether this or that
place is a profitable sales range. A number of im-
portant considerations are involved in expansion; the
size of the commercial firm or manufacturing indus-
try, and its record of performances; the nature of the
business of the expansionists and the financial and
cultural standing of the prospects. We knew that
strip of. Oklahoma was rich in soil and that every
settler had been practically endowed by the Govern-
ment with 160 acres of land. But we did not meas-
ure our market there nor define our limitations.
But We Sold Some.
Our salesmen made quite a few sales, of course,
but in too many instances the customers on a gener-
ous instalment plan were poor risks. Every sales-
man was his own credit man. Each one had a free
notion of the functions of a credit man. To them
that functionary was not a conservatory of funds, a
party keen to prevent sales with possibilities of loss,
but a venturesome fellow eager to permit the maxi-
mum volume of sales without a thought of risk to
the treasury.
Our trustful boys never turned down an order.
They had an idea based on the fact that it is often
possible to earn a larger net profit by accepting a
larger number of instalment customers and cheerfully
taking a percentage of losses. At the end of the first
month every account was one of "instalment over-
due"; at the end of six months the majority of pianos
had been repossessed and those which had disap-
peared had been written of as bad debts.
"Why don't you classify those accounts?" I asked
our bookkeeper one day.
"I have. With the exception of three, they're all
bad," was the reply.
A CASE IN POINT
Dealer with Ambition to Expand His Business Used
Hearsay and Personal Opinion Instead of
Cold, Impartial Reasoning.
By J. PAKENHAM BAKER.
Every piano firm, whether wholesale or retail,
which undertakes expansion of its business must ac-
cept as an initial working hypothesis the fact that its
market has well-defined limitations. My experiences
have been only with the retail end of the music busi-
ness, but an understanding of limitations is a funda-
mental consideration with the piano business in both
of its phases. The failure of the management to rec-
ognize this condition and to make due allowance for
it in their administrative policies may result in an
error of considerable magnitude which is almost cer-
tan to be felt in every department of the organization.
The desire for expansion is an admirable trait in a
piano merchant. It shows ambition and the posses-
sion of energy. But in reaching out for the bigger
field and its possible results the extent of the oppor-
tunities should be measured as accurately as possible.
Hope not only "springs eternal" in the human breast,
but builds high as well. Expectancy is not always
followed by realization. That sounds like croaking,
but the advice to "go slow" is prompted by my re-
membrance of one misdirected effort.
Knew My Field.
Like every piano man inte*e*rtetl--tn- his work I had
a very fair idea of the type of people which consti-
tuted my field of prospects before the expansion am-
bition changed the even tenor of my way. The busi-
ness within an easily workable radius of a busy Mis-
souri town in a prosperous mixed farming section,
was profitable. From a purely retail business it de-
veloped into a mixed retail and jobbing one., a new
condition that added to the,complexities of my job.
South of us was a new part of Oklahoma, which
provided no end of themes for the optimists of the
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
QUALITY
in Name and in Fact
TONE, MATERIALS, CONSTRUCTION,
WORKMANSHIP, DESIGN—all in ac-
cord with the broadest experience—are
the elements which give character to
Bush & Lane Products.
BUSH&LANE PIANOS
MORE ROOM FOR MUSIC.
The Holzwasser, Inc., San Diego, Calif., has given
out the contract for the enlargement of the floor
space of the store by the addition of 30,000 feet, an
operation that will provide more room in the music
section where business has grown amazingly within
the past year. A twelve-story building on the prop-
erty adjoining the present store is planned by the
company, of which C. S. Holzwasser is president.
BUSH ft LANE PIANO CO.
Hdbivd, Mfch.
Orders Continue to Increase in Numbers as
Dealers Learn of the Advantages Pro-
vided by Tonk Mfg. Co.
Production is now well under way at the new
branch factory in Los Angeles recently established
by the Tonk Mfg. Co., Chicago, and quick deliv-
eries of Tonk benches are available for the big west-
ern territory served by the plant. The new factory is
a large one-story building, admirably lighted and
equipped with all the newest machinery and tools
suitable for the production of high-grade benches and
cabinets. It measures 100 feet long and 100 feet wide
and is of modern fireproof construction.
Percy A. Tonk, president of the Tonk Mfg. Co.,
who recently returned to Chicago from a sojourn in
Los Angeles, said this week that orders are now
being filled at the new factory in a manner that sat-
isfies the dealers' expectations of prompt service. He
has firm faith in the ability of the manager, C. A.
Patterson, to co-operate with the Chicago headquar-
ters in carrying out the policies which have resulted
in the growth and success of the Tonk Mfg. Co.
The high quality which distinguishes the Tonk
bench will be maintained in the product of the Los
Angeles branch and in addition to quick deliveries,
dealers will gain a saving in freight rates. Bus'ness
continues to increase there as the trade realizes the
advantages of buying from a western branch. Every-
where in the west music dealers recognize the value
of the Tonk name on a piano bench.
PIANOS FOR SCHOOLS.
The Knabe, Chickering, Mason & Hamlin and Starr
pianos are included in the recent purchase of sixteen
pianos for the schools of San Diego, Calif. Three
concert grands are among the instruments ordered,
one each from the Southern California Music Co.,
the Wiley B. Allen Co. and the Thearle Music Co.
Three upright pianos were purchased from the music
section of Holzwasser, Inc , and ten school pianos
from the Norman F. Maw Music Co.
NEW HARDMAN ARTIST.
Announcement has been made recently by Stephen
Czukor, artist manager of Hardman, Peck & Co.,
New York, that Vassily Zavadsky, composer-pianist,
has been secured as a new exclusive Hardman artist.
Mr. Zavadsky is the composer of several of the most
recent ballet-music numbers for Fokine and Nordkin,
and is acclaimed by European critics as one of the
foremost composers of the present day before the
public.
L. N. BUCKLEY'S APPOINTMENT.
L. N. Buckley, an experienced piano salesman of
South Bend, lnd., has been appointed the authorized
factory representative of Hobart M. Cable Co., La
Porte, lnd., for South Bend and vicinity. Mr. Buck-
ley, has had years of experience in both the manu-
facturing and selling of pianos.
Schumann
PIANOS and PLAYER PIANOS
GRANDS and UPRIGHTS
Have no superiors in appearance, tone
power or other essentials of strictly
leaders in the trade.
Warning to Infringers
SPENCER
The Intrinsic Qualities of This
Piano Command Attention
A High Grade Instrument at a
Moderate Price
BUSH & LANE CECIUAN PLAYER PIANOS
take higfi place, therefore, in any com-
parison of high grade pianos because of
the individuality of character which dis-
tinguishes them in all essentials of merit
and value.
TONKBENCH BUSINESS
BOOMS IN LOS ANGELES
First Class Factory and Equipment
Ample Production and Service
SPENCER PIANO COMPANY, Inc.
FACTORY: Thirty-First St. and Firjt Ave.
OFFICES: 338 East 31st Street, New York N. Y.
This Trade Mark 1B cast
In the plate and also ap-
pears upon the fall board
of all genuine Schumann
Planoa, and all Infringers
will be prosecuted. Beware
of Imitations such as Schu-
mann & Company, Schu-
mann & Son, and alBO
Shuman,
as
all
Btencil
shops, dealers and users of
pianos bearing a name In
imitation
of
the
name
Schumann with the inten-
tion of deceiving the public
will be prosecuted to the
fullest extent of the law.
New Catalogue on Request.
Schumann Piano Co.
W. N. VAN MATRE, President
Rockford, 111.
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