Automatic Age

H OW WILL WAR CONDITIONS
AFFECT VENDING OPERATOR?
In attempting to get the an­
swer or answers to this ques­
tion, Automatic Age does not
pretend to possess the gift of an
oracle nor does it presume to
speak with the pseudo-know-all-
authority of a Crystal Gazer.
There are enough tangible
facts from which to draw a rea­
sonable answer or conclusion.
Bulk merchandise and vend­
ing equipment will be available.
The diminishing number of
new machines will be offset in
part by used machines coming
back on the market from part­
time operators and others who
join the Armed forces. Many
machines are being put away,
the owners intending to resume
operating after the war.
The number of used machines
coming on the market does not
appear to be in sufficient quan­
tity to completely offset the
decreased n u m b e r of new
machines now produced. As
long as this condition holds,
there will be a lesser total num­
ber of machines in operation.
The restriction in production
of merchandise — candy, pea­
nuts, gum, etc. — would suggest
at first glance that the reduced
production would result in not
enough merchandise for all ma­
chines remaining in operation.
Because the trend in the total
number of machines in opera­
tion is downward, the present
reduction in volume of merchan­
dise production will assure a
sufficient supply of merchandise
for the machines available or
now in operation.
Rising costs of merchandise
is not an unsurmountable bar­
rier to continuation of profitable
operation. It simply means that
portions need to be re-adjusted
in line with the current cost.
Another safeguard for the op­
erator is the rate of commission
paid. Commissions, too, should
be revised.
Whether the war will be a
“long” war, or a “short” war
raises another question. If it
should turn to be the former—
will the machine and merchan­
dise situations be changed
drastically — become tighter?
Let’s see if we can’t find the
answer from this analysis: In­
dependent a n d authoritative
analysts say that in the “total
war” of the magnitude of World
War 2, the total production of
war materials will consume
about 50% of the entire produc­
tive capacity of our country.
That means civilian goods and
services will remain a vital and
important portion of the coun­
try’s activities.
A Veteran's View o f Situation
Fisher Brown, veteran coin
machine man in Texas and the
Southwest, appraised the situa­
tion as follows:
“One thing is quite clear to
me. It comes from seventeen
years experience in the coin
machine business.
How you
handle your situation now under
war conditions and how well it
works out for you will depend
almost wholly on your salesman­
ship and understanding of
present conditions.
“The fundamental principle
I refer to is the same as in all
lines of merchandising: That is,
you must take in more than you
put out, or you cannot survive,
and you must remember the
prime motive of the country to­
day is to win the war, regardless
of any personal sacrifice.
Advises New Setup
“In our business this may
mean returning to a 15% or
20%, commission to locations in­
stead of 25% to 33-1/3%, and
the consumer will have to be­
come accustomed to a smaller
portion for his penny. It may
take time for us all to get ac­
customed to this new setup. It
may slow us up for a while and
you might lose some locations
by enforcing the rule at once,
but your competitor will have to
do the same thing or the time
will come soon when he cannot
claim to be a competitor. He
will be out of business.
“Peanuts will go higher
than they are now I ’m sure, so
let’s survey our business proper­
ly now and do the preliminary
work necessary to keep it on a
profitable basis for us all.
“My best advice now is to go
ahead with a well thought out
program, and I ’m sure we will
find good judgment, hard work,
and plenty of courage will win
out.”
&
EXTENDS DEFENSE PLANT
VENDOR IN STALLATIO N S
FISH ER BRO W N , of FolsorrT & Brown,
Northwestern distributor in Texas, analyzes
valuable tips for every operator. .
26
© International Arcade Museum
.AUTOMATIC AGE
The vending machine concession
contract at the new defense
plant being constructed at Wa-
hoo, Nebraska, has been award­
ed to Bill Ridout, of Des Moines,
Iowa. Ridout also holds the
vending concession contract at
the ordnance plant in Des
Moines.
March, 1942
http://www.arcade-museum.com/