Coin Machine Journal

T H E
58
C O I N
M A C H I N E
September, 193d
J O U R N A L
International News Section
Selective
Newspaper Vendor
British Idea
other countries to steal a march on
us so often.
Choice of Papers Is Innovation and Goes
America One Better
HE question lias frequently
been asked why the great
British newspaper industry,
the publishers of popular maga­
zines, and the news-selling trade
with its thousands of more or less
prosperous wholesalers and retail­
ers, have done little or nothing to
keep pace with automatic vending
progress! says the British Auto­
matic World, in sizing up possibili­
ties of newspaper vendors in Great
Britain as compared to their use in
the U. S. A. and Germany. To the
proprietors of publications of every
description these machines offer in­
creased sales and excellent public­
ity; to retailers increased profits,
less labor and freedom from the
dangers of offending against
D. 0. R. A., and the loss of trade
from late customers.
One would have thought 'that the
immense strides made in this coun­
try during the past three years in
the automatic vending of a great
range of commodities would have
impressed on all branches of the
publishing trade the necessity for
bringing its service up to date and
reaping the benefit of improvements
in mechanical selling, in precisely
the same way that is done in its
news-gathering, printing, packing,
despatch and transport depart­
ments. Automatic vending, in fact,
puts, as it were, the finishing touch
to the complete equipment of mod­
ern newspaper and publishing con-
T
Newspaper vendors of the
United States have been re­
stricted to publishers more or
less simply because they could
vend only one publication. Op­
erators would be attracted to a
multiple vendor which would
give their customers a choice of
papers. In this respect British
merchandising genius has given
American manufacturers some­
thing to shoot at in a selective
news vendor.
cerns. Without its adoption we have
a demonstration of lack of vision or
British conservatism which is diffi­
cult to understand.
The reason for the non-adoption
of automatic vending becomes a still
greater problem when it is remem­
bered that its introduction would be
mainly as an auxiliary selling serv­
ice, brought into operation just
when and where it would prove
most useful and at an astonishingly
low cost. Moreover, it involves no
scrapping of, or interference with,
existing organizations. It is possible
that doubts may have existed con­
cerning the practicability of any
such scheme. That, of course, is
merely the real British way of look­
ing at almost everything that makes
for progress. An ultra-conservative
outlook is still the first attitude we
adopt towards innovations, and it is
precisely this fact which enables
Enhanced Scans © . The International Arcade Museum ■
Cites American and German
Machines
The question of practicability has
fortunately been solved for us both
by Germany and America. In Ber­
lin, for instance, and other German
cities, there are hundreds of ma­
chines similar in type to that illus­
trated here. What is good enough
for Berlin should be equally suit­
able for London, because in all mat­
ters which count', viz., population,
the classes of publications, their edi­
tions and variety are similar to ours.
Investigation has shown that during
the past three years these machines
have been operated with great suc­
cess, both mechanically and finan­
cially, and it follows that they have
in addition proved a boon to the
public, resulting in increased sales
to those of the trade who have in­
stalled them. Careful and suitable
organization for distribution and
supply is, of course, essential, but as
this is not required to be either ex­
pensive or elaborate it should pre­
sent little or no difficulty, especially
as Berlin supplies a fairly accurate
model as a guide. Runners or news­
boys play a more important part in
London and Provincial afternoon
editional supply but this service can
possibly to some extent be utilized
in filling machines. That, however,
is merely a suggestion the practic­
ability or necessity of which remains
to be seen.
From whatever viewpoint auto-
■ ■ ■ . ■ http://cmj.arcade-museum.com/