Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)
Issue: 1949 June - Page 49
l
the counter now. However, vending ma-
chine operators are eliminating the half-
cent commission paid locations.
Should the vending machine price go to
25 cents-the next acceptable coin-sales
would be prohibited in competition with
the 21-cent price over the counter. Expen-
sive operations in pennyin g packages is also
"out," according to Johnson. Cut-rate prices
over th e counter are two for 39 cents or
20 cents straight. A price boost to at least
22 cents would be necessary, if packages
were "pennied," due to expense of equip-
ment which would lose customers. Th ere-
fore, th e commission to locations was seen
as only altern ative. Machines, th erefo re,
now will be strictly a service functi on from
the location standpoint.
Music, a musement ga mes, shuffleboa rds,
beverage vendors and pop com all are re-
ported on upswing and should hit new hi ghs
this summer.
However candy, cigarettes and scales and
some arcade equipment are on the oth er
side of the slide. More loca tion promotion
is bein g utilized by candy vend ors, except
in industrial locations wh ere business re-
mains ·a t an even keel.
Co1hrrien are breathin g somewh at easier
now' l hat th e Legislature has adj ourned and
with exception of the cigarette tax boost,
adverse legislation was few and far be-
tween. Buried in committee were measures
call ing for imposition of gross receipts tax
on cigarette and candy vendors and a penny
tax on soft drink vendin g machines, either
cup or bottle, plus a license fee fo r every
vendor.
N. F. Wood
Wasbinglon, D. C.
P eculi ar local conditions still make it
difficult to tell what kind of a year 1949
will be. Business was up from winter but
not as much as expected. In this town,
Government occupies the position held in
many cities by fa ctories as the largest em-
ployer. Several hundred th ousand families
get th eir sole income from eith er Uncle
Sam or the D. C. Government. As late as
mid-May th ese famili es were un able to es-
timate th eir 1949 incomes, and a good many
of them were hanging on to th eir spare
change until they foun.d out.
This fa ctor apparently affected business.
Federal workers were worried about cuts
made in agency appropria tions by the
House and were uncertain th at th e Senate
would restore them. D. C. workers, who did
not get th e raise that others go t last year,
were wo nderin g if the sal es tax would pass
-a tax th at means a 330 boost for each
employee.
A lot of fairly hot weather in late April
and early May boosted drink vendor grosses
and started some operators talkin g about
more machines. Tavern trade increased
somewh at, but old TV was th ere to hurt
the phonos. One tavern in mid-town solved
the problem to the satisfa ction of most by
keeping the TV sound down and permit-
ting the phono to be played as a sort of
accompaniment to the fights, baseball and
other sports. Candy started dippin g in pop-
ularity along with pop corn because of the
weather, which surprised nobody. Many op-
erators have converted vendors to cookies,
while oth ers have replaced chocolate can dy
with hard candy.
A plentiful supply of new games is. keep-
ing pin balls going along pretty well, al-
though the net is nothing to brag abou I.
One or two operators are beginnin g to di s-
cuss shuffleboards, but no concrete results
are yet visible. Th e terrifi c play being given
the boards by trade publications is arous-
ing interest, and once somebody makes th e
first plunge, there will be a lot more to
JUNE, 1949
follow. Penny scales continu e to be slow
and steady as always. An experi enced op-
erator can come within a few cents of
estimating just wh at each scale is going to
bring in. Month in and month out there is
little variance. Shoeshiners are getting lit-
tle use, with most of them being spotted in
arcades wh ere th e customer is more inter-
ested in amusement tha n appearan ce any-
way.
Roy S. Ramsey, Jr.
NAMA Speeds Plans
For '49 Convention
CHI CAGO- In its new headqu arters at
7 S. Dearborn St. here, the staff of National
Automatic Merchandising Assn. began at
once to co ncentrate its work on plans for
th e next annual convention in Atlantic City,
Nov. 27-30. It began issuance of its 1949
Convention News bull etin , the first issue
appearin g April 29.
As plans mature, it is now ev ident that
the next convention will be th e MORE
convention - more exhibits, more room,
more sessions, more fun . With 265 booths
for exhi bit space, thi s mea ns an increase
of a t least 55 per cent over last year's
space. Exhibitors are said to be takin g
more space for the Atlantic City show.
George M. Seedman, general convention
chairman, met with the convention ad-
visory comm ittee members in th e new
NAMA headquarters soon after th e open-
ing and was able to announce to th em that
60 per cent of available boo th s had already
been sold. Th e committee discussed plans
to compl ete th e sale of exhibit space by
July 1.
Committee members at th e meetin g were
W. H. Bailey, Diamond Match Co.; Wil-
liam Fishm an, Automa ti c Merchandising
Co.; Fred Steffens, Walter Johnson Ca ndy
Co.; Howard Olsen, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
NAMA staff members a ttendin g were C. S.
Darling, Tom Hun gerford, Bernard Osmond
and June Kay. A meeting of the entire con-
vention advisory committee is scheduled in
Atlantic City, June 3.
Two States Get Unfair
Cigarette Sales Laws
CHICAGO -Although it was reported
recently th at a tid e against fa ir trade laws
may be setting in, it is evident that unfair
cigarette sales laws were added to the
books in at least two new sta tes-Iowa and
Indiana. Such laws will prevent cut-rate
sales in retail outlets and in tha t way avoid
any marked differences in machine and
store prices.
Th e new laws in the states mentioned
follow the pattern now pretty well de-
veloped for such statutes-requiring a job-
ber markup of 4 per cent and 8 per cent
for the retailer. Both states scheduled new
regulations to go into effect May 1. Tobacco
jobbers in both states made a strong fi ght
to secure passage of the laws.
Both states provide for exceptions when
a seller can prove th at his costs of opera-
tion permit lower prices th an percentage
markups required by the law. This provi-
sion is definitely a result of a court decision
in Ohio whi ch in validated ce rtain parts of
its cigarette sta tute because th ere was no
exception for th ose who coul d prove lower
costs in doing busi ness.
In Iowa the state tax commission will en-
force th e new law, as it also collects the
2-cent cigarette tax. In Indi ana th e liquor
board will enforce th e cig law sin ce it also
has charge of th e liquor fai r tra de law.
Liquor and cigarettes a ppear to be becom-
in g the- most prominent pro ducts for price
protection laws.
The Indiana law drew wh at may be a
form of unfavorable publi city wh en th e
Associated Press released its version of the
law, stressin g the theme that cigarette
prices would- go up. A Cincinnati news-
paper also threw in the headline, "Smoker
Pays P art of the Dealers' Expense Under
New Law."
Chief effect of the Indiana law is ex-
pected to be in maintaining carton prices
at $1.89, whil e pri ces per pack ar e n~w
generally 20 cents. Cigar_ette op~rat?rs will
be glad to see carton pnces mamtam ed at
a sta ndard level.
Vendors Plugged In
Food Store Report
NEW YORK- In the location field, much
stress is being put on the boo'!'1 in can_dy
sales that is takin g place in chain groceries
and super markets. And v~nding ma?hines
have also been given a decided boost m the
midst of all the publicity.
C. H . Flint, vice-president of P eter P aul ,
Inc., made some suggestions on ho'Y and
why food stores should concentrate ·on
candy. Amon g other things, he called a tte_n•
ti on to a national survey which had dis-
closed th at nickel and dime bar goods now
co nstitute 46 per cent of the total candy
sales in fo od stores. Then he suggested:
"Vending machin es mi ght be install ed
to take care of the individual bar sales.
Selli ng at the check-out stan d is too hap-
hazard and th ere is not adequate room for
a complete display of all fast-selling prod-
ucts at each reg ister, hence many sales are
lost."
This is a kind of picture of th e automatic
department tha t the merchandising machine
has so long hoped and dreamed would
eventually come in stores.
Leaders in th e su per markets field say
thy.t a candy department can be built u p
to account for 5 to 10 per cent of the total
gross sales of a store. The supers are also
takin g on vending machines in great num-
bers th e vendors for bottled soft drinks
probably pushing in faster th an cigarette
or candy machines.
Now th at candy manufacturers have en-
visioned the use of candy bar vendors in
fo od stores, it is anticip ated that concerted
effort will be made to promote greater
placemen t of these machines als?.
Financial papers her e have given front
page publicity to th e value of candy s3:les
in fo od stores, and also the suggestion
about using ven dors.
Th e ro utine government r eports on candy
sales do not separate fo od stores, or supers,
from oth er stores, but general trends for all
stores th at sell candy are suggested. For
the first two months of the year , candy
sales in independent retail stores were off
one per cent as compared with the same
months in 1948.
Candy sales in these outlets for F ebruary
were 5 per cent smaller than for Feb. 1948,
but made a gain of about one per cent over
th e J an. 1949 volume.
Conroe New Keeney
General Manager
CHICAGO- John S. Conroe, who has
been in charge of the cigarette vendor pro-
ducti on and sales for J. H. Keeney & Co.,
has been named vice president and gen-
eral manager of the firm . Conroe takes over
the position vaca ted by Bill Ryan wh o
leaves Keeney after several years to rejoin
0 . D. J ennings & Co.
Conroe states th at production has been
doubl ed on the electric cig vendor and th at
new amusement machine developments will
be reveal ed shortly. No change in the com-
pa ny's distributor sales structure is antici-
pated.
49
https://elibrary.arcade-museum.com
the counter now. However, vending ma-
chine operators are eliminating the half-
cent commission paid locations.
Should the vending machine price go to
25 cents-the next acceptable coin-sales
would be prohibited in competition with
the 21-cent price over the counter. Expen-
sive operations in pennyin g packages is also
"out," according to Johnson. Cut-rate prices
over th e counter are two for 39 cents or
20 cents straight. A price boost to at least
22 cents would be necessary, if packages
were "pennied," due to expense of equip-
ment which would lose customers. Th ere-
fore, th e commission to locations was seen
as only altern ative. Machines, th erefo re,
now will be strictly a service functi on from
the location standpoint.
Music, a musement ga mes, shuffleboa rds,
beverage vendors and pop com all are re-
ported on upswing and should hit new hi ghs
this summer.
However candy, cigarettes and scales and
some arcade equipment are on the oth er
side of the slide. More loca tion promotion
is bein g utilized by candy vend ors, except
in industrial locations wh ere business re-
mains ·a t an even keel.
Co1hrrien are breathin g somewh at easier
now' l hat th e Legislature has adj ourned and
with exception of the cigarette tax boost,
adverse legislation was few and far be-
tween. Buried in committee were measures
call ing for imposition of gross receipts tax
on cigarette and candy vendors and a penny
tax on soft drink vendin g machines, either
cup or bottle, plus a license fee fo r every
vendor.
N. F. Wood
Wasbinglon, D. C.
P eculi ar local conditions still make it
difficult to tell what kind of a year 1949
will be. Business was up from winter but
not as much as expected. In this town,
Government occupies the position held in
many cities by fa ctories as the largest em-
ployer. Several hundred th ousand families
get th eir sole income from eith er Uncle
Sam or the D. C. Government. As late as
mid-May th ese famili es were un able to es-
timate th eir 1949 incomes, and a good many
of them were hanging on to th eir spare
change until they foun.d out.
This fa ctor apparently affected business.
Federal workers were worried about cuts
made in agency appropria tions by the
House and were uncertain th at th e Senate
would restore them. D. C. workers, who did
not get th e raise that others go t last year,
were wo nderin g if the sal es tax would pass
-a tax th at means a 330 boost for each
employee.
A lot of fairly hot weather in late April
and early May boosted drink vendor grosses
and started some operators talkin g about
more machines. Tavern trade increased
somewh at, but old TV was th ere to hurt
the phonos. One tavern in mid-town solved
the problem to the satisfa ction of most by
keeping the TV sound down and permit-
ting the phono to be played as a sort of
accompaniment to the fights, baseball and
other sports. Candy started dippin g in pop-
ularity along with pop corn because of the
weather, which surprised nobody. Many op-
erators have converted vendors to cookies,
while oth ers have replaced chocolate can dy
with hard candy.
A plentiful supply of new games is. keep-
ing pin balls going along pretty well, al-
though the net is nothing to brag abou I.
One or two operators are beginnin g to di s-
cuss shuffleboards, but no concrete results
are yet visible. Th e terrifi c play being given
the boards by trade publications is arous-
ing interest, and once somebody makes th e
first plunge, there will be a lot more to
JUNE, 1949
follow. Penny scales continu e to be slow
and steady as always. An experi enced op-
erator can come within a few cents of
estimating just wh at each scale is going to
bring in. Month in and month out there is
little variance. Shoeshiners are getting lit-
tle use, with most of them being spotted in
arcades wh ere th e customer is more inter-
ested in amusement tha n appearan ce any-
way.
Roy S. Ramsey, Jr.
NAMA Speeds Plans
For '49 Convention
CHI CAGO- In its new headqu arters at
7 S. Dearborn St. here, the staff of National
Automatic Merchandising Assn. began at
once to co ncentrate its work on plans for
th e next annual convention in Atlantic City,
Nov. 27-30. It began issuance of its 1949
Convention News bull etin , the first issue
appearin g April 29.
As plans mature, it is now ev ident that
the next convention will be th e MORE
convention - more exhibits, more room,
more sessions, more fun . With 265 booths
for exhi bit space, thi s mea ns an increase
of a t least 55 per cent over last year's
space. Exhibitors are said to be takin g
more space for the Atlantic City show.
George M. Seedman, general convention
chairman, met with the convention ad-
visory comm ittee members in th e new
NAMA headquarters soon after th e open-
ing and was able to announce to th em that
60 per cent of available boo th s had already
been sold. Th e committee discussed plans
to compl ete th e sale of exhibit space by
July 1.
Committee members at th e meetin g were
W. H. Bailey, Diamond Match Co.; Wil-
liam Fishm an, Automa ti c Merchandising
Co.; Fred Steffens, Walter Johnson Ca ndy
Co.; Howard Olsen, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
NAMA staff members a ttendin g were C. S.
Darling, Tom Hun gerford, Bernard Osmond
and June Kay. A meeting of the entire con-
vention advisory committee is scheduled in
Atlantic City, June 3.
Two States Get Unfair
Cigarette Sales Laws
CHICAGO -Although it was reported
recently th at a tid e against fa ir trade laws
may be setting in, it is evident that unfair
cigarette sales laws were added to the
books in at least two new sta tes-Iowa and
Indiana. Such laws will prevent cut-rate
sales in retail outlets and in tha t way avoid
any marked differences in machine and
store prices.
Th e new laws in the states mentioned
follow the pattern now pretty well de-
veloped for such statutes-requiring a job-
ber markup of 4 per cent and 8 per cent
for the retailer. Both states scheduled new
regulations to go into effect May 1. Tobacco
jobbers in both states made a strong fi ght
to secure passage of the laws.
Both states provide for exceptions when
a seller can prove th at his costs of opera-
tion permit lower prices th an percentage
markups required by the law. This provi-
sion is definitely a result of a court decision
in Ohio whi ch in validated ce rtain parts of
its cigarette sta tute because th ere was no
exception for th ose who coul d prove lower
costs in doing busi ness.
In Iowa the state tax commission will en-
force th e new law, as it also collects the
2-cent cigarette tax. In Indi ana th e liquor
board will enforce th e cig law sin ce it also
has charge of th e liquor fai r tra de law.
Liquor and cigarettes a ppear to be becom-
in g the- most prominent pro ducts for price
protection laws.
The Indiana law drew wh at may be a
form of unfavorable publi city wh en th e
Associated Press released its version of the
law, stressin g the theme that cigarette
prices would- go up. A Cincinnati news-
paper also threw in the headline, "Smoker
Pays P art of the Dealers' Expense Under
New Law."
Chief effect of the Indiana law is ex-
pected to be in maintaining carton prices
at $1.89, whil e pri ces per pack ar e n~w
generally 20 cents. Cigar_ette op~rat?rs will
be glad to see carton pnces mamtam ed at
a sta ndard level.
Vendors Plugged In
Food Store Report
NEW YORK- In the location field, much
stress is being put on the boo'!'1 in can_dy
sales that is takin g place in chain groceries
and super markets. And v~nding ma?hines
have also been given a decided boost m the
midst of all the publicity.
C. H . Flint, vice-president of P eter P aul ,
Inc., made some suggestions on ho'Y and
why food stores should concentrate ·on
candy. Amon g other things, he called a tte_n•
ti on to a national survey which had dis-
closed th at nickel and dime bar goods now
co nstitute 46 per cent of the total candy
sales in fo od stores. Then he suggested:
"Vending machin es mi ght be install ed
to take care of the individual bar sales.
Selli ng at the check-out stan d is too hap-
hazard and th ere is not adequate room for
a complete display of all fast-selling prod-
ucts at each reg ister, hence many sales are
lost."
This is a kind of picture of th e automatic
department tha t the merchandising machine
has so long hoped and dreamed would
eventually come in stores.
Leaders in th e su per markets field say
thy.t a candy department can be built u p
to account for 5 to 10 per cent of the total
gross sales of a store. The supers are also
takin g on vending machines in great num-
bers th e vendors for bottled soft drinks
probably pushing in faster th an cigarette
or candy machines.
Now th at candy manufacturers have en-
visioned the use of candy bar vendors in
fo od stores, it is anticip ated that concerted
effort will be made to promote greater
placemen t of these machines als?.
Financial papers her e have given front
page publicity to th e value of candy s3:les
in fo od stores, and also the suggestion
about using ven dors.
Th e ro utine government r eports on candy
sales do not separate fo od stores, or supers,
from oth er stores, but general trends for all
stores th at sell candy are suggested. For
the first two months of the year , candy
sales in independent retail stores were off
one per cent as compared with the same
months in 1948.
Candy sales in these outlets for F ebruary
were 5 per cent smaller than for Feb. 1948,
but made a gain of about one per cent over
th e J an. 1949 volume.
Conroe New Keeney
General Manager
CHICAGO- John S. Conroe, who has
been in charge of the cigarette vendor pro-
ducti on and sales for J. H. Keeney & Co.,
has been named vice president and gen-
eral manager of the firm . Conroe takes over
the position vaca ted by Bill Ryan wh o
leaves Keeney after several years to rejoin
0 . D. J ennings & Co.
Conroe states th at production has been
doubl ed on the electric cig vendor and th at
new amusement machine developments will
be reveal ed shortly. No change in the com-
pa ny's distributor sales structure is antici-
pated.
49
https://elibrary.arcade-museum.com
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).