Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

·A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO VENDING MACHINES
AN'D OTHER SELF-SERVICE E9UIPMEN'T
JULY, 1950
* * * *
MERCHANDISE
• • •
Every firm and individual engaged in
selling the various items of merchandise
watched trends very closely during June,
to see what the official summer months
would do for sales totals. The second
quarter had not produced the upsurge in
sales of merchandise that had been hoped
for, in view of the fact that the total busi·
ness volume in general had been making
good gains.
The most common view, as explained in
the column, The Economic Picture, in this
issue, is that consumers are spending more
money for autos, television sets, appliances
and homes and hence goods for immediate
c.onsumption are not sharing in the gene1'61
business gains of the period.
Fortunately, reports from many sections
of the automatic vending field show that
operators are holding a better level than
retail stores, and operators in many cases
are making real gains. The main question
at this time involves the big problem of
summer weather-whether July and A:ugust
would bring unusual heat as last year, or
a more normal summer.
The price trend in general has been up·
ward recently and at the time of this reo
view the pace was increasing. Even flavors
( See MER CHANDISE, Page 32 )
* * * *
Bllsilless Pllller Gives Big
Boosl 10 Velldillg Trllde
The New York Journal 0/ Commerce has
already set a mark for publishing the best
boost for automatic vending in 1950, as it
also set the high mark for a general boost
to the trade last year. The series on auto-
matic vending this year included three
articles, sparked by a generous report on
the vending machine idea set up by Filene's
big store in Boston.
Then followed two excellent analytical
articles with the titles, "Vending Machine
Age At Hand-Pitfalls Take Heavy Toll"
and "Scientific Methods Pave Way for
Vending Machine Advance."
As usual, some of the well-known firms
in the Industry get creditable mention in
the articles. These firms include Rowe
Corp., Acme Sales Co., Chick's Vending
Corp., Canteen Co., Spacarb, Inc., and
others.
Last year the paper's series of vendor
articles featured new ideas in machines;
the 1950 series stresses the new place of
automatic vending in the general mer-
chandise picture, and also the business
methods and experience that the Industry
is gaining.
A. B. T. MFC. CORPORATION
COIN CHUTES - SLUG REJECTORS - TOTALIZERS - COIN METERS
AUTOMATIC ELEC. MFC. CO.
Relays - Program Timers
Represented by
R. B. CLAPP CO.
Specialists in Elec:+rical Timing
314 Omar Ave., Los Angeles 13 • MUtual 9135
IN SAN FRANCISCO: THE BALLARD CO.
407 Sansome St .. SUtter 1-1988
,
,
'.
In contrast to the methods of operating
in the pioneer stage, the Industry is now
"applying scientific methods in new prod-
uct research, in mapping new locations,
selecting brands, developing new service
policies and in devising new machines."
The value of the articles from a business
standpoint is greatly increased by an edi-
torial style in which questions are raised
and then trade answers given in numbered
paragraphs, a style that is often used in
THE REVIEW.
For example, the Journal of Commerce
raises the question of what cautions opera-
tors express at a time when their Industry
seems to be making great advances, and
the answers are summarized in three
pointed paragraphs, · as follows:
"l. The price of vendors has r.isen; in
many cases, from $500 to as high ,a s $1,200;
"2. The unrealistic nickel price' of many
convenience items-particularly candy bars
and carbonated drinks-is completely out
of line with increased commissions paid out
to lessors of choice locations, with the rising
cost of merchandise, and with the higher
salaries of trained servicemen to keep
the sensitive machines in working order;
"3. The change-making and slug nuisance
has still to be licked. Despite the best
efforts of coin rejector devices and patroling
servicemen, slugs continue \ to eat into
operator's profits. (Latest plague is re-
ported to be a ground-down penny that has
the tolerance and weight pf a dime.)"
Operators will readily agree that this
is a good analysis of the general problems
of the trade. The article then calls attention
to "an alarming number of. business fatal-
ities" in the vending trade, and quotes Sam
Sachs, of Acme Sales Co., who reported
that two years ago there were 18 manu-
facturer-operators of shoe shine machines
in the country and the number has
dwindled down to one or two.
Why are there so many failures in
the automatic vending field?
The article gives two points advanced
by Chick Meehan, president of Chick's
AUTOMATIC VENDING IS THE INDUSTRY'S FIRST PUBLICATION
DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO COIN-CONTROLLED VENDING DEVICES
JULY, 1950
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