Music Trade Review

DECEMBER
8, 1923
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REYIEW
13
Trade Forecasts Prosperity in 1924-( Continued from page 9)
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I started to say 1924 would be a good year in
which to collect up, but there should be no
"good" year for collections-they should be
pushed all the time, and the more push the more
cash the dealer will have to spend.
Here is hoping he will have more of that cash
during 1924 than ever before.
Gulbransen-Dickinson Co., Chicago. By T. J.
Mercer, Sales Manager:
The year drawing to a close has been marked
by wid~r rec'o gnition of the principles of better
merchandising in the piano business. Many
more dealers have learned th e advantages of
advertisin~ and selling by the straightforward,
interesting presentation of the idea of music
and the practical uses of musi ca l instruments.
The quality of salesmanship has been tre­
mendously improved. There is Jess re liance
upon "stars" and spectacular operations, and
more dependence upon sustained effort in ac­
cord with definite policies of crea tive advertis­
ing and selling. Better sales organizations have
been and are being developed. Young men and
young women are being attracted to the music
trad e and its opportunities for useful, interest­
ing and remunerative work. There has been
keener interest on the part of dealers in study­
ing their costs in relation to g ross and net
profit, and along with that, as a natural conse­
quence, have come concentration on fewer lines,
le ss stock investment or liability, more cash
buying, shorter ·terms, closer collections, quick­
er turnover and cleaner profits. There is wider
recogmtlOn of the function and importance of
the tuning profession, the service arm of the
;ndustry.
As to the future, there is a tendency in some
quarters to discount the possibilities of 1924
because it is a presidential year. But this ten­
den cy is not apparent among members of the
trade who know that sustained effort produces
results under any conditions. Ther e are s till
millions of homes in America that need music.
As long as that condition exists, and it will
exist throughout 1924, there is cause for su s­
tained effort, aild sustained effort will brin g
results.
W. W. Kimball Co., Chicago. By E. B. Bart­
lett, Vice-president:
Trade conditions have been more satisfacto.ry
this year than last, and the outlovk for the
future is better at this time than a year ag o.
A.n analysis of the underlying reasons for the
improved conditions would take too much space
for your purpose.
M. Schulz Co., Chicago. By Otto Schulz, Presi­
dent:
From my o·bser va tion o·f bo·t h our own busi­
ness and that of men with whose business I am
more or less familiar, I would say that, all to·ld,
business conditions this year have been very sat­
isfactory. Collections have been good and de­
mand has been above the average. Every
prospect points to an even better condition for
next year. Prices on agricultural products,
especially cotton, have been advancing, and we
know that the country never was more sound
financially than it is at the present time. People
are in a position to indulge themselves both as
to luxury and cultural desires. I can see noth­
ing but a rosy hue on the horizon.
Steger & Sons Piano Manufacturing Co.,
Chicago. By Charles E. Byrne:
After an extended trip, visiting dealers in
many Western States, I am convinced that 1924
holds forth the promise of a good year. In
fact, the general consensus of opinion seems to
be that the coming year will show increased
prosperity, and be a notable one for the music
industry in general.
Those retailers who watch closely the trend
of bus iness unanimously declare that the spirit
of progress and optimism is current everywhere.
Important statistics might be quoted to bear
out their opinions, but the most eloquent proof
of their confidence is the fact that they are
planning ahead, placing large orders fO'r future
as well as immediate delivery.
Sales activities for the next twelve months
should be carefully and constructivel y planned.
Every effort s hould be made by the manufac­
turer to co-operate with the dealer and ti e up
local and national ~ales work. Co-operative ac­
tion is mutually profitable and more essential
now than ever before.
Increas ed volume of business in 1924 will go
only to dealers a nd manufa cturer s who are ag­
gressive and prepared to get it. All classes of
bu yers are appreciably bett er o.ff to-day than
sev e ral years a go, but a general tendency to
exact full value make s it im pe rativ e that a dol­
lar's worth be given for a dollar.
Bu s in ess conditions will s how continued im­
provement during 1924. :\11 indications point
to it. If we will adopt a program of con sistent,
progressive and con structive sales and advertis­
ing polici es, we will be well prepared to share in
the benefit, that will come with increasing
prospe rit y.
Straube Piano Co., Hammond, Ind. By E. R.
Jacobson, President:
In passing oyer th e events of the current year,
it see ms to us that the most outstanding de­
velopment in the piano industry is th e ten d ency
towards better m e rchandising through s tand­
ardized practice s, which is being brought about
by dealer co-operation with those manufacturers
endeavorin g to create s tandards of mnchandi s­
in g throu g h national pricing and national ad­
vertising. This tendency speaks well for th e
futUre of our industry.
For 1924 we see no need of pessimism. It is
g oing to be a question of working hard to get
business, but the country can normally absorb
much more than the present output of its pia no
factories, so it rests with us, as manufacturers,
throu.gh the merchants, to intelligently market
our produ cts and se cure for the industry its just
share of prosperity.
Udell Wo,r ks, Indianapolis. By Tom Griffith,
Sales Manager:
They look mighty ~ood to us. Vie are having
a splendid business a nd it will continue right
up until Christmas. There will, of cours e, be
the usual let-down at inventory, but 1924 is
goin g to be a bi~ year. What happened to us
last Spring, when someone put on the brakes,
has been very he a lth y for everyone concerned.
Tt has made both manufacturer and ret a iler
more ca utiou s and they have come into inven­
tory time with low stocks.
You know the trouble ill 1920 was the loss
that we had to take in depreciated inventori es .
I do not know what has been the outstanding
accomplishment in the trade during the past
yea r, unl ess it has been the wonderful forward
movement th a t has been made in advancing the
cause of music. I believe that music to-day
occupies a hi g he r position than ever before.
Yes, 1924 looks good to us .
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Optimism Outstanding Fact In Atlantic
Coast Dealers' Analysis of Next Year
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Lord & Co., Inc., Laurence, Mass. By Walter
F. Lord, Manager:
Business for the past two months her e has
been ra th er slow. The s ales that we have been
g etting hav e bee n ones th a t we put forth special
effort to get, and the sales we are obtaining now
are obtained only by hard outside work.
Our terms are very much better -than they
were las t year, whi ch means quicker turnover
on the paper. We anticipate a very good De'­
cember business only by real hard and intensive
work.
The writer feels very confident that the year
1924 will be a much better year than 1923 from
a bu sin es s s tandpo,int of vi ew, that money will
be more' free and the people will be more ready
to spend it than they have been in the past few
months, as the writer believes that there has
been a "buyers ' s trik e" durin g the past few
months.
Our player sales are running very much mor e
than th e upri ght piano sal,es, more so than they
were a year ago.
William L. Nutting, Nashua, N. H.:
I am happy to report that all signs point to a
splendid holiday bu sines s with collections on
the up grade, and everyone in all lines in an
optimistic frame of mind.
True, textiles have s lowed up a bit, but not to
the extent of causing any great uneasiness, and
will become more brisk as soon as the entire
cotton market becomes stabilized. I think this
country is gradually assuming normalcy, with
each lessening wave of inflation and deflation
bringing us nearer and nearer to a level where
we will remain for many years to come. I am
an optimist on America and the piano industry.
Meiklejohn Co., Providence, R. 1. By Andrew
Meiklejohn, General Manager:
Favorable business conditions obtain 111
Rhode Island with every indication now of the
present year being a leader.
McCoy's, Inc., Hartford, Conn. By A. P . Mc­
Coy, President:
We find that, judging from our own busines~
entirely, thi s year has shown an improvement ,of
from 30 to 33 1/3 per cent over last year, with
a fine outlook for Christmas trade, but we ex­
pect a sli ght slacking up for the Spring of 1924
with probably a slight improvement in the Fa.Il,
the demand for the better grade of instruments
being' the outstanding fe a ture for the year.
Gewehr Piano COo., Wilmington, Del. By G. A.
Gewehr, President:
Replying to your favor of the 5th, beg to state
that business is considerably better than 1922,
but the profit is le ss , due to the exces si ve cost
of doing business and longer terms.
The talking machine department has, for a
good man y years, been a good profitable busi­
ness, but due to the low discounts and the lack
of sal e of records, with the occupation of the
most expensive. and desirable part of the store,
it is no longer a paying proposition. We sell a
numb er of machines without even selling a
record, due to the bankrupt stock being thrown
on th e market at a mere nothing, and people
buying it before they even purchase a machine.
It is the writer's opinion that the dividing line
between profit and lo ss is' the return of reco·rds
to normalcy or greater discounts from the talk­
in g machine jobbers.
Ramsdell & Son, Philadelphia, Pa . By G. C.
Ramsdell:
I f.eel quit e optimistic regarding the piano
bu si ness. We have done mo-re business this
year, each month representing an increase over
the co rr es ponding month of la st year.
I have every reaso'n to b.elieve that future
business will be good for . anyo·ne who goes
after it.
Frederick Loeser & Co., Brooklyn, N. Y. By
C. S. Hammond, Manager:
The past year ha s been marked by ever­
increasing preference on the part of the buying
publi c to wa rd the small grand and, it seems to
the writer, a slightly diminishing interest in the
player-pi a no and unless the music roll cutters
awake to the fact that tremolo and mandolin
effects are out of place in the music roll the
player-piano is going to· find it very difficult
in the future to find favor with people of dis­
crimination. it is folly to cut a: majority o·f the
popular music rolls in one-step or fox-trot
rh y thm, becau se that very class of roll', due to
the regular time beat, seems mechanical and I
hope that in the coming year we will see a n en­
tirely different class of po·p ular music rolls fur­
nished to the trade.
(Continued 01~ paqe 15)