Music Trade Review
Issue: 1925 Vol. 80 N. 18 - Page 9
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MAY
2, 1925
THE
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Stabilizing Radio's Merchandising
Number of Radio Manufacturers Working Out New Plans to End Present Confusion in Radio Distribution
by Giving Greater Measure of Protection -to Both the Radio Dealer and Distributor—Guarantees on
S t o c k to Be Prominent Feature of Such Plans, I t Is S t a t e d
QUESTION that many times during the
past month has been put to the repre-
sentative of The Review in his interviews
with the music merchants in and around New
York is: "Is radio to be a low- or a high-
priced merchandising article?" The question is
undoubtedly fostered by the many variations of .
price in the field, generally towards a lower
base, a condition which is much more pro-
nounced this year than ever before in the his-
tory of the industry.
In the minds of several of the largest and
most prominent radio manufacturers, the field
will undoubtedly divide itself in the very near
future into two sections, extremely low-priced
merchandise and very high-priced, with a
market for both. It will depend entirely upon
the manufacturer himself as to whether he will
make a low-priced machine or a high-priced
one.
Indications from several of the most far-
sighted makers of quality radio, even at the
present time, have shown themselves towards
the higher-priced goods, as evinced by several
raises in prices even in the face of a Summer
season and falling market in general.
There are several features in merchandising
radio which are rapidly adjusting themselves to
meet future conditions. One of these is the
allotment of a definite territory to each dealer,
or a franchise plan whereby a definite sales and
merchandising scheme will be developed for
the dealers by the distributors and manufac-
turers protecting all three.
A number of such plans has been formu-
lated by manufacturers, the gist of all of them,
with variations, of course, to take in sectional
conditons, being as follows: The first thing is
the centralization of distribution and the allot-
ment of a definite territory to each distributor.
The distributor will, in turn, be asked to estab-
lish a territorial dealer policy, establishing a
certain dealer in each territory as an exclusive
dealer in his product, granting him a certain
definite territory to cover. These dealers will
be chosen by the distributors, in all probability,
in accordance with a definite set policy depend-
ing upon several things. The first will be on
a survey of the territory as to which arc the
most progressive and have made the greatest
number of sales. Further than that the sec-
tional idea will also take into consideration the
class of clientele that the dealer has and the
price range that he is most favorable to in deal-
ing with his clients.
Then, with regard to publicity and advertis-
ing, it will in aU probability develop to a point
where the distributor and dealer will be asked
to co-operate with the manufacturer in some
plan whereby the expenses will be divided so
that dealer, distributor and manufacturer will
all co-operate and have a set plan to work on.
In this way a certain part of the expenses of
the national advertising will be allotted to dis-
tributors, this partial expense defraying the dis-
tributors' quota of the territorial publicity. The
dealer will then in turn be asked to observe
certain set rules in his publicity and will be
furnished with all the necessary material for
his campaigns.
By these means the distributor will have all
the business that he can take care of in his
territory in dealing with the highest class of
dealers. He will be able to pick dealers whom
he knows wfl.l co-operate with him in his plans
and will be able to sell good-will along with
merchandise, a thing utterly impossible when
t * o or three distributors are tumbling over
one another to get business and are selling
A
dealers right next to one another with no re-
gard to the status of the dealer himself so
long as he is able to put up the money for the
purchase of goods.
Several such plans have come to the atten-
tion of The Review, and in every instance,
whether the merchandise manufactured by the
manufacturer is of low or high price, it was
shown that in his anxiety for business the
manufacturer little realized the importance of
limiting his distribution until it was too late to
stop the war on the part of the dealers to clear
up their stocks.
Another thing of importance in this regard
is that in every plan so drawn up there is a
proviso in which it is stated that in the event
of a change of model or a change in price the
dealer would be assured of either a sufficient
time to adjust his sales to dispose of merchan-
dise on hand, or else that a refund of price
would be arranged to the satisfaction of both
dealer and distributor, on merchandise pur-
chased by the dealer during a certain period,
depending, of course, upon the stand of the
manufacturer personally on this point. In any
event such tactics as these will allow the mer-
chants sufficient protection to handle the lines
with a feeling that their stock is perfectly safe.
These plans, which have been tentatively
formed, all show that the manufacturers are
pointing towards the higher class of merchants,
among which the music merchants stand in the
front rank. It, therefore, behooves the mer-
chants who are now carrying radio to look
more closely into the intentions of the manu-
facturers under whose direction the correct
merchandising plans of radio will evolve. The
manufacturers, themselves, realize that a rep-
utable dealer will not in the future be partial
to merchandise which is not to be protected in
some measure, and likewise the manufacturer,
himself, is interested in protecting the merchan-
dising of his product enough to formulate a plan
whereby dealers will be picked who can be re-
lied upon to push his goods and obtain sales
in volume.
In other words, the day of the radio dealer
who carries an indiscriminate line of radio
goods, manufactured by people of little financial
backing or no strong merchandising policy, is
rapidly disappearing in favor of the strong local
dealer who is practically an appointed agent
of a strong manufacturer who is standing be-
hind his products.
Premier Grand Installed in the New
Coral Gables Golf and Country Club
' T H E Coral Gables Golf and Country Club, of
Miami, Fla., regarded by many authorities
as one of the most distinctive and luxurious
country clubs in the country, has recently selec-
ted a Premier baby grand piano for its recep-
tion room. This is especially gratifying to of-
ficials of the Premier Grand Piano Corp., New
York, because the Coral Gables Club House
represents the last word in interior appoint-
ments and beautiful settings. The accompany-
ing photograph shows the reception room. The
following letter has been received by the com-
pany from the institution with respect to the
selection of the piano: "The choice of the
Premier baby grand for the reception room of
the Coral Gables Golf and Country Club has
been splendidly supported by appearance and
performance this season."
Joins Brinkerhoff Piano Go.
W. W. Forbish, who has been Western repre-
sentative for the Baldwin Piano Co., and was
for many years with the W. W. Kimball Co.,
Chicago, has been appointed Western represent-
ative for the BrinkerhofF Piano Co. Mr. For-
bish has many friends in the trade and has had
wide experience gained through his long con-
nection in the piano business.
The Greatest Name in Radio
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiniiii
MAY
2, 1925
THE
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Stabilizing Radio's Merchandising
Number of Radio Manufacturers Working Out New Plans to End Present Confusion in Radio Distribution
by Giving Greater Measure of Protection -to Both the Radio Dealer and Distributor—Guarantees on
S t o c k to Be Prominent Feature of Such Plans, I t Is S t a t e d
QUESTION that many times during the
past month has been put to the repre-
sentative of The Review in his interviews
with the music merchants in and around New
York is: "Is radio to be a low- or a high-
priced merchandising article?" The question is
undoubtedly fostered by the many variations of .
price in the field, generally towards a lower
base, a condition which is much more pro-
nounced this year than ever before in the his-
tory of the industry.
In the minds of several of the largest and
most prominent radio manufacturers, the field
will undoubtedly divide itself in the very near
future into two sections, extremely low-priced
merchandise and very high-priced, with a
market for both. It will depend entirely upon
the manufacturer himself as to whether he will
make a low-priced machine or a high-priced
one.
Indications from several of the most far-
sighted makers of quality radio, even at the
present time, have shown themselves towards
the higher-priced goods, as evinced by several
raises in prices even in the face of a Summer
season and falling market in general.
There are several features in merchandising
radio which are rapidly adjusting themselves to
meet future conditions. One of these is the
allotment of a definite territory to each dealer,
or a franchise plan whereby a definite sales and
merchandising scheme will be developed for
the dealers by the distributors and manufac-
turers protecting all three.
A number of such plans has been formu-
lated by manufacturers, the gist of all of them,
with variations, of course, to take in sectional
conditons, being as follows: The first thing is
the centralization of distribution and the allot-
ment of a definite territory to each distributor.
The distributor will, in turn, be asked to estab-
lish a territorial dealer policy, establishing a
certain dealer in each territory as an exclusive
dealer in his product, granting him a certain
definite territory to cover. These dealers will
be chosen by the distributors, in all probability,
in accordance with a definite set policy depend-
ing upon several things. The first will be on
a survey of the territory as to which arc the
most progressive and have made the greatest
number of sales. Further than that the sec-
tional idea will also take into consideration the
class of clientele that the dealer has and the
price range that he is most favorable to in deal-
ing with his clients.
Then, with regard to publicity and advertis-
ing, it will in aU probability develop to a point
where the distributor and dealer will be asked
to co-operate with the manufacturer in some
plan whereby the expenses will be divided so
that dealer, distributor and manufacturer will
all co-operate and have a set plan to work on.
In this way a certain part of the expenses of
the national advertising will be allotted to dis-
tributors, this partial expense defraying the dis-
tributors' quota of the territorial publicity. The
dealer will then in turn be asked to observe
certain set rules in his publicity and will be
furnished with all the necessary material for
his campaigns.
By these means the distributor will have all
the business that he can take care of in his
territory in dealing with the highest class of
dealers. He will be able to pick dealers whom
he knows wfl.l co-operate with him in his plans
and will be able to sell good-will along with
merchandise, a thing utterly impossible when
t * o or three distributors are tumbling over
one another to get business and are selling
A
dealers right next to one another with no re-
gard to the status of the dealer himself so
long as he is able to put up the money for the
purchase of goods.
Several such plans have come to the atten-
tion of The Review, and in every instance,
whether the merchandise manufactured by the
manufacturer is of low or high price, it was
shown that in his anxiety for business the
manufacturer little realized the importance of
limiting his distribution until it was too late to
stop the war on the part of the dealers to clear
up their stocks.
Another thing of importance in this regard
is that in every plan so drawn up there is a
proviso in which it is stated that in the event
of a change of model or a change in price the
dealer would be assured of either a sufficient
time to adjust his sales to dispose of merchan-
dise on hand, or else that a refund of price
would be arranged to the satisfaction of both
dealer and distributor, on merchandise pur-
chased by the dealer during a certain period,
depending, of course, upon the stand of the
manufacturer personally on this point. In any
event such tactics as these will allow the mer-
chants sufficient protection to handle the lines
with a feeling that their stock is perfectly safe.
These plans, which have been tentatively
formed, all show that the manufacturers are
pointing towards the higher class of merchants,
among which the music merchants stand in the
front rank. It, therefore, behooves the mer-
chants who are now carrying radio to look
more closely into the intentions of the manu-
facturers under whose direction the correct
merchandising plans of radio will evolve. The
manufacturers, themselves, realize that a rep-
utable dealer will not in the future be partial
to merchandise which is not to be protected in
some measure, and likewise the manufacturer,
himself, is interested in protecting the merchan-
dising of his product enough to formulate a plan
whereby dealers will be picked who can be re-
lied upon to push his goods and obtain sales
in volume.
In other words, the day of the radio dealer
who carries an indiscriminate line of radio
goods, manufactured by people of little financial
backing or no strong merchandising policy, is
rapidly disappearing in favor of the strong local
dealer who is practically an appointed agent
of a strong manufacturer who is standing be-
hind his products.
Premier Grand Installed in the New
Coral Gables Golf and Country Club
' T H E Coral Gables Golf and Country Club, of
Miami, Fla., regarded by many authorities
as one of the most distinctive and luxurious
country clubs in the country, has recently selec-
ted a Premier baby grand piano for its recep-
tion room. This is especially gratifying to of-
ficials of the Premier Grand Piano Corp., New
York, because the Coral Gables Club House
represents the last word in interior appoint-
ments and beautiful settings. The accompany-
ing photograph shows the reception room. The
following letter has been received by the com-
pany from the institution with respect to the
selection of the piano: "The choice of the
Premier baby grand for the reception room of
the Coral Gables Golf and Country Club has
been splendidly supported by appearance and
performance this season."
Joins Brinkerhoff Piano Go.
W. W. Forbish, who has been Western repre-
sentative for the Baldwin Piano Co., and was
for many years with the W. W. Kimball Co.,
Chicago, has been appointed Western represent-
ative for the BrinkerhofF Piano Co. Mr. For-
bish has many friends in the trade and has had
wide experience gained through his long con-
nection in the piano business.
The Greatest Name in Radio
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiniiii
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