Music Trade Review

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How Kinney Bros. & Sipprell Have
Made Profits in Radio
A. H. Kinney, of Everett, Wash., Firm, Which Employs Twelve Salesmen to Cover Its Territory, Tells How
This Firm Has Developed Its Sales of Radio to a Profitable Basis—Firm Sees No Falling Off Dur-
ing Summer Months But Expects to Continue Volume to Develop in That Period
HE interesting experiences of a music ability of the average customer to understand net profit is extremely low. This is due to the
house which was organized in the far his set or to get anything like satisfactory re- short discounts from the factories and to the
West shortly before the national devel- sults. The crude sets during the first years heavy service expense connected with the tech-
opment of radio as a retail proposition and were extremely expensive to operate. Tubes nical department.
"Radio is too much in demand to justify a
which used the popularity of radio merchandise and batteries were unreliable, and fully two-
general canvass. We find the best means of ob-
to increase its volume of business and justify
taining prospects is to insist that the salesmen
an expensive new building were related to The
call back on their sales within ten days, make
Review recently by A. H. Kinney, of Kinney
any adjustments necessary and obtain pros-
Bros. & Sipprell, music dealers in Everett,
READ CAREFULLY
pects from these sales. We are enclosing here-
Wash. The firm was organized in 1918 strictly
Our Service Policy
with service card which goes with each set, and
as a piano and phonograph store. In Febru-
which we find eliminates a great deal of argu-
Every Radio set sold by Kinney Bros. & Sipprell is
ary, 1920, the steady expansion of the business
fully guaranteed both by the m;u,iif:i cturer and by us
ment and dissatisfaction.
led to the company's removal to a new build-
against defects in manufacture provi ling such defects
are reported to us within 30 days fioi l date of sale.
"We are frank to admit that we have not
ing of its own at 1705 Hewitt avenue, which was
Our Service Department is for you convenience. We
solved the service problem, and that our de-
will be pleased to have a representat: ve call if at any
built exclusively as a music store and contained
time your set ceases to operate in a satisfactory manner.
partment is still operating under too heavy an
twenty-seven separate rooms.
If our examination of your set develops a defect of
manufacture there will be no charge for this service.
expense. The only possible way of overcom-
Increasing Volume
If, however, our service man finds that your set is not
ing this is by using a sufficiently large sales
functioning properly due to a run down condition of
"During the early part of 1921," Mr. Kinney
batteries, tubes, etc., or has not been operated properly
force to develop a volume which will stand a
stated, "we were brought face to face with the
or is damaged by abuse, a nominal service charge will be
made.
heavy service cost. We are now employing
cold facts that business in the music line did
Where service charge is made our service man will
twelve salesmen, who cover our territory quite
render receipt for same.
not justify so expensive a location in our city
Tubes and dry cell batteries are only guaranteed
thoroughly.
From all present indications, there
unless something out of the ordinary could be
against manufacturing defectT No operating life is spe-
cified in either case.
will be no appreciable let-up in radio business
done to bolster up volume. Radio was just be-
You appreciate that it is impossible for us to guaran-
during the Summer months. As a matter of
tee this set for distance as results vary with different
ginning to be known in a commercial way and
locations, atmospheric conditions, local disturbances and
fact, our radio business during June, July and
we felt that it had great possibilities. We im-
the ability of the operator.
August of last year grew continually and
mediately started looking for the right man to
This set and its accessories have been
reached its peak in November."
thoroughly tested under actual operating con-
head this department, and finally settled on
ditions before leaving our store and is 0. K.
Clifford Carpenter, who at that time was super-
intendent of schools. Mr. Carpenter had al-
Go-operative Advertising
Signed
ways been a radio enthusiast, was a graduate
Helps Trade in St. Louis
in electrical engineering, had taught radio in
the navy, and had built a great number of re-
ipprell
Dealers Expect Group Publicity to Increase
inney
ceiving sets, as well as amateur sending sets.
Volume of Summer Business—Some Trade
PHONOGRAPHS—RADIOS—PIANOS
"Under Mr. Carpenter's direction we pro-
Happenings of the Week
1705 Hewitt Ave.
Everett. Wn.
Phone M. 797
ceeded to make arrangements for the manufac-
ture of sets and installed quite an extensive
ST. LOUIS, MO., May 31.—About the only good
The Kinney Bros. & Sipprell Guarantee
parts department. This department was op-
erated some six months, and met with success, thirds of sets received from factories would not thing that can be said for business as May;
passes into June is that it still has its ups as
so far as complete sets were concerned, but operate without being overhauled.
"W. H. Kinney, who has always had charge well as its downs. It is too much to expect any
proved disastrous from the parts standpoint.
We had no end of youthful purchasers, but of our radio department, was not discouraged . great improvement with Spring springing into
found that their buying power was extremely at any time, even though we were continually Summer.
Dealers have no doubt that the joint adver-
limited, and that it required many dollars' losing money. He was confident that the busi-
worth of education and information to sell them ness had a future, and that sooner or later the tising campaign carried on the past several
two or three dollars' worth of parts, and that public would become sufficiently familiar with weeks has helped to improve conditions, al-
after making the sale, if the set which they radio so that they could operate it satisfac- though it is impossible to trace the direct
built did not operate properly, we were held re- torily and that the manufacturers would turn results. It is believed, however, that it will help
out a product which would give general satis- to bridge over the Summer depression and will
sponsible.
help to bring a revival in the Fall. Last week's
faction.
Discontinues Broadcasting
"Finally, we had two large receiving stations advertisement was devoted to the grand piano,
"Some three months after the installation of
the department Mr. Carpenter induced us to in- built for testing sets out of town. One of these in which it was declared "the supreme beauty
stall a broadcasting station. He built the sta- was located at Blackman's Lake, some eight of musical tone and superlative home adorn-
tion complete from parts, which was rated only miles southeast of Everett, and one at Silver ment" are found.
The news from Cleveland, where E. A. Kiesel-
as a five-watt station. This station, however, Lake, six miles southwest of Everett. In these
horst,
president of the Kieselhorst Piano Co., is
two
stations
we
have
tested
some
two
hundred
was picked up at all points in the United States,
as far East as Tarrytown, N. Y., and Wrangle, makes of radio sets, and have selected from slowly recovering from an operation, continues
Alaska. The station was operated for approxi- these the ones which we thought would give the to be encouraging. Confidence is now felt that
he will make a complete recovery.
mately two years. At the end of that time best satisfaction in the hands of the public.
St. Louis piano men who have announced that
"Our radio department has been an expense
we were forced to junk it, and withdraw from
the parts business. Complete sets were begin- item continually until the past eight months. they will attend the New York convention are
ning to come through, and we handled a num- During the Summer of 1925, however, things P. A. Lehman, president of the Lehman Piano
.ber of the early makes. We also discovered took a better turn. We were able to do a very Co.; Theodore Maetten, manager of the Kiesel-
about that time that our small station was a substantial volume of business, which we feel horst Piano Co., and H. A. Brown, manager of
hindrance rather than a benefit, as the better, was the result of our long and careful study of the Scruggs, Vandervoort & Barney piano de-
more powerful stations were putting on ex- the radio business. At the present time we are partment.
Extensive alterations are being made to the
cellent programs, with which we could not at- handling several factory lines, but have found
tempt to compete, and that being on the air that in their price range the most satisfactory building at 812 Pine street, which is shortly
simply made it more difficult for our local peo- merchandising lines are those of the Freshman, to be occupied by Dixon-Lane, Inc., music pub-
ple to get the better programs. We therefore Atwater Kent, Thompson and Radio Corp. of lishers and dealers.
P. A. Lehman, president of the Lehman Piano
dismantled the station, and withdrew from the America. The least expensive set to service is
the Atwater Kent. We have sold several hun- Co., who was confined to his home several days,
broadcasting.
"Any firm that has followed the radio busi- dreds of these in the last four months and have by illness, has recovered, but Mrs. Lehman is
ness since 1921 is thoroughly conversant with had only one defective set. We employ four tech- now ill.
Fred Grebe, of Kranich & Bach, New York,
the troubles which attended it. Possibly the nical men in our service department, and even
greatest obstacle to be overcome was the in- with a very substantial volume the margin of w»» m St. Louis last week.
T
IMPORTANT!