Music Trade Review
Issue: 1945 Vol. 104 N. 10 - Page 16
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
(Continued from page 14)
Co. Merchants should bear in mind, he
said, that present selling difficulties due
to the shut-down of manufacturing and
inequalities in price-control are only
temporary.
Bernard Kornblum, president of the
St. Louis Music Supply Co., repre-
senting wholesalers, said that the out-
look for merchandising domestic items,
such as bass strings, guitars and ban-
jos, is much brighter than that for
those produced in foreign countries,
such as clarinets, piano accordions,
and violins. Advantages to the dealer
in the letting-up of government re-
quirements would be balanced by in-
creasing difficulty in doing business
involving exchange for inflated cur-
rencies, he said.
Sales people can be trained at the
pi-esent time more advantageously than
later, F. H. Haarstick, of Famous-Barr
department stores, declared, pointing
out that it is essential to win back
public good will which has been lost
through inferior service resulting from
abnormally large turnover of person-
nel and stresses occasioned by the war.
Selling of merchandise is still rela-
tively easy because of a large consumer
demand, Haarstick said, and executives
are in position to give more time and
thought to selection and development
of a type of sales force which will be
needed when a buyer's market develops.
The credit department also should be
made to develop customer appeal.
Dr. John W. Wingate, head of the
sales training school at Washington
University, St. Louis, and formerly
of New York University, stressed the
Over 100 Music Merchants
Attend Dallas Regional Meeting
rOUTHWESTERN members of the
National Association of Music Mer-
chants met Thursday afternoon and
evening Oct. 5, at the Baker Hotel,
must be an aggressive campaign of
selling music. Tie-ins with the con-
struction industry, better selling me-
thods, and store modernization were
need of developing standards of sales-
manship. More than 100 students are
now enrolled in retail sales classes at
the university, he reported, most of
them being young people who look
forward with somtting of a profession-
al zeal to developing themselves in
the field.
The Hon. Bernard F. Dickmann,
postmaster and former mayor of St.
Louis, urged the greater participation
in community affairs on the part of
the music industry. Music is first of
all a cultural matter, and as such it
is an asset whjch can be cultivated
on a civic basis to the benefit of the
community and to the industry as well,
he said. Dickmann is president of
Music Sponsors of St. Louis, a non-
profit organization which arranged the
May music festival in the city.
believe the more people we have in
the industry, the better off the in-
dustry will be," he said. He declared
that a store owners clinic in selling
methods would be highly desirable.
At the conclusion of the president's
talk the group adjourned to the lounge
room of the Baker, where a round
SPEAKERS TABLE AT THE IJAMiAS ItEGIOXAL, MEETING OF NAMM
Iieft to riKlit: Kay Erlandson, George H. BeiiMley, Maxwell Myers. E. It, >1cl)ufl', Win. Ilotvnrri HetiKley, WIlHiuu
Robert N. WntkinN and Roy E. Waite.
Dallas to discuss problems affecting
the music industry.
A luncheon in the Texas Room of
the Baker opened the meeting. Follow-
ing an opening greeting by Wm.
Howard Beasley, president, Whittle
Music Co., Dallas, William A. Mills,
Executive Secretary of the association
spoker on "Merchandising Music." Mr.
Mills pointed out that the organization
is striving to achieve a three point
program. Objective are: (1) To in-
crease public interest in Music (2) To
increase individual retailers' profits
through the prosperity of the industry
as a whole, and (3) To bring about
fair play among sellers of merchandise
in the musical field.
"Our task," said Mills, in summar-
izing the group's goals, "is to increase
traffic on the musical main sti'eet of
America." In suggesting means where-
by this could be achieved, the speaker
emphasized that more promotional work
must be done, that a general apprtcia-
tion of the role of music in good liv-
ing should be stressed, and that there
16
urged. "Too many of our music stores,"
Mills declared, "have Queen Anne
fronts and Mary Ann interiors."
Citing the growth of interest in all
types of music brought about by fur-
nishing servicemen with records and
other means of hearing the classics as
well as popular music, Mills sees a
broad opportunity for music dealers
to expand their service to this field.
Following the secretary's remarks E.
R. McDuff, of Detroit, president of
the NAMM, addressed the group.
Mr. McDuff reported that a detailed
analysis of representative dealers in
the music industry revealed that op-
erating costs ewre far too high. "We
haven't made the progress we should
have made," he asserted citing the
progress made by other industries in
personnel training. He predicted that
by the middle of 1946 many items in
competitive industries would be offered
at cut rate prices. He rapped what he
termed an unfortunate tendency on the
part of certain dealers to seek the
elimination of music wholesalers. "I
A. Mill*.
table discussion was held. Leading in
this meeting were George H. Beasley,
president, Beasley Music Co., Tex-
arkana, Ark., who spoke on "Selecting
And Training Sales People,"; James
W. Kelly, president of Kelly Music
Stores, Corpus Christi, Texas, whose
subject was "Better Store Service,";
George Dahl, Dallas architect, who
discussed "Store Modernization,"; and
Ray Erlandson, vice-president and
general manager of the San Antonio
Music Co., who spoke on "Music Pro-
motion."
The conclusions of the speaker might
be summed up by stating that there
is felt to be a keen need for better
pales training of music store personnel,
that service in a multiplicity of little
things will add to the customer's ap-
preciation of the individual music store,
and that store modernization, in an
era of "modern design," is imperative.
All speakers expressed a generally felt
desire that government
regulation
would be relaxed in order that piano
(Turn to Cof. 3 Page 181
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, OCTOBER, 1945
(Continued from page 14)
Co. Merchants should bear in mind, he
said, that present selling difficulties due
to the shut-down of manufacturing and
inequalities in price-control are only
temporary.
Bernard Kornblum, president of the
St. Louis Music Supply Co., repre-
senting wholesalers, said that the out-
look for merchandising domestic items,
such as bass strings, guitars and ban-
jos, is much brighter than that for
those produced in foreign countries,
such as clarinets, piano accordions,
and violins. Advantages to the dealer
in the letting-up of government re-
quirements would be balanced by in-
creasing difficulty in doing business
involving exchange for inflated cur-
rencies, he said.
Sales people can be trained at the
pi-esent time more advantageously than
later, F. H. Haarstick, of Famous-Barr
department stores, declared, pointing
out that it is essential to win back
public good will which has been lost
through inferior service resulting from
abnormally large turnover of person-
nel and stresses occasioned by the war.
Selling of merchandise is still rela-
tively easy because of a large consumer
demand, Haarstick said, and executives
are in position to give more time and
thought to selection and development
of a type of sales force which will be
needed when a buyer's market develops.
The credit department also should be
made to develop customer appeal.
Dr. John W. Wingate, head of the
sales training school at Washington
University, St. Louis, and formerly
of New York University, stressed the
Over 100 Music Merchants
Attend Dallas Regional Meeting
rOUTHWESTERN members of the
National Association of Music Mer-
chants met Thursday afternoon and
evening Oct. 5, at the Baker Hotel,
must be an aggressive campaign of
selling music. Tie-ins with the con-
struction industry, better selling me-
thods, and store modernization were
need of developing standards of sales-
manship. More than 100 students are
now enrolled in retail sales classes at
the university, he reported, most of
them being young people who look
forward with somtting of a profession-
al zeal to developing themselves in
the field.
The Hon. Bernard F. Dickmann,
postmaster and former mayor of St.
Louis, urged the greater participation
in community affairs on the part of
the music industry. Music is first of
all a cultural matter, and as such it
is an asset whjch can be cultivated
on a civic basis to the benefit of the
community and to the industry as well,
he said. Dickmann is president of
Music Sponsors of St. Louis, a non-
profit organization which arranged the
May music festival in the city.
believe the more people we have in
the industry, the better off the in-
dustry will be," he said. He declared
that a store owners clinic in selling
methods would be highly desirable.
At the conclusion of the president's
talk the group adjourned to the lounge
room of the Baker, where a round
SPEAKERS TABLE AT THE IJAMiAS ItEGIOXAL, MEETING OF NAMM
Iieft to riKlit: Kay Erlandson, George H. BeiiMley, Maxwell Myers. E. It, >1cl)ufl', Win. Ilotvnrri HetiKley, WIlHiuu
Robert N. WntkinN and Roy E. Waite.
Dallas to discuss problems affecting
the music industry.
A luncheon in the Texas Room of
the Baker opened the meeting. Follow-
ing an opening greeting by Wm.
Howard Beasley, president, Whittle
Music Co., Dallas, William A. Mills,
Executive Secretary of the association
spoker on "Merchandising Music." Mr.
Mills pointed out that the organization
is striving to achieve a three point
program. Objective are: (1) To in-
crease public interest in Music (2) To
increase individual retailers' profits
through the prosperity of the industry
as a whole, and (3) To bring about
fair play among sellers of merchandise
in the musical field.
"Our task," said Mills, in summar-
izing the group's goals, "is to increase
traffic on the musical main sti'eet of
America." In suggesting means where-
by this could be achieved, the speaker
emphasized that more promotional work
must be done, that a general apprtcia-
tion of the role of music in good liv-
ing should be stressed, and that there
16
urged. "Too many of our music stores,"
Mills declared, "have Queen Anne
fronts and Mary Ann interiors."
Citing the growth of interest in all
types of music brought about by fur-
nishing servicemen with records and
other means of hearing the classics as
well as popular music, Mills sees a
broad opportunity for music dealers
to expand their service to this field.
Following the secretary's remarks E.
R. McDuff, of Detroit, president of
the NAMM, addressed the group.
Mr. McDuff reported that a detailed
analysis of representative dealers in
the music industry revealed that op-
erating costs ewre far too high. "We
haven't made the progress we should
have made," he asserted citing the
progress made by other industries in
personnel training. He predicted that
by the middle of 1946 many items in
competitive industries would be offered
at cut rate prices. He rapped what he
termed an unfortunate tendency on the
part of certain dealers to seek the
elimination of music wholesalers. "I
A. Mill*.
table discussion was held. Leading in
this meeting were George H. Beasley,
president, Beasley Music Co., Tex-
arkana, Ark., who spoke on "Selecting
And Training Sales People,"; James
W. Kelly, president of Kelly Music
Stores, Corpus Christi, Texas, whose
subject was "Better Store Service,";
George Dahl, Dallas architect, who
discussed "Store Modernization,"; and
Ray Erlandson, vice-president and
general manager of the San Antonio
Music Co., who spoke on "Music Pro-
motion."
The conclusions of the speaker might
be summed up by stating that there
is felt to be a keen need for better
pales training of music store personnel,
that service in a multiplicity of little
things will add to the customer's ap-
preciation of the individual music store,
and that store modernization, in an
era of "modern design," is imperative.
All speakers expressed a generally felt
desire that government
regulation
would be relaxed in order that piano
(Turn to Cof. 3 Page 181
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, OCTOBER, 1945
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