Presto
Issue: 1920 1753 - Page 7
RRESTO
February 26, 1920.
tomers. It won't be possible for the other kind to hang on when
reputable, creditable merchants are waiting for supplies.
And it is not possible to estimate the other reforms that are
being wrought by reason of the abnormal piano trade conditions. The
advertising is better, the methods of sale are better, the death of the
guessfests, coupons, near-checks and prizes is largely due to existing
conditions. Mr. Lawrence is a reliable prophet of the piano trade
when he says that "the best years are ahead."
SELLING SECOND HANDS
Never before was there so good a value in secondhand pianos as
now. We mean to the retail piano dealer. It is probable that there
are thousands of used pianos in the basements and lofts and back
rooms of the piano stores. Many of the dealers have been putting
the used stock in order and selling it. Others do not, even yet, re-
alize the possibilities.
For a long time it was customary to hide away the trade-ins,
and display them only when customers called for some special make
which may have been advertised in the bargain lists. The old pianos
were put away in the basement and in some instances, dismantled,
used as shelves or given away for advertising purposes. All of us
remember the sensation of the Atlantic City convention at which a
lot of good old pianos were sacrificed by fire to make an association
holiday.
Just now things are different. It is a good time for the wise
dealer to pay particular attention to the trade-ins. If they are fairly
good uprights, the service of a skillful repair man and tuner is needed
at once. The old upright can easily be turned into cash—and not a
little cash at that. Even the old squares may be put into playable con-
dition and made to do for a time, or until the supply of new uprights
begins to come in.
Of course the same degree of attention that has been given to
the trade-ins when things were normal is not enough. It is well now
to have the second-hand cases well polished and the original beauty
of finish brought back as far as possible. And the tone regulating
and tuning should have equal care. The tuning pins should be rein-
forced by some such means as the late Mr. Frank Conover's metal
friction shield—simple, inexpensive and effective device. Care
should be given to all of the minor parts of the old piano, and its sale
should involve the agreement to exchange it again as part payment on
the entirely new instrument of high-grade quality when existing con-
ditions subside and the customer feels that the change may be desir-
able. The proportion of buyers who still retain the rebuilt instrument
will prove one of the surprises to the dealer.
No matter how you have conducted the second-hand department
heretofore, don't neglect the opportunities of the trade-ins at this
critical period in your business.
FIRE AND WHAT FOLLOWS
The first big fire of the year in the piano industry came at a
time when the trade could least afford it. With the demand for
pianos largely in excess of the possibilities of supply, flames lapped
up the snug plant of the Chute & Butler Co. at Peru, Indiana, and
destroyed a lot of fine instruments, some ready for the impatient
dealers and many more in process of manufacture. It seemed most
inopportune, and proved again the utter futility of the ingenuity of
man in his struggle to successfully combat the slips of circumstance.
It is probable that nowhere in the entire piano industry is there
a factory much less liable to fire than the one at Peru was supposed
to be. It was equipped with every device of safety, and it was in
charge of men who are noted for thoroughness and caution. Manager
R. H. Bouslog has been in charge of factory properties, and in con-
trol of big industrial plants, nearly all his life. He is a man whose
particular effort has been to safeguard the interests in his care. The
Chute & Butler factory burst out in flames within a few hours of
Mr. Bouslog's return from a short visit to the New York Music
Show where, fortunately as it now seems, there was a display of
Chute & Butler instruments. And the fire was not due, as most
such events are, to a cigar stump in a waste basket, or a lighted match
in a varnish vat, or a defective boiler; nor yet to any suspicion of vin-
dictive labor warfare. It was simply the result of that mysterious and
wholly unavoidable cause "spontaneous combustion." It was as much
a misdirected and fortuitous freak of nature as if the factory had
been struck by lightning.
But the main point now is that, in the face of the shortness of
pianos, one source of production is temporarily shut off. We have the
assurance that the Chute & Butler Co. will smother the sense of
loss and disappointment and at once prepare to build another factory.
There is the satisfaction—the special evidence of good coming from
evil. For, without doubt, the new Chute & Butler factory will be
larger than the old one, and in its construction the advantages oi
experience will insure even more advanced facilities and more com-
plete equipment.
The piano industry has changed greatly in the last quarter-cen-
tury. The new plant at Peru, Ind., will, without doubt, when com-
pleted, present a fine illustration of what a modern piano factory must
be in order to respond to the advanced demands of the trade and
the discriminating piano buying public. And the pluck of the Chute &
Butler Company will win, in the loyalty of its representatives, all and
more than even so great a disaster must entail at such a time as this.
THE PENDULUM SWINGS
It is a rare piano industry that doesn't now declare that it is
oversold. The demand for pianos is not normal and, in consequence,
it is not a healthy demand. The pendulum of trade swings far from
the center of industrial gravitation and there must inevitably come a
reaction. The pendulum must swing back.
When things in the piano business settle again to something like
normal conditions, how will the manufacturers find themselves? And
how will the average piano dealer be situated with relation to the
manufacturers, and their own possibilities of retail sales? There
are men in the business—many of them—who do not seem to give
any thought to these things.
A few days ago a brainy advertising concern had a full page dis-
play in one of the leading newspapers. The purpose was to inspire
large industries and proportionately large advertisers with the idea
that in such times as the present there is need of the kind of publicity
that lays firm foundations for the future, rather than that aims at
piling up more orders for goods that cannot be delivered. And one
of the points made is this:
A leading magazine publisher ask>s manufacturers:
"Are you well 'oversold'—or badly 'oversold'?"
To book thousands of dollars worth of "straw" orders, placed by shrewd
retailers who over order so that they may be sure of delivery by some man-
ufacturer of the goods they really want—
—to predicate production needs on soap-bubble sales volume that a pin-
prick may puncture—
—to be blinded by the delusion that you are the chosen Child of For-
tune—
—this is to be badly oversold.
To be well oversold means that you are represented by the best job-
bers or dealers or both; that they fully understand and use your advertising
and selling plans; that your sales force enjoys the full respect and confi-
dence of the trade; that your orders are legitimate and capable of imme-
diate increase whenever you have more goods to supply; that you are work-
ing on the established principle thai your product is not really sold until
it is in the hands of a satisfied customer.
If this is your position then you are "well oversold."
Apply that to the piano business and it will be found to fit more
perfectly than to most other lines of industry. Piano merchants are,
•as a rule, a sanguine lot of business men. They are, too often, given
to "counting the chickens before they are hatched." They are blessed
with a faith that is so sanguine it never sees a doubt about the profits
that must follow sales. And if today proves a dead one the piano man
believes that tomorrow will more than make amends. It is that
faith that has built up the piano trade. But it is the same faith that
has resulted in disappointment and even, in rare instances, disaster.
And so the piano trade- is very likely to forget to figure with the
future in its excitement because of the abnormal demands of today.
And the manufacturers who may neglect old customers, and reliable,
in order to win new ones with the cash, may be laying the foundation
of disappointment in the future
For when the pendulum swings
back, and the demand ceases to be so insistent, it will be the reliable
old customers that will still be the most desirable. Many of the newer
ones will fall out, and the factory output will again be greater than
the ready demand.
It is sure to be so. There is no exception to the law of ebb and
flow, and the rule of industrial supply and demand is no less inex-
orable. It is the manufacturer who steadily sticks to the policy of
careful selection of his customers and representatives that will be
on the winning side when the pendulum swings back. And it is the
retailer who sticks to the manufacturer who proves loyal in these
times that will be on the safe side when normal conditions return.
There is another good statement in the same advertisement of
the publicity concern, already quoted, that is well worth considera-
tion. It is this:
When the period of relentless competition returns, the battle for leader-
ship will be fought—not in the work shop—not in the office of the general
manager, but on the firing line—out on the salesman's territory—where
buyers are met and where orders are won or lost.
How many of the piano manufacturers have thought of this?
How many of the retail houses? What is being done to retain the
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
February 26, 1920.
tomers. It won't be possible for the other kind to hang on when
reputable, creditable merchants are waiting for supplies.
And it is not possible to estimate the other reforms that are
being wrought by reason of the abnormal piano trade conditions. The
advertising is better, the methods of sale are better, the death of the
guessfests, coupons, near-checks and prizes is largely due to existing
conditions. Mr. Lawrence is a reliable prophet of the piano trade
when he says that "the best years are ahead."
SELLING SECOND HANDS
Never before was there so good a value in secondhand pianos as
now. We mean to the retail piano dealer. It is probable that there
are thousands of used pianos in the basements and lofts and back
rooms of the piano stores. Many of the dealers have been putting
the used stock in order and selling it. Others do not, even yet, re-
alize the possibilities.
For a long time it was customary to hide away the trade-ins,
and display them only when customers called for some special make
which may have been advertised in the bargain lists. The old pianos
were put away in the basement and in some instances, dismantled,
used as shelves or given away for advertising purposes. All of us
remember the sensation of the Atlantic City convention at which a
lot of good old pianos were sacrificed by fire to make an association
holiday.
Just now things are different. It is a good time for the wise
dealer to pay particular attention to the trade-ins. If they are fairly
good uprights, the service of a skillful repair man and tuner is needed
at once. The old upright can easily be turned into cash—and not a
little cash at that. Even the old squares may be put into playable con-
dition and made to do for a time, or until the supply of new uprights
begins to come in.
Of course the same degree of attention that has been given to
the trade-ins when things were normal is not enough. It is well now
to have the second-hand cases well polished and the original beauty
of finish brought back as far as possible. And the tone regulating
and tuning should have equal care. The tuning pins should be rein-
forced by some such means as the late Mr. Frank Conover's metal
friction shield—simple, inexpensive and effective device. Care
should be given to all of the minor parts of the old piano, and its sale
should involve the agreement to exchange it again as part payment on
the entirely new instrument of high-grade quality when existing con-
ditions subside and the customer feels that the change may be desir-
able. The proportion of buyers who still retain the rebuilt instrument
will prove one of the surprises to the dealer.
No matter how you have conducted the second-hand department
heretofore, don't neglect the opportunities of the trade-ins at this
critical period in your business.
FIRE AND WHAT FOLLOWS
The first big fire of the year in the piano industry came at a
time when the trade could least afford it. With the demand for
pianos largely in excess of the possibilities of supply, flames lapped
up the snug plant of the Chute & Butler Co. at Peru, Indiana, and
destroyed a lot of fine instruments, some ready for the impatient
dealers and many more in process of manufacture. It seemed most
inopportune, and proved again the utter futility of the ingenuity of
man in his struggle to successfully combat the slips of circumstance.
It is probable that nowhere in the entire piano industry is there
a factory much less liable to fire than the one at Peru was supposed
to be. It was equipped with every device of safety, and it was in
charge of men who are noted for thoroughness and caution. Manager
R. H. Bouslog has been in charge of factory properties, and in con-
trol of big industrial plants, nearly all his life. He is a man whose
particular effort has been to safeguard the interests in his care. The
Chute & Butler factory burst out in flames within a few hours of
Mr. Bouslog's return from a short visit to the New York Music
Show where, fortunately as it now seems, there was a display of
Chute & Butler instruments. And the fire was not due, as most
such events are, to a cigar stump in a waste basket, or a lighted match
in a varnish vat, or a defective boiler; nor yet to any suspicion of vin-
dictive labor warfare. It was simply the result of that mysterious and
wholly unavoidable cause "spontaneous combustion." It was as much
a misdirected and fortuitous freak of nature as if the factory had
been struck by lightning.
But the main point now is that, in the face of the shortness of
pianos, one source of production is temporarily shut off. We have the
assurance that the Chute & Butler Co. will smother the sense of
loss and disappointment and at once prepare to build another factory.
There is the satisfaction—the special evidence of good coming from
evil. For, without doubt, the new Chute & Butler factory will be
larger than the old one, and in its construction the advantages oi
experience will insure even more advanced facilities and more com-
plete equipment.
The piano industry has changed greatly in the last quarter-cen-
tury. The new plant at Peru, Ind., will, without doubt, when com-
pleted, present a fine illustration of what a modern piano factory must
be in order to respond to the advanced demands of the trade and
the discriminating piano buying public. And the pluck of the Chute &
Butler Company will win, in the loyalty of its representatives, all and
more than even so great a disaster must entail at such a time as this.
THE PENDULUM SWINGS
It is a rare piano industry that doesn't now declare that it is
oversold. The demand for pianos is not normal and, in consequence,
it is not a healthy demand. The pendulum of trade swings far from
the center of industrial gravitation and there must inevitably come a
reaction. The pendulum must swing back.
When things in the piano business settle again to something like
normal conditions, how will the manufacturers find themselves? And
how will the average piano dealer be situated with relation to the
manufacturers, and their own possibilities of retail sales? There
are men in the business—many of them—who do not seem to give
any thought to these things.
A few days ago a brainy advertising concern had a full page dis-
play in one of the leading newspapers. The purpose was to inspire
large industries and proportionately large advertisers with the idea
that in such times as the present there is need of the kind of publicity
that lays firm foundations for the future, rather than that aims at
piling up more orders for goods that cannot be delivered. And one
of the points made is this:
A leading magazine publisher ask>s manufacturers:
"Are you well 'oversold'—or badly 'oversold'?"
To book thousands of dollars worth of "straw" orders, placed by shrewd
retailers who over order so that they may be sure of delivery by some man-
ufacturer of the goods they really want—
—to predicate production needs on soap-bubble sales volume that a pin-
prick may puncture—
—to be blinded by the delusion that you are the chosen Child of For-
tune—
—this is to be badly oversold.
To be well oversold means that you are represented by the best job-
bers or dealers or both; that they fully understand and use your advertising
and selling plans; that your sales force enjoys the full respect and confi-
dence of the trade; that your orders are legitimate and capable of imme-
diate increase whenever you have more goods to supply; that you are work-
ing on the established principle thai your product is not really sold until
it is in the hands of a satisfied customer.
If this is your position then you are "well oversold."
Apply that to the piano business and it will be found to fit more
perfectly than to most other lines of industry. Piano merchants are,
•as a rule, a sanguine lot of business men. They are, too often, given
to "counting the chickens before they are hatched." They are blessed
with a faith that is so sanguine it never sees a doubt about the profits
that must follow sales. And if today proves a dead one the piano man
believes that tomorrow will more than make amends. It is that
faith that has built up the piano trade. But it is the same faith that
has resulted in disappointment and even, in rare instances, disaster.
And so the piano trade- is very likely to forget to figure with the
future in its excitement because of the abnormal demands of today.
And the manufacturers who may neglect old customers, and reliable,
in order to win new ones with the cash, may be laying the foundation
of disappointment in the future
For when the pendulum swings
back, and the demand ceases to be so insistent, it will be the reliable
old customers that will still be the most desirable. Many of the newer
ones will fall out, and the factory output will again be greater than
the ready demand.
It is sure to be so. There is no exception to the law of ebb and
flow, and the rule of industrial supply and demand is no less inex-
orable. It is the manufacturer who steadily sticks to the policy of
careful selection of his customers and representatives that will be
on the winning side when the pendulum swings back. And it is the
retailer who sticks to the manufacturer who proves loyal in these
times that will be on the safe side when normal conditions return.
There is another good statement in the same advertisement of
the publicity concern, already quoted, that is well worth considera-
tion. It is this:
When the period of relentless competition returns, the battle for leader-
ship will be fought—not in the work shop—not in the office of the general
manager, but on the firing line—out on the salesman's territory—where
buyers are met and where orders are won or lost.
How many of the piano manufacturers have thought of this?
How many of the retail houses? What is being done to retain the
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).