Presto

PRESTO-TIMES
August 18, 1928
THE
TONKBENCH
LINE
In serving
P i a n o Manufacturers a n d
Retailers, successfully, for more
than half a c e n t u r y , The
TONKBENCH Organizations,
at Chicago and Los Angeles,
have become intimately famil-
iar with the quality, styles and
finishes of practically every
piano which has been and i s
being built.
Give us the name, the
style and a word or two
about the color and finish
of any piano and we
will match it with a
TONKBENGH.
Tell us what piano price
range you are working
in and unless you insist
upon going below the
"safety level" we will
meet your price demands
with benches which you
can count on to maintain
customer satisfaction.
For standard Grands,
Uprights or Players; in
Mahogany,
Walnut
or O a k — There's A
TONKBENGH.
For the new Apartment
Grands and Diminutive
Uprights — There's A
TONKBENGH.
For the latest in Period
Styles; Hilight, T w o-
Tone and other special
finishes — There's A
TONKBENGH.
For l o w ,
medium
and
high-priced
p i a n o s — There's A
TONKBENGH;
and
back of every style at
every price—There's the
TONKBENGH
Guar-
antee which says "You
and Y o u r Customer
Must Be Satisfied."
The Tonkbench Bulletin Tells More
of the Story—Send for a Copy Today
ring
1912 Lewis Si.
CHICAGO
PIANO AND RADIO
SELLINGjCOMPARED
All Music Dealers Have Made Their Greatest
Profits in Pianos, and Gordon Laughead
Says "Don't Fool
Yourself."
is enjoying a good business. It has been our custom
for many years to close the factory for vacations
during the first two weeks in July, but this year, due
to a large volume of orders the factory has been kept
open and more men employed than ever before.
It is reasonable to predict that many of the music
dealers who have been slow of action in keeping their
piano stock up to date, particularly small grands and
uprights, will just naturally be out of luck about
November 15. It is absolutely certain that there will
be an acute shortage of pianos by the 15th of Novem-
ber of this year.
Business Will Be Good.
By GORDON LAUGHEAD,
If you have any doubt about the standing of the
Sales Manager Wurlitzer Grand Piano Co.
music merchant, go to the bankers and the finance
In this corner of the ring we want to introduce Old companies and compare the general music merchant
Man "Piano," in the other corner we will introduce with the man selling only phonographs and radios.
"Kid Radio," seconded by his pal and adviser, It can be safely promised the entire music trade
"Knock 'Em Dead Phonograph." The referee is that business will be good during the fall of 1928
the music merchant and the audience and spectators and that 1929 will show considerable progress in piano
are the good old "General Public," watching a most production and sales and that 1930 will be our great-
interesting battle of these two forces in the music est piano year.
merchant's store.
What has the piano done for the music merchant?
Let's look at the situation frankly and play no
favorites.
1. No music dealer has existed solely through the
sale of phonographs exclusively over a period of
twenty years.
An Object of Interest at the Richmond Display Was
2. No music merchant has existed solely through
a New Model Small Grand.
the exclusive sale of radios during the past four years.
3. Music merchants over a period of twenty years
The complete line of pianos and phonographs man-
have found it uphill work, selling enough small goods, ufactured by the Starr Piano Company has been on
band instruments and sheet music to warrant the display at the Richmond, Ind., factories during the
operation of these departments.
visit of the company's wholesale men and store man-
agers from all sections of the country, during the
The Steady Provider.
last week. The entire exhibit includes about fifty
Just what has the piano done for the music mer- numbers.
chant? Well, the good old piano has been the music
In the display were grand pianos, players, uprights,
merchant's steady provider in the way of profits for the small uprights which have been a specialty of the
over twenty-five years since reed organ days.
company in recent years, portable and upright phono-
All music retailers, both small and large, have made graphs.
their greatest progress in profits by selling pianos.
Of particular interest to the visiting representatives
A careful survey of all music stores in the United was a new model small grand piano developed by the
Slates today will show that only a portion of the Starr company for apartments and small homes. It
music stores feature and actually carry radio and
is four and one-half feet long.
phonographs, but few music stores operate without a
The meeting was held at Richmond for the pur-
piano department.
pose of familiarizing store managers and other repre-
The overnight progress of radio sales can be at- sentatives with the company's complete line of instru-
tributed to the piano industry, because it provided ments and to stimulate autumn trade.
merchants with the retail installment selling experi-
ence to market radios and phonographs. Men who
know their figures say that the radio and phonograph
profits over a period of time are dwarfed in com-
parison to the steady reward to the merchant in the
way of piano profits.
Why should any piano manufacturer become
alarmed at the radio situation? Radio is in a most
chaotic condition. There are possibly 500 firms man- Vice-President of W. W. Kimball Co. Gives
ufacturing radios and each year only four or five
Reasons Based on Experience as a
enjoy outstanding sales success. Public favor changes
Piano Man.
each year. Last year's radio success is usually a
flop this year.
"Business is about what we make it,"' said E. B.
The acknowledged leaders in radio two years ago Bartlett, vice-president of the W. W. Kimball Com-
are certainly not the acknowledged leaders in radios pany, Chicago, in conversation with a Presto-Times
today. A new device, a new idea, jeopardizes the representative on Friday.
resources of a ten million dollar corporation. Dump-
"Perhaps you carry life-insurance," he said. "Well,
ing and the cut prices are ruinous for all.
I'll venture to say that you didn't walk into a life-
insurance office and demand a policy. Neither does,
Pianos Uphold Values.
say 95 per cent, of the piano customers walk into piano
On the other hand the piano business has gone stores and buy instruments. There are a few lines
along in the even tenor of its way. Occasionally a that get all their business save about two or three
cycle of piano business shows falling oft in manufac- per cent by solicitation. In the list of such businesses
turing, but after a year or eighteen months of les- are pianos, life insurance, washing machines, suburban
sened activities, sales steadily increase again. Pianos lots, certain kinds of stocks, refrigerators for resi-
are one class of musical merchandise that do not
dences.
depreciate overnight.
"The men who go out and hustle get what business
Through no fault of our own, the music industry there is."
is enjoying prosperity and will enjoy the greatest
Mr. Bartlett sees a fair amount of piano trade loom-
prosperity of its history if the music merchant puts ing up in the offing this fall for the men who will go
some morale, effort and backbone in his piano selling. out and work for it. For such men there are no real
The women and children of this country in order to lean years, for they believe that there can be no reap-
improve their social advancement have created a vast
ing without sowing and cultivation, and they work
market for inexpensive small grands and small up- accordingly.
right pianos. Every home will buy a piano if the
music merchant will spend a few minutes selling his
PERCY GRAINGER MARRIES.
market. The public schools of Chicago now teach
the piano to every child.
Percy Grainger, world-famous pianist, and Miss
Low morale, running around in circles over radio Ella Viola Strom were married in Hollywood, Calif.,
and loss of faith in the general music business will one day last week. The orchestra played a special
never make profit for the merchant.
wedding march composed by the bridegroom.
Nothing Sells Itself.
In 1927 most of the dealers selling Wurlitzer pianos CORN STATES BESPEAK GOOD TRADE.
made a substantial profit in their business. The fall
"Crops are so big and the corn is so high in the
of 1928 will offer another great opportunity for music corn-belt states that stepladders will have to be used
dealers with faith and the ability to merchandise. No to harvest it all," said J. H. Fribley, merchant of
music merchant can expect to sell pianos if he doesn't Bourbon, Ind., at the Interstate Merchants' Council
employ piano salesmen or try to sell pianos himself. meeting at the Hotel Sherman, Chicago, last week.
There is nothing, excepting a postage stamp, that
Mr. Fribley is vice-president of the Council. It was
will sell itself and even the United States Government the 14th semi-annual convention and was attended by
recognizes the fact that it must sell postage stamps
1,426 merchants from 42 states. Mr. Fribley's report
as evidenced by the activity in promoting the air of prosperity in the corn states is a very encouraging
mail.
piece of news for piano men who do business in that
The Wurlitzer Grand Piano Co. in DeKalb, 111., vast and lucky section.
WHOLESALE STARR MEN
MET AT STARR PLANT
BUSINESS AS WE MAKE IT,
SAYS E. B. BARTLETT
Pacific Coast Factory
4627 E. Enhanced
50th St.,
Los Angeles, California
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