The Exhibitor (1950)

EP-4 EXTRA PROFITS The problem of heot domoge it not confined to summer, but will result from improper storoge during ony seoson HERE ARE A FEW CAUTION HINTS REGARDING THE STORING AND HANDLING OF CANDY IN YOUR THEATRE AVOID Storing goods where steom pipes run under the floor AVOID plocing condy ogoinst o woll through which Steom pipes ore running AVOID storing condy directly under steom pipes O' other heot sources. AVOID the lock of sufficient oir circulohon in your storoge room AVOID using new srock of merchondise until the oldest Stock is sold The greotest soles potential in the history of the condy industry is the reign of the post wor youngster for the next tew years. Children under five years of oge ore not considered very important theatre¬ goers or condy coters, but they con become o potent theatre-going and candy consuming segment when they opprooch ond then reoch the teen oge period. The period from eleven years to twenty yeors Is .the "Age of Decision" during which hobifs ore formed This meons thot candy taste hobits loomed ond ocquired during thot period will be followed in the yeors oheod to middle ond old oge When the under five year group ond the six to ten group reoch the teen oge level, condy consumption omong the youth population should increase to vast proportions. What con we do to copitolize on this huge teen-oge market’ The onswer Is obvious. We must occord them the some courteous, efficient service tendered to odults They’ll remember where they ore treoted properly ond return ogoin ond ogoirv e holiday spirit should dominate our theotres during this goto season. A bright sparkling holiday decorative display is not enough If must be complemented by the rodiotion of cheerfulness on the port of every employee. A lost mg spirit of friendliness will be creoted ond condy oftendonts will spreod holiday happiness by odd mg "A Merry Christmos" to their usuol "Thank You" given to eoch purchaser. This thoughtful utteronce will make our own world brighter OS well OS thot of Our patrons Let’s be certain thot eoch pot'on, young ond old, is mode to feel thot we ore sincere tn our expression of the time -honored phrose £banb« (or flour ftatronage anti SRtrrr Christmas ILAN NOW TO on YOU* JHARI OF THIS TUN AGt AlARKCT! sues Candy rates as the top item of impulse sellers. Eighty (80) per cent of all candy purchased is sold that way according to surveys. The only way to establish any candy as a self-seller is lo display it on your counter at all times. Allow it to exercise its appetite-appeal U your display has the power to stop the shopper ... it will create the impulse to buy. Here are a few important hints lo emphasizo lo your attendants:— 1 — An immaculately clean case must be maintained at all times. 2 — When re-filling the case, be certain to rotate stock for freshness. Bring the candy already in the case to the top of the pile and do not stack on top of the old stock. This precaution applies also lo the merchandise in the store room. 3— The caee must be fully stocked at all times. Empty spaces do not promote sales. KEEP YOUH COUNTER CLEAN . . . INVITING . . . FULLY STOCKED I UP FRONT WITH THE WINNERS RESULTS NESTLE'S MERCHANDISING AND DISPLAY CONTEST $25.00 BEST IN CANADA Al. Hortjhorn. Rtgenf Theatre, Oshowo. $10.00 MONTREAL BRANCH Oicor A. Richards, Belmont Theatre, Montreal. $1000 WINNIPEG BRANCH P. Young, College Theatre, Winnipeg. $10.00 VANCOUVER BRANCH T Thomson. Grandview Theatre, Voncouver $10.00 ONTARIO BRANCH Al. Hartshorn, Regent Theotre, Oshowo. SELL MORE VANCOUVER WINNIPI ’ VANCOUVER, WINNlFta MONTNKAL Theatre Confections, Ltd., Toronto, Canada, provides an added service to the houses it serves by sending them merchandising tips, of which the six above are typical. Printed in color, and punched for filing in loose-leaf binders, the suggestions center around holiday merchandising, aiming at special markets, ways to increase sales generally, and avoiding spoilage, among other things. All of the merchandising tips used are applicable to all types of operations. cream company will not make good the loss. In the case of mechanical failure of the cooling unit, the company will stand the resultant loss, and make necessary repairs, the theatremen say, but add that such failures are rare. Special merchandising is a must for effective introduction of ice cream into the concession line, Abel and Silber ad¬ vise. Added efforts must be directed toward informing patrons that ice cream is available. To introduce the product, the two used special trailers followed by intermissions, during which patrons could go to the refreshment stand for the ice cream they had just seen advertised on the screen. Another method of encouraging sales was to slip passes under some of the wrappers. The girl at the stand was in¬ structed to advise tactfully patrons buy¬ ing candy or popcorn that ice cream also was available. After such introductory advertising, ice cream sales should represent about 20 per cent of all concession sales, Abel and Silber have found to be the case. During the winter months, surprisingly enough, ice cream sales fall off only about 10 or 15 per cent. Throughout the theatres serviced, ice cream sales have been found to be fairly consistent, with little devia¬ tion among different type houses. During peak weeks, about 10,000 pieces are sold at all theatres, with an average of about 650 pieces for each. This represents an added gross of $65 a week, indeed suffi¬ cient justification for the inclusion of ice cream at the refreshment stand. Since Abel and Silber started selling ice cream about two years ago, their sales have increased steadily, and are still gaining momentum, with this year’s gross already about five per cent above that of the first year. They have found that ice cream has not diminished the sales of popcorn, candy, and soft drinks, but rather has added substantially to total sales. Especially in warm weather, when the sales of chocolate and other types of candy are not up to par, ice cream more than takes up the slack, they have learned. Candydly Speaking ( Continued from page EP-1) matic soft drink vending machines. Where proper equipment and service are avail¬ able, the theatre will usually be better off with automatic drink vending equip¬ ment. Unless an automatic machine is properly and well serviced, it can be a source of irritation to the theatre man¬ agement, and will not develop the full potential. There are also several good manual drink dispensers on the market. As is true with other types of extra profits items, if a choice of drink can be offered, the sales will be substantially greater than if the customers’ choice is limited to only one beverage. /3^e EXHIBITOR July 5, 1950