Motion Picture News (Nov-Dec 1925)

N o v c m be r 21, 19 2 5 243/ New Sales Policy For First National Country is Divided Into Three Territories With a Sales Cabinet of Three Executives First National's new sales cabinet; left to right: Ned E. Depinet, sales manager, Southern territory; A. W. Smith, jr., sales manager, Eastern territory; Sam Spring, chairman of sales cabinet and secretary-treasurer of company; Ned Marin, sales manager, Western territory. UNDER the new sales plan adopted by First National Pictures, providing for a sales cabinet of three executives, the country has been divided into three territories, Eastern, Southern and "Western, with one of the sales council directly in charge of each, and all subject to the supervision of General Manager Richard A. Rowland and Samuel Spring, secretary-treasurer. According to a statement from Mr. Rowland, the districts will be managed as follows : Ned Marin, Sales Manager Western territory. A. W. Smith, Jr., Sales Manager Eastern territory. Ned Depinet, Sales Manager Southern territory. All matters pertaining to the branches in each of the territories will be referred to the sales manager. It is pointed out that the new selling policy will keep each territory in closer contact with the home office than was possible under the former plan. Following are the First National branches under the present territorial division : Western territory : Chicago, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Omaha, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Calgary, Montreal, St. Johns, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. Southern territory : Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Eastern territory: Albany, Boston, Buffalo, New Haven, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Commerce Dep't Reports Decrease Negatives Have Fallen Off for Month of September, but Positives Show Over 2,000,000 Feet Increase PRELIMINARY figures just released by the Department of Commerce show that while our exports of negatives for September, 1925, have fallen from about 645,000 linear feet in September, 1924, to 500,000 linear feet with a corresponding decrease in value of from $115,000 to $95,000, American exports of positives have increased from about 16,000,000 feet in September, 1924, to about 18,100,000 feet in September, 1925. With respect to individual markets, the most noteworthy feature of these figures is the large drop in our exports of films to the United Kingdom, this drop being from about 3,700,000 linear feet in September of last year to only a little over 600,000 feet in September of this year. France, on the other hand, which took about 750,000 feet of film in September, 1924, from us boosted this total to over 2,000,000 feet in September, 1925. This places her in second position among individual markets, Canada being first with about 2,300,000 feet in September, 1925. Of our other markets, Argentina ranks third and Australia fourth. For the first 9 months of the calendar year 1925 there has been a substantial increase in our exports both of negatives and positives over the same period last year. The figures for the first 9 months of 1925 being approximately 8,000,000 feet of negatives valued at $1,500,000 and 170,000,000 feet of positives valued at a little over $5,000,000, as against about 6,300,000 feet of negatives valued at $1,000,000 and 121,000,000 feet of positives valued at about $4,500,000 for the first 9 months of 1924. In spite of the fact that exports of motion pictures to England dropped off during September, she still remains by far our largest market for these as reflected in the figures for the first 9 months of this year. Her total for this period of over 33,000,000 feet exceeds her total for the same period last year by about 15,000,000 feet. Australia, with 17,000,000 feet for the first 9 months of 1925 as against about 14,000,000 feet for the same period in 1924 comes second. Canada is third with exports for these two periods of about 16,900,000 feet and about 14,000,000 feet respectively. France, finally, stands in fifth place as the only other foreign country which has taken over 10,000,000 feet of film, her total standing at just this amount as against as low as 5,000,000 feet for the first 9 months of last year. Preliminary figures for September, 1925, just issued by the Department of Com merce show that 61,761 cameras were exported at a value of $214,507. This is more than double the quantity of cameras exported in September of last year, the figures for that month being 24,687 valued at $113,019. For the first nine months of this year 264,393 cameras valued at $977,067 have been exported as against 223,544 valued at $1,189,832 during the first nine months of last year. Exports of parts of cameras, except lenses, reached a total of 39,555 pounds valued at $26,651 and 414,476 pounds valued at $309,821 for the first nine months of this year as against 15,019 pounds valued ai $16,855 and 463,512 pounds valued at $366,615 for the same two periods last year. Figures just compiled by the Department of Commerce show that for September, 1925, 169 motion picture machines valued at $31,274 were exported as against 122 machines valued at $27,956 for the same month last year. Exports of stereopticon magic lanterns and other projection apparatus for September, 1925, amounted to 15,884 pounds valued at $31,996 as against 7,308 pounds valued at $13,204 in September, 1924.