Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Folsom Sees Opportunities to Increase Business V_jHANGING SALES and distribution patterns in Ameri- can marketing — strongly apparent in 1956 in the highly competitive radio-television and electronics industry — will continue into 1957 and will represent a major factor in providing opportunities to increase business volume, Frank M. Folsom, President of the Radio Cor- poration of America, declared in a year-end statement. "The shift in selling, largely at the dealers' level, features greater concentration on brand-name mer- chandise to build business and create new customers," said Mr. Folsom. "The question — "What's in a name?' — is being answered convincingly and repeatedly by increased sales volumes of well known brands, dis- tinguished for quality, dependability and service. "The American public's faith in brand name prod- ucts and in advertising will remain firm and unshake- able just as long as they stand the test of experience, that they are as good as we say they are. Quality and value — these are the cornerstones upon which brand name products firmly rest. The brand name products we manufacture today have a heritage that in most instances goes beyond our own span of years. As manu- facturers we are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining and advancing that product heritage. Industry's Sales At All-Time High "These trends had a marked effect on merchandising in 1956 — a business year in which sales volume for the electronics industry as a whole established an all- time record of more than $11.3 billion." Mr. Folsom said that "steadily and progressively, color TV is taking hold." He added: "We continuously note increased interest in color on the part of the public, dealers, competitive manu- facturers, broadcasters and sponsors. Color television sales are on the increase in many of our markets. More and more dealers are enthusiastically and aggressively behind color as one of the newest, most promising items to be sold. "Color quality is excellent. Owners of color sets are highly pleased with their purchase and with the increasing amount of color programming. An extensive survey of color TV set owners confirms this fact." Phonographs, Records and Radios The phonograph record business, Mr. Folsom said, is "on the ascendancy," with strong indications that its growth will continue. He listed four main factors re- sponsible for this: ( 1) more families are seeking home entertainment; (2) the teen-age population, comprising millions of record fans, is rising sharply; (3) more "Victrola" phonographs are being sold as the "45" record-player, the three-speed line and high fidelity (hi-fi) continue to boom; (4) retail outlets for records are expanding. He reported that RCA Victor's record sales for 1956 increased sharply over 1955, with the increases scored in every classification of music. Mr. Folsom said sales and profits of RCA Victor radios, "Victrola" phonographs and tape recorders made a marked gain in 1956. "The expanding use of transistors in radio sets pro- vides a base for continued interest on the part of the consumer for the purchase of new radios," he said. "RCA Victor's introduction of high-performance, low- cost, transistor radios provides for a depth of penetra- tion in the market never before possible. In 1956, RCA Victor more than doubled the number of high fidelity instruments sold during 1955. Our sights are set on 1957 for a similar increase. In addition, the tape recorder field represents a new and growing business." Relative to the future, Mr. Folsom said: "Based upon an analysis of basic economic indicators, the RCA Economic Planning Department forecasts the economic outlook for 1957 as favorable, assuming, of course, that the United States will not become involved in war." RCA color TV brings a new dimension of entertainment into the home, and reaction has been highly favorable. RADIO AGE