Radio Broadcast (May 1929-Apr 1930)

ran Let's Look at Radio's Largest Year By T. A. PHILLIPS Manager, Research Division, Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc. PULY 4 5 6 7 ll-lTl3 14 18 19', 20 21 4 25 26 27 28 TOBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 li: 12 13 6 17 18 19 20 3 24 25 26 27 0 31 j 2 3 4 5 13 9 10 II 12 5 16 17 18 19) 2 23 24! 25 26 9 30 31 j PRIL " : > 3 4 5 6 MO II IZ 13 6 17 18 19 20 3 24 25 26 27 0 AUGUST 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 novtrriBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 FEBRUARY I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 25 24 25 26 27 28 rrw 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Z6 27 28 29 50 31 SEPTEITIBER I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 11 "50 24 2 5 26 27 28 29 DECErTIBER I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 M 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "0 "si 25 26 27 28 29 ITlflRCH I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "1 25 2G 27 28 29 30 junE 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 a» 24 25 26 27 28 29 ^gjgg^ v •'<(?■<, hree million receivers were sold in the JT ik V yearbetween July 1, 1928, and July L, L929, ^Pf|H» ^ a figure never before exceeded in the history 1 of radio. To the 38,500 dealers who partici !_ pa ted in this extraordinary sale, the figure Hk itself is exceeded in importance by only one fact, and that is this — these dealers who turned over three million receivers purchased only 94,000 more sets than they sold, an average individual excess of purchase over sale of less than three sets. The high quarter in this year (1928) was, as is to be expected, October, November, and December. In this period 1,177,916 sets were sold followed by 798,813 in the next three months, i.e., January, February, and March of 1929. The low quarter was April, May, and June when a total of only 553,550 sets was disposed of, but this figure is half of the number sold in the best period, showing that the wide divergence between the good season and the bad no longer exists. How Dealers' Stocks Changed During 1929, stocks in dealers' hands increased over the same periods of 1928. In the period ending January 1, 1929 (including October, November, and December, 1928) the same amount of stock was in the hands of the dealers as existed at the end of the three-month period including October, November, and December, 1927 (actually it was 0.5 per cent, less, a negligible figure). In the next three-month period, however, dealers' stocks of sets were 24 per cent, greater than in the year before and at the end of the next quarter (April, May, and June, 1929) these stocks were 31 per cent, greater than at the end of the same period the previous year. Dealers' Purchases by Quarters Table I gives, for the first time, figures showing the indicated purchases of sets by dealers in each of the three-month periods covered by this survey. Table II contrasts the situation on the dealers' shelves for the years 1929 and 1928. Although inventories tended to decrease in 1928, they increased in 1929, each period showing an increase over the one previous. This may indicate that at the beginning of the three-month period, July to October, 1928, dealers were generally overstocked with receivers, a fact which is partially borne out by the excess of sales to purchases in the months of October, November, and December, 1928. Abnormal stocks naturally slowed up purchases of new stocks, but this increase in sales over purchase is also due to the fact that these three months were in the half year when set sales are at their peak. Purchases of receiving sets by dealers in the last three months of the 1928 radio year, i.e., April, May, and June, 1929, were not much in excess of sales by dealers; the data in Table I shows that dealers had disposed of 98 per cent, of their purchases, an obviously excellent situation. During this period dealers were evidently exercising caution in their purchases; in spite of this caution, however, the entire year showed that the improvement in ratio between purchase and sales was not sufficient to reduce inventories materially. The figures for the April, May, and June, 1929, period would seem ] 4 • • NOV K I\I It K K 1 9 2 9 •