The radio dealer (Apr-Sept 1922)

30 THE RADIO DEALER September, 1922 Why Is a Distributor In The Radio Industry? Being a Tale of How a Radio Jobber Is Improperly Made In These Stirring Days of Radio Activities The time — February. The year — 1922. The place — any fair sized American city of usual progressiveness. Cast of characters include : Butchers, bakers, cloak and suit manufacturers, milliners, piano teachers, and last of all electricians and radio men. Richard Doe, to be classified as any one of the above characters except the last two, reads in the newspapers day after day of the wonderful growth of the radio industry. Riding about town in a jitney bus he notices aerials appearing everywhere. Day by day he notices more and more red and white signs with the magic word radio appearing on them. He notices that behind most of these signs is a well filled shop, from which emerge from time to time customers, all carrying packages. The thought gradually grows that he, with experience for the past ten years in the novelty business, has the right to go into the radio, and besides his line, like most of others, is very slow and he sees a golden chance in this new industry. Gradually this thought takes root and the outcome is an order to this printer for two hundred letter heads, envelopes and business cards, reading as follows : RICHARD DOE & CO., Jobbers & Distributors of Radio Supplies, 8864 Main Street, Having thereby made himself a radio jobber he goes out to solicit business. It may be stated here that Mr. Doe is the proud owner of the Unicorn Art University Service Company, with desk room in a prominent office building in his town. He pays rent of $15 a month and includes telephone service and two letters a day by the general office stenographer. Supplies of all kinds are in great demand. The first store he visits asks if he can supply immediately 500 Crack Lightning Arresters as they need them at once and their regular jobber cannot fill their order. Richard assures them that he can, and with their written order in his pocket he rushes to the Crack Factory and presents his card. The sales manager eventually sees him and Richard explains that he has been in the radio By HAROLD M. SCHWAB business for many years and is anxious to handle the Crack line. As an evidence of his good faith he will give them an order at once for 500 arresters, if they will make prompt delivery and give him a jobber's discount. Mr. Sales Manager is far too busy a man to investigate Mr. Doe's statement, but an order is an order after all in his mind, and he accepts it and orders it filled immediately by depriving his regular jobbers of their weekly shipments in order to satisfy the newcomer. Mr. Doe then rushes uptown to his brother-in-law and tells him what he has done, explaining that he needs $200 just for overnight in order to cover himself on this first order, which is being shipped C. O. D. He gets the money, giving note, receives the arresters and delivers them, making his profit with little or no expense. The next day another dealer needs head sets. Mr. Doe rushes about to various manufacturers and distributors telling the same story of being in business for years and refers them to the Crack Lightning Arrester Company. Result, the same as in the Crack case. He gets his jobber's discount and fills or practically fills his orders and Mr. Doe, feeling himself established as a jobber after one week's business, takes a one inch space in three magazines and tells his story to the world. Richard Doe & Company, Distributors and Jobbers of Radio Supplies. And thus we have a man accepted by manufacturers and magazines, doing business as a jobber with no earthly right to do so. He carries his office in his hat. He is his own general manager, salesman, shipping clerk and errand boy. He is here today, does business tomorrow, and is gone the next day. He creates havoc in the industry by cutting manufacturers' discounts. Through over expansion and a desire to grow into a million dollar concern over night he overbuys, ties up his capital and then unloads at a ridiculous price to save himself, thereby causing a tremendous downward rush in prices, on even staple merchandise, reaching the entire trade, that is caused by this cut of price. He ties himself in many knots and finally goes bankrupt, leaving behind a list of down-hearted creditors, and causing throughout the entire industry a feeling of uncertainty and an attitude of indifference on the part of manufacturers to extend credit facilities to even substantial concerns. It will be found upon investigation of the present conditions that nine out of ten of the failures are caused by over expansion and poor business policy. Something should be done in the industry to protect the legitimate distributor, carrying thousands of dollars worth of stock on his shelves, extending credit to his customers, traveling salesmen on the road and rendering real service to the trade at large in advertising, circularizing, etc. Protection is badly needed from the man who carries in stock only accepted merchandise for which he actually has orders, delivers everything C. O. D., extending no credit, travels no salesmen, and does the industry harm rather than good. It is unfortunate that there is not a real organization for Radio jobbers with a branch for Radio dealers. So far, to the knowledge of the writer, the only organizations formed have been so called " paper " associations, more interested in obtaining a few dollars in dues with which to pay the salaries of the officers than in the well being and progress of the radio industry at large. Personally it is felt that the ideal organization can only be really started, by the jobbers and dealers themselves. No outside interests should enter into the organization or the handling of such an organization. Trade papers, fostering associations of this kind, would greatly benefit the entire industry. Through such an organization we might well take action against the present English embargo on American made radio supplies and demand of our representative in Congress retaliatory measures, protecting our industry from an influx of foreign radio merchandise. Through such an association, broadcasting schedules and expenses might well be regulated, and last but far from least, through such an organization the line between (Continued on page 70)