Radio today (Jan-Mar 1939)

L. L. Kelsey, radio veteran, is now head of radio sales for StewartWarner, Chicago. KELSEY SEES BRIGHT PROSPECTS L. L. Kelsey, radio sales manager, Stewart-Warner Corporation, a veteran with over twenty years' experience in the radio industry, expresses the following outlook for radio during 1939 : "Not for several years at least has the industry been able to step into a new year with as little distress selling and so many bright prospects as was the case this year. Our own inventory was reduced to a negligible factor which apparently was the case with the majority of other radio manufacturers. The outlook so far as we are concerned is the most encouraging that we have ever faced and the reception of the Campus and Senior Varsity models as well as the new eight-tube console has far exceeded our expectations." Stewart-Warner's radio division is now a separate unit under Mr. Kelsey, with C. P. Galloway as assistant sales manager. E. A. NICHOLAS HEADS UP NEW $5,000,000 FARNSW0RTH CORP, The Farnsworth Radio & Television Corporation has applied for registration of capital stock totalling about $5,000,000 and plans to take over the factories of the Capehart company at Tort Wayne, Ind., and the TJ. S. Radio & Television Company at Marion, Ind., as well as the laboratories of the former Farnsworth organization at Philadelphia. Kuhn, Loeb & Co., leading investment bankers, are behind the new corporation. E. A. Nicholas, former head of the RCA license division, will head up the new company as president, and Philo Farnsworth will be vice-president in charge of research. Ray Cummings, for years in charge of transmitter engineering and design for General Electric and RCA, will be assistant vice-president. Other important announcements will be made shortly. Mr. Nicholas is temporarily making his office at 61 Broadway, New York City, but will later have his headquarters at one of ,tbe Indiana plants. The new Farnsworth corporation plans to manufacture television receivers and transmitters under the Farnsworth patents, as well as radio receivers, combination phonographradios, and other commercial radio apparatus. It is planned to continue the Capehart merchandising set-up substantially as it exists today. 1938 DOLLAR VOLUME OF SETS OFF 33% FROM 1937 The dollar volume of radio set and phonograph sales for 1938 was 33.4 per cent lower than the previous year, according to figures based on the 5 per cent excise tax collections by the government. Month by month sales of radio sets by the manufacturers in terms of the tax collections are shown on the accompanying chart for 1935 to 1938. Because of the fact that tax collections for 1935 and 1938 were almost the same in spite of more than 25 per cent reduction in the average selling price, some prophets are inclined to believe that the radio set production for 1938 will be 7^ to 8 millions. Earlier this year both the RMA and Radio Today estimated 6 millions. E. A. Nicholas, who has been head of RCA license division, becomes president of Farnsworth Television. Yearly figures are given below : Year Tax collections Units 1935 $4,436,423.34 6,026.800 1936 6,514,898.45 8,248,000 1937 6,658,962.23 8,064,780 1938 4.431,614.20 unavailable In 1935 the radio industry introduced new models in September instead of June as is now done. As a result the sales during the summer of 1935 were extremely low. Aside from this variation, the monthly percentages for each year are quite similar. At the end of 1937 there was a general business slump that shows its effect on the sales of sets for that period. Donald MacGregor, who was pictured on page 10 of the January issue, is the new general ■manager of Webster-Chicago. February, 1939