Swing (Feb-Dec 1952)

THE MAN OF THE MONTH 39 required, to the highly specialised job of warehousing and filling the thou' sands of orders which reach the Kansas City mail-order plant each day. These orders come from the states of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and parts of Iowa, Arkansas, New Mexico, Utah and South Dakota. On Sears' big map, that's the Kansas City mailorder territory. ATRIP through the big Sears plant is a fascinating experience which displays Reno's amazing grasp of the myriad functions of the business. "I really grew up with the Kansas City mail-order plant," he says, "and you can't spend 26 years in a business like this without learning a great deal about it. Here you see a business which is truly American in its character. Sears started in a small way and as the national economy expanded, the company expanded its marketing facilities. Today there is back of the Sears catalog a large, highly specialized marketing organization which literally shops the markets of the world to supply the needs of our catalog customers." Reno's engineering background shows up as he discusses the various phases of marketing by mail. "Actually," he explains, "we operate on a cycle which begins with buying the merchandise and ends when the customer receives his order." FIRST in this cycle of mail order mar\eting is the all-important job of huying the merchandise. The parent merchandise buyer for the mail order store faces a difficult as' signment. In the early fall he is buy ing goods for next year's spring and summer catalog. He must know what customers will want and what they will pay; he must buy in right quantities at a price which will permit a profit at the time the merchandise is sold. He must judge style and material trends correctly. He must anticipate market prices; he must sense the constantly changing customer demand for merchandise. Five basic principles guide the mail order merchandise buyer: 1 — The merchandise must have proved customer acceptance. Basically, mail-order walks carefully or not at all into untried fields. It wisely allows others to pioneer, cataloging an item only when and after it has made a dent in the nation's buying consciousness. 2 — The merchandise must have a volume potential. Competition for space in the catalog is keen — the item must pay its way in dollar sales if it is to justify its place in the book. 3— — The merchandise must be priced to fit the pocketbook of the mail-order customer— nominally a person in the middle or lower income group. He is basically price conscious. 4 — Production facilities must be adequate for anticipated demand. Unless production is assured, the item cannot be cataloged. ? — The merchandise must pay a profit. But this alone is not sufficient. A number of rigid specifications must be met: good quality, simple upkeep, low repair costs, reasonable shipping and packing cost. The actual job of buying follows the normal pattern of merchandising — selecting the sources, placing the orders, providing for time and place of deliveries. Constant and exact accounting of customer demand is maintained as the basis for measuring and correcting the accuracy of the buyers' estimates. Wherever practicable, contracts with the manufacturer provide year-round, stable production which is a dominant factor in the lower production costs from which the mail order buyer profits. The constant