The talking machine world (July-Dec 1922)

132 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD July 15, 1922 I The Merchandising Possibilities of Radio in j I the Talking Machine Field :: llllllllllllilllllllllllliyilllllllllllllW One of the most interesting talks on radio that local talking machine dealers have been privileged to listen to was that delivered at a recent meeting of The Talking Machine Men, Inc., by Raymond Francis Yates, radio editor of The Evening Mail, in New York, who offered some practical thoughts regarding the merchandising of radio and the lines on which it might be expected to develop. After commenting upon the development of the automobile, motion picture and the talking machine through various stages, from the time when they were considered merely as fads to a point where they became recognized commercial successes, Mr. Yates emphasized the close connection between radio and the talking machine and enlarged upon the field for a combination instrument including, in one cabinet, a talking machine and a radio receiving set. The speaker made the point that the success of the talking machine business and the quantity sale of higher priced machines came when means were provided for selling better class instruments on instalments. In this connection he said: "The radio industry must parallel the phonograph industry in this respect if it is to enjoy the same prosperity. To-day radio instruments cannot be bought on the time payment plan simply because the manufacturers do not have to sell them that wa3^. They have found enough purchasers who are willing to pay cash. The great majority of American homes will not have the more expensive radio instruments until the manufacturers co-operate with the dealers in arranging more convenient payments. Should Be Sold by Phonograph Dealers "To-day radio instruments are being sold in various kinds of establishments. We see them in drug stores, hardware stores, electrical shops, dry goods stores, phonograph shops and recently I saw a display of instruments in the show windows of a hat store. The electrical industry claims that radio belongs in the electrical shops, .but I am not inclined to accept this view. I firmly believe that radio belongs with the phonograph industry or at least it should be sold by phonograph dealers. It would seem that the general merchandising plan used in the disposal of the more expensive radio re llllllllllilllllllllllllllfflllll^ ceivers that are about to be placed on the market will be very similar to that used today in the sale of phonographs. Then, too, we must not forget that the radio, in its present stage at least, is essentially an entertaining device as well as an educational one. Radio and the phonograph must go hand in hand. "With few exceptions, the radio receiving devices that are on the market to-day are not in the least ornamental. They do not harmonize in any way with the furniture and surroundings of even the most modest home. In general they are encased in a plain cabinet with a number of unsightly knobs, dials and switches arranged on the panel. In the case of vacuum tube receivers a storage battery, with all its illll mini Illll J Why the 7 allying || ■ Machine Dealer Is Ad [[ m mirably Equipped to || J Give Proper Attention | ■ to the Sales of Radio m attending troubles, is necessary. How simple it would be to place these radio receivers in a cabinet with a phonograph and put this troublesome storage battery in the cellar with a plug receptacle on the baseboard. Radio receivers at present are supplied with unsightly tin horns when the perfectly designed wooden horn of the phonograph could be arranged so that the radio receiver could make use of it as well as the phonograph mechanism. It does not take a great deal of foresight to see that the radio receiver as it stands to-day cannot take its place in the American home as a substantial piece of furniture. We all know that the phonograph, in its early days when all the mechanism was exposed, had to meet a certain amount of prejudice on the part of the purchaser. The : By Raymond F. Yates j Radio Editor, The Evening Mail m lllllllilllllill!lllllllllllllllllll!HII!lllim thing did not look ornamental enough. It did not look like a piece of furniture. "Another thing in favor of the phonograph dealer are the facilities he has at his disposal for patrons to listen to the phonograph or the radio music. He already has in his place of business a number of comfortable booths which may be used for the sale of radio instruments as well as for the sale of phonographs and phonograph records. The Question of Stock "Most every phonograph dealer who contemplates entering the radio field is confronted with the question, 'What kind of instrument shall I buy and who makes the best radio receivers? Shall I stock only finished receivers or shall I include a supply of parts and accessories?' In this respect radio is very much different than the phonograph industry'. Among the radio enthusiasts we find a certain class who like to fuss around with independent instruments. They would much sooner go out and purchase a number of parts and assemble them rather than purchase the finished instruments. This class of buyers, however, is by no means in the majority. Probably five per cent of those who purchase radio instruments would care to do this. However, it is true that many people who buy instruments in this way do so not because they are particularly interested in the assembling of the receiver, but because they are forced to do so as a matter of economy. The volume of this part business will, no doubt, be greatly reduced when the time comes that a purchaser can buy an instrument on time payments. There w7ill then be no desire to purchase parts on the part of those who cannot afford a more elaborate assembled instrument. "For the time being, at least, I would strongly advise every radio dealer to stock a few spare parts simply with the idea of building up a patronage. A man buying apparatus to-day from the dealer will, in the majority of cases, come back to that dealer when he wishes to purchase the finished receiver on the time-payment plan. Of course, aside from these spare parts, every dealer must be able to offer his customers service in the way of battery vacuum tube replacements, crystals, telephones and the many i Vie ' ECLIPSE MUSICAL Co VICTOR WHOLESALE' ONLY CLEVELAND OHIO SELLING VICTROLAS IS A YEAR AROUND BUSINESS The old idea that musical instruments cannot be sold in the summer is a fallacy worthy only of the passing generation of the trade. Everybody doesn't leave town in the summer and those few that do are back in a week to the comforts of home. Living cost is lower in summer, there is more money to spend and sales competition is less. The Victor has a style for every season and every home. Selling Victrolas is a Year Around Business