The talking machine world (July-Dec 1928)

88 The Talking Machine World, New York, December, 1928 All Indications Point to a Big Holiday Sale in Cleveland Area Banks Pay $6,000,000 to Christmas Club Members— Employment Situation Better Than It Has Been in Years — Schubert Centennial Aided Record Sales — Other News Cleveland, O., December 10. — Every indication points to 1928 being a banner year for radio in this territory. The only complaint heard is that deliveries on some models are too slow. A number of concerns enlarged their departments. Cleveland banks announced that six million dollars would be paid to members of Christmas clubs. Employment conditions are better than they have been for several years past. Schubert's Centennial helped record business and sheet music. A number of sales are reported in combination instruments. Both Cleveland and suburban schools purchased quite a few band instruments during the month. The William Taylor Sons Co. opened a radio annex in the store formerly occupied by the Wolfe Music Co., on Prospect avenue and the Taylor Arcade. The Haas Electric Sales Co., 512-518 Huron road, distributor of Kolster Radio, has doubled its business this year. Its territory comprises twenty-two counties and 175 dealers. W. Burton Pettibone, who was works manager of the Willard Storage Battery Co. for the past twenty years, passed away recently while on a trip South. The formal opening of the Newman Stern Co.'s "Radio Hall" drew large crowds of peo ple, and many beautiful floral pieces were sent by friends in the trade. The opening marked the twentieth year in the radio business of the company which has made steady progress. Charles Corbett, manager of the radio department of the Starr Piano Co., has resigned and has been succeeded by Hyman Stein. The company is building up an outdoor sales force and securing considerable business in this manner. It has added RCA and Majestic lines. The Cleveland Distributing Co., Atwater Kent distributor, made a big hit with a special radio section in the Cleveland Sunday Plain Dealer. It was done in color, the first time that such a thing has been done in Cleveland, and attracted a great deal of attention. The company has inaugurated a series of concerts over station WHK four afternoons a week from 2 to 4 o'clock for the purpose of aiding their dealers giving demonstrations. Lyon & Healy put on a special demonstration week of accordions and piano accordions during the month. Joe Baldi, well-known player and teacher, gave a series of recitals each day and many people were attracted to the store. The company had several special window displays during the month that attracted much attention. One was a Columbia window, showing the process used in making Columbia records and a display of Columbia machines. The other was an attractive display of small goods. The first announcement to the public of northern Ohio of the new Sonora Melodon was made through a special section in the Sunday Plain Dealer, sponsored by the distributors, H. C. Schultz, Inc., and which many Cleveland dealers tied up with. The new Sonora dealers' organization is already a strong one, and includes many of the most prominent music dealers in the city, such as Lyon & Healy, Euclid Music Co., Goodman Music Co., Maresh Piano Co. and Sterling & Welch. E. N. Quarters, manager of the Cleveland branch of H. C. Schultz, Inc., is enthusiastic over the new line and business generally. The company also distributes the Carryola line of portable phonographs, which is very popular. Cleveland has a new industry in radio with the opening of a branch plant of the Rola Mfg. Co., at 2570 Superior avenue, and which has a floor space of five thousand feet. Ray Bechtol, of the Cleveland Distributing Co., Cleveland and Toledo, arrived in Philadelphia recently accompanied by his entire sales force for the express purpose of having the "boys" see at first hand the magnitude of the Atwater Kent properties. Especially interesting was the progress being made on the new A. K. plant, which when completed will make it possible to produce 2,000,000 sets per year. A four-day radio exposition at the Hotel Winton during the latter part of October was sponsored by H. Lesser & Co., music and radio dealers operating four stores in this city, and it resulted in greatly stimulating the volume of sales for that organization. On the day preceding the opening of the exposition a special twelve-page section devoted exclusively to Lesser news and advertisements was issued by the Cleveland News. The lines handled by the Lesser stores include Victor talking machines and combinations,. Majestic, All-American Mohawk, Lyric, Freshman, Philco, Crosley, Steinite, Sparton, Edison, Federal, President, Kolster, RCA and Atwater Kent radio products. In addition to the wide variety of lines exhibited the RCA Telephoto apparatus and the Kolster compass attracted much attention. Entertainment was furnished during the afternoon and evening of each day by favorite radio artists. R. E. Clady, general sales manager, states that holding the show at the hotel made it possible to exhibit the receivers in a home atmosphere and attracted the better class buyers, with the result that sales at the show and for some time after it showed a higher average percent figure than preceding the event. J. P. Seeburg Piano Co. World's Leading Manufacturers of Automatic Musical Instruments 1510 DAYTON ST., Dept. D, CHICAGO, ILL.