The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1911)

The Talking Machine World Vol. 7. No, I. New York, January 15, 19 U. Price Ten Cents A NEW CANADIAN HOUSE. Canadian Talking Macinine Supply Co. Organized in Winnipeg to Deal in All Kinds of Talking Machine Supplies and^ Accessories — A Live Manager at the Business Helm. (Special to the Talking Machine World.) Winnipeg, Man., Dec. 31, 1910. One of the latest additions to the talking machine trade of this city is the Canadian Talking Machine Supply Co., which has been incorporated to deal in all accessories of the talking machine, including repair parts, record cabinets, dealers' stock and business follow-up systems, general supplies, etc. It is the intention of the new company to handle any new contrivance of importance or merit that may be put on the market in connection with the talking machine, and they will' be ready to meet every demand of the trade by January 15, at the latest. Located as they are in Winnipeg, the center of Canada and the commercial metropolis of the West, they feel sure of making a success of the venture. H. O. Shuttleworth, a member of the Western Talking Machine Co., of this city, and an experienced talking machine man, is the manager of the new concern. MODERN BUSINESS ESSENTIALS. Organization and Specialization Vital Needs of I Concern Seeking Success Under Present <./onditions. 1 he center-point of modern business success is found in organization and specialization. The larger a concern becomes, the more vital arc the • scientific modern methods. There was a time when an executive head considered it his duty to spread his activities over all the departments of the business. A half century ago this was possible ill the day when a small business was run on a large percentage of profit. To-day, it is a big business, with a small profit. Materials and mechanical processes have become so standardized that the concern which would push ahead must do so by first-class policies ; by perfect organization, and by methods of efficiency that produce maximum results with a minimum of expense in time or money. Increased efficiency; increased profits. They go together. Men trained for the .'Special work stand at the heads of the various departments, whether of manufacturing or selling. There are few, even among close observers, who note how large a part the specially trained man plays in the business of to-day. No one man has time or opportunity to learn all there is to be known in a great factory or store; and even if he knew it all, he could not be in twenty places at once, running tlieni all. NEW CONCERN MAKES GOOD. Doran Phonograph Co., Detroit, Handle a Heavy Holiday Trade That Cleans Out Stock. (Special to Ihc Talliing Machine World.) Detroit, Mich., Jan. 4, 1911. The Doran Phonograph Co., Detroit's newest phonograph house, report that business has been exceptionally good for the past three weeks. They say they expected a large Christmas trade in Victor, Columbia and United States talking machines. "We bought heavily of all makes of talking tnachines, and I do not believe we had twenty-five of all makes in our store when the Christmas trade ended," said President Henry Doran. "We did not have a Victrola in our store for nearly two weeks before Christmas, and as a result we were forced to take orders for these machines and promise to deliver them as soon as we could after the first of the new year. Our wholesale business has also been very large, and for a new concern I can honestly say we have done all the business that we could possibly handle." BALL'FINTZE CO. REORGANIZED. Additional Capital Amounting to $50,000 Placed in the Business — New Officers of the Company — Cincinnati Branch Closed. VALUE OF ENTHUSIASM. (Special to the Talking Machine World.) Newark, O., Jan. 8, 1911. The Ball-Fintze Co. have been reorganized and $50,000 additional has been placed in the business, which enables them to enlarge and complete their lines and open an aggressive campaign for business "during the coming season. James Fintze, sales manager and purchasing agent, has retired from the company, being succeeded by A. E. Caldwell, E. F. Ball continuing as secretary and treasurer. The Cincinnati branch at 1108-110 West Third street, has been closed and the stock moved to Newark, in order to concentrate the business. As Cincinnati and Newark are only 150 miles apart, the officers believe that the benefit to dealers buying from Cincinnati, resulting from their being able to concentrate all their energies at Newark, will outweigh the small difference in transportation charges. GOOD WORK^BY CUPID. Lawrence H. ("Bache'or") Lucker Announces Engagement to Minneapolis Belle. (Special to the Talking Machine World.) Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 4, 1911. Hi>w are the mighty fallen ; the tiny shafts of Cupid have found and pierced the ston3 heart of another bachelor of the talking machine trade. The man who only a short time ago was heart and fancy free and had all the bachelor pleasures of great cities at his command, is heard repeating to himself : "A book of verses underneath the bough, A jug of wine, a loaf of bread; and thou. Beside me singing in the wilderness, Ah, wilderness were Paradise, enow." Yep. It's true, boys, Laurence H. Lucker. head of the Minnesota Phonograph Co., has seen the folly of his ways and has announced that he will soon begin traveling in double harness. Here is the proof from the "Engagements" column of the Minneapolis paper of December 25 : "Mr. and Mrs. Martin Pfaff, of Lincoln avenue, St. Paul, announce the engagement of their daughter, Mariam Jeanctte, to Laurence H. Lucker, of this city. The announcement is of much interest in Minneapolis, as the young people are well known here. Miss Pfaff spent two years at the University of Minnesota and is a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority." It'll be no more "Bachelor Lucker." The World joins Mr. Lucker's many friends in and out of the talking machine trade in extending congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy wedded life. Ho deserves it. FRANK STANLEY. L I feel, somehow — now Stanley's dead — As if the golden songs were o'er. Before his voice all sorrow fled, And joy returned for evermore. But now gloom reigns — for Stanley's dead. II. I think it best — now Stanley's dead, To lay his precious songs away. To play them fills my heart with dread ; Dark clouds obscure the light of day — The birds are still — for Stanley's dead. III. He's gone, 'tis true — Frank Stanley sleeps ; His voice, though, it will never die. His audience still laughs and weeps, Sweet records speed the hours by, For they still live — though he is dead. — Howard Taylor Middleton. A Factor in Talking Machine Retailing That Is as Important as Salesmanship Itself — A Contagious Trait. Enthusiasm — that's the thing that gets the money, that makes the public believe in you and your proposition. Have you got that, Mr. Dealer? Are you enthusiastic over the machines you handle — over the new additions to the line — over the records by the leading artists that appear in the catalogs? If not, you're on the wrong track. You can't sell gold dollars for 90 cents unless you are enthusiastic regarding that which yon are offering to the buyer, but figuratively speaking, you can sell the same trade' the gold dollars at 10 cents premium if you are enthusiastic over the proposition and can show where, besides the ownership of the dollar itself, they get over 10 cents worth of satisfaction. Enthusiasm, real enthusiasm, means a great deal more than simply belief in the goods you handle. It means that you cannot see anything better than that line during the time you are handling it and center your whole-hearted interest in it. Enthusiasm means that whether you sell a man or not at the time, he will leave your store convince 1 tiiat your line is a mighty good one. Salesmanship is the ability to persuade the customer to close the deal for an outfit, but it is enthusiasm that causes him to stick around long enough to let you get in the fine salesmanship. On some bright and cheerful morning the. talking machine dealer counts his cash and decides that he will invest to the extent of a nifty new suit of clothes for the spring, and at his tailor's picks out one of the latest patterns m stripes. When the salesman sticks his under lip out for about an -inch and complains of how the fashion has decreed stripes when checks should really be the favorites, the customer is very likely to be highly pleased with his selection — yes he is ! If the talking machine dealer can't become enthusiastic over the advances being constantly made in the trade and see points to arouse his interest in the new records and machines put out by the companies he represents, he might as well close out and go into another line. He owes it to himself and those depending upon him. Take any of the really successful jobbers and dealers of the day and they are all enthusiasts. They study the new machines and records and always find points in them that command their earnest attention, and even though there may be features of the trade which they do not particularly approve of, there are so many good features that the bad ones are lost in the shuffle when it comes time to do the business. Enthusiasm is even more contagious than the smallpox, and one live dealer who possesses that trait can convey it to an entire community.. If you haven't contracted the trait of becoming enthusiastic over your business and .its details, now is the time to begin. Enthusiasm will help to make the coming year a prosperous one for the discouraged dealer and a record one for the dealer who was satisfied with the results in the past. You can't inject the enthusiasm feature into your 1911 business after 1912 is here, and you are suffering from vain regrets. As it says in the Rubaiyat : The moving finger writes, and having writ, Moves on. Nor all your prayers nor wit Can call it back to cancel half a line. Nor all your tears wipe out-one word of it. . In other words, you can't alter what has been or is, but what's going to be depends a whole lot on what you make it. A fire which gutted the building occupied by George C. Wills, a piano and music dealer in Salem, Ore., recently, caused $4,500 loss, including the destruction of a large number of talking ma-' chines and records. The loss was covered to a large extent by insurance.