The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1917)

THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD 111 TRADE IS BRISK_ IN ST. LOUIS Most Gratifying Reports Made Despite Unfavorable Weather — Program of Artophone Co. Koerber-Brenner in New Building Soon St. Louis, Mo., May 8.— The wholesale trade has been especially brisk during April in the talking machine line and May has started exceedingly well, according to all reports. The retail trade has made the usual gains over the year previous. According to C. R. Salmon, wholesale manager at the Columbia, April was the best month for his department in the history of the store, excepting last December. Others did not put the statement in this concise language, but all jobbers avowed that the records were excellent and were limited chiefly by ability to handle the business. In the retail trade the month has compared well with previous Aprils, the gains being satisfactory. The feature of the record sales has been the demand for patriotic records. This has applied to all stores, regardless of the class of trade. There has been very little advertising of patriotic records because of the heavy sales, dealers not being able to accumulate stock and being fearful of increasing their advertising. Robert Cone, of the Artophone Co., said that his company had been able to speed up production and catch up to an extent with orders that had been troubling them for a long time. He laughed at the idea that he was at all worried about such a situation and declared that orders were the easiest items to accumulate. The Artophone Co. recently has been decorating the show windows with announcements of Emerson records, the first record advertising of any sort done by this company. The weather has been somewhat against spring trade, as it has not been at all favorable to house cleaning and spring shopping has been delayed. But the response to the usual announcements of May records was considered satisfactory by the downtown stores. Val Reis, of the Smith-Reis Piano Co., said that the Victrola department of that store had obtained Anytone Needles PLAY LOUD, MEDIUM, SOFT ALL WITH ONE NEEDLE— PLAYS MANY TIMES WITHOUT CHANGING EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTORS WANTED ANYTONE NEEDLE CO., 18 NEW STREET, NEWARK, N. J. excellent results from recent advertising. E. A. Kieselhorst, of the Kieselhorst Piano Co., declares that he already is taking an optimistic view of the next Christmas order and that he is going to place this order in time so that the factory cannot say a single word. No reports have come this month from the Talking Machine Dealers' Association and inquiry developed that there had been no meeting. One dealer, on being questioned, remarked: "I am exceedingly sorry to say there has been no meeting. The last meetings were not as well attended as they should have been and were more or less unsatisfactory. Our efforts to untangle the misunderstandings that have arisen over our resolution setting forth terms under which machines should be sold did not get any place. This discussion should have been continued until we all understood the terms alike. I have been afraid that to delay meeting at present might mean that the Association would wither away, as other efforts of that kind have, which would be exceedingly unfortunate." As is the case with most building efforts these strenuous times the Koerber-Brenner Music Co. has been forced to delay their removal to the new commodious quarters in the city's wholesale row. They expect to get into the new store by May 15 instead of May 1. R. R. Connors, a former Columbia man, but recently identified with the Pathe staff, has returned to the Columbia retail department. L. Nachman, the field organizer for the Edison disc machine, working with the Silverstone Music Co., reports a very unusual meeting at Flat River, Mo., where he gave a recital to 400 in the high school and made an address on the machine. The May-Stern Furniture Co., one of the heavy distributors of Columbia machines, used talking machine records and player music rolls quite effectively in building a battleship for window display. On the last day of April this firm suffered the loss of half a dozen plate glass in show windows, which were blown in during a sudden windstorm at about closing time. There is a very cheerful air about the Vocalion department at Aeolian Hall. Manager Guttenberger reports satisfactory gains month by month over a year ago and previous years, and that the average of single sales is running very high. . The chief complaint is that very often machine customers come in such numbers that there are not accommodations for all. The Aeolian Hall is continuing its rather extensive advertising campaign, and according to Mr. Guttenberger has been supplementing the open publicity work with a series of monthly letters, which are called first aids to salesmen. These letters were designed to overcome the handicap put on salesmen who -were calling on prospects who had not yet been fully introduced to the Vocalion. The results, according to all accounts, have been excellent. The men report that it is much easier to gain entrance after one or more of these letters have been read than before. A recent one of these letters follows, each is personally addressed and signed, so that it becomes an individual letter. Investigate the C7X The Phonograph with unusual selling points. The Record that is growing great in popularity— that is played with a genuine polished sapphire ball. The line that yields the retailer a good margin of profit. Nearly Ten Tons of Records Just Received Our stock of Pathe Pathephones and Records is large and complete — we can supply you promptly. Successful merchants in Michigan and adjoining territory are invited to write for booklet which tells why Pathe Phonographs and Records are becoming more popular every day. PHONOGRAPH DEPT. Established in 1819 ^iriamsffiqyis%o DETROIT Only Pathe Distributor in Michigan Established in 1819