The talking machine world (Jan-June 1928)

Summer Profits PORTABLE phonographs have come into their own. North, East, South and West, dealers report a constantly increasing sales volume of these excellent small instruments. Although the portable is a year-round seller of the first class, demand reaches the peak during the Summer months, bringing up the sales curve during what is normally, insofar as other lines are concerned, at least, a comparatively slow season. Canvassing for Sales Many methods of increasing the sales volume of portable instruments are being used by aggressive dealers, who realize that each sale of a portable means a cash profit and that purchasers of portables are also excellent prospects for records. From the simple thought of placing a number of portables on the counter in the store or in some other conspicuous place, to aggressive, well-planned canvassing campaigns, dealers are getting behind this product to their own distinct advantage. One retailer in Connecticut reports an average sale of twenty-five portables a month simply by displaying them on the counter in the store. Another dealer within commuting distance of New York City, facing the keenest kind of competition from Gotham dealers, who plays up these instruments in his windows, sells more than two hundred a year, and, bear this in mind, each sale is made on a cash basis. The income derived in this way pays the overhead. An average of three records is sold with each portable, and usually these patrons are repeat buyers of records. That is nice business! Home Demonstration There is a talking machine merchant in the Middle West who has been unusually successful in selling portable instruments to farmers. There is no secret about it. He simply loads a number of portables in his flivver and goes out into the country. When he comqs to a farmhouse he visits with the inhabitants and usually succeeds in leaving a portable for a few days' trial or on the plea that he has other stops to make and will return in several days for the instrument. With the machine he leaves a number of records and urges the By Leslie A. Ferguson fanner to make use of the portable until he, the dealer, returns. In the majority of instances the machine remains in the permanent possession of the farmer and his family. Canvass Summer Places The manager of a retail store in a small city on the Hudson River, in New York State, has found .a nearby cottage colony a prolific source of portable talking machine and record There is no instrument that has a wider sales field than the portable phonograph. The small apartment resident, the Summer bungalow owner or tenant, the owner of a cabinet instrument, boys at camp, motorists— all are likely prospects for the portable and the price range is within the reach of all. sales. He makes the rounds of the cottages once a month, striving to sell those who have no instrument a portable and demonstrating records for machine owners. This is the type of aggressive merchandising that is turning "dull Summer" into a period of activity and profit for far-sighted retailers. In the Cities In the larger cities, where the dealer has no Summer resort business to work on, there is a growing market for portables. The very small two and three-room apartments give the dealer the opportunity to engage in highly lucrative sales promotion work in the interest of the portable. A dealer on Broadway, New York, whose sales field consists entirely of huge apartment houses and hotels, sells close to three hundred portables a year. How? Not by any super-salesmanship. He simply displays the lines he carries and resorts to advertising and direct mail to bring the merits of his products to the attention of the public. He also has made an arrangement with the bellhops in the nearby hotels to pay commissions on sales. The results are remarkably satisfactory. A Broad Field These are only a few outlets for the portable. Every person is a prospect. One fact stands out sharp and clear: If the dealer will really make a sustained effort to sell portable instruments he will have little difficulty in doing so. The opportunities are unlimited and there is a broader aspect to this business which must not be lost sight of. Record sales are an important part of the retail talking machine business and each portable sold not only means a worth-while stimulation of record business, but the contact established by the sale of a small instrument eventually may lead to the sale of a larger model talking machine or radio set. It is a profitable market. L. R. Schadwald Joins Northeastern Radio, Inc. Boston, Mass . Tune 4. — A. Ullman, president of Northeastern Radio, Inc., radio distributor, recently announced the addition to the sales staff of L. R. Schadwald. Mr. Schadwald has been connected with the French Battery Co. since 1923 and for the past three years has been in charge of Ray-O-Vac sales as New England district manager. He will represent Northeastern Radio, Inc., in the Greater Boston territory. New RCA Booklet A recent lecture delivered by Pierre Boucheron, advertising manager of the Radio Corp. of America, before the Harvard Business School on "Advertising Radio to the American Public" has been made the subject of an attractive booklet. It is an exposition of the part played by advertising in the development of the radio industry from its inception, and is an authoritative treatise on the subject. It is profusely illustrated. Sell Albums That Will Adequately Protect Your Customers'' Valuable Records The New National Loose Leaf Record Album Beautiful in design. Durable and flat-opening. . (Patent Applied For) W rite for descriptive list and prices. NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. Factory and Main Office 239-245 So. American St., Philadelphia, Pa. Salesroom: 225 Fifth Ave., New York Gty 40