Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

9 Topics & Trends of TV Trade: Interesting sizeup and rationalization of “various tendencies in the TV field generally” as they affect one of the minor TV-radio-phonograph manufacturers (and possibly others) is related in report to stockholders of Radio & Television Inc. (Brunswick), whose president is Herbert L. Weisburgh. It tells how this small company, with total assets of $239,370, capital stock of $35,900 (359,000 shares at 10(5) and surplus of $185,282, is undertaking to diversify to meet economic pressures after losing money each of last 3 years. “It is well known that the advent of color TV, 3dimensional TV, and the opening of new markets for black-&-white reception continue to make TV one of the most dynamic industries the country has ever known,” states chairman David Kahn, identified since 1924 with manufacturing radio cabinets. “On the other hand, an instability of price structure at all merchandise levels, uncertain sources of supply, and the necessarily unpredictable impact of the defense effort on both manufacturer and sales are problems sometimes worked out with varying success by heavily capitalized industrial firms who can withstand, if not reverse, adverse conditions for some time. “Management of small companies must be alert at all times to realize that this economic chart does not apply to them in many respects. New fields and products must be explored both as to source and to market; if supply is limited on the one hand, or if market access is limited on the other, ways must be found to increase supplies and to open markets.” Accordingly, report continues, Radio & Television Inc. during 1952 maintained its Brunswick trade name, rendered “advisory and managerial services for the defense effort for which it was well compensated” and continued making classified equipment for defense. Anticipating whole or partial termination of these sources of income in 1953, it has contracted for European supply of certain unnamed components “indispensable and in limited supply in the U. S.” against prior orders from leading U. S. tube manufacturers. Moreover, it’s contemplating marketing an imported lightweight bicycle “in great demand in the U. S.” and an industrial lubricant. Company showed net loss of $50,699 on sales of $367,278 in 1952, compared with loss of $160,434 on sales of $866,437 in 1951 and loss of $36,467 on sales of $2,118,105 in 1950. However, report states, associated Thomasville Furniture Corp., also headed by Mr. Kahn, in which Radio & Television Inc. has an investment of $50,000 (half paid up), during first 11 months of fiscal year through last March 31, returned a net profit of $125,137, or 6.3% on sales of $1,984,958, with first quarter 1953 sales exceeding $850,000. * * * * Trade Miscellany: Selling TVs in supermarkets will be attempted by Mack’s Markets, Yakima, Wash., which has ordered 25 Meek TV sets, mostly 17-in. tables, for retailing alongside meats & vegetables . . . Hoffman Radio leases 50,000-sq. ft. warehouse of Jenkins Music Co., Kansas City, as pai-t of new factory operations there in eastern expansion (Vol. 9:19) . . . Emerson introduces what it describes as lowest-priced all-channel TVs in their categories: 17-in. table, mahogany or blonde, $200; 21-in. console, mahogany or blonde, $280 . . . Sylvania’s proposed new TV-radio plant in Batavia, N. Y. (home town of Philco’s Larry Gubb) gets blessing of city fathers, with $135,000 appropriation for improving site . . . Symposium on TV set sales & service in new market, originally scheduled May 10-11 at Monticello, 111. under sponsorship of U of Illinois, postponed to tentative Sept. 13 date . . . RTMA statistical dept, moves to 1404 New York Ave., NW, Washington (Bond Bldg.) ; phone remains National 8-3902. Trade Personals: Dr. w. r. g. Baker, ge v.p. chosen recently to receive RTMA’s annual Medal of Honor (Vol. 9:17), presented Medal of Freedom Award at Pentagon May 7 by Undersecretary of Army Earl D. Johnson for his recommendations on battlefield use of electronics after visit to Korea last summer . . . John Holzman, ex-RCAEstate Appliances Corp., named v.p. & sales director, RCA Victor Distributing Corp . . . John L. Murray, ex-Fort Wayne regional sales mgr., Capehart, promoted to new post of distributor mgr., replaced by J. R. Hughes, exAdmiral New England sales mgr. . . . Joseph H. Moss Jr., DuMont director of distribution, and Willis O. Jackson, southeastern regional sales mgr., have resigned — latter to become Hoffman Radio Atlanta mgr., succeeded by Joseph Hatchwell, DuMont west coast sales mgr. . . . C. J. Harrison, ex-Federal, named to new post of marketing mgr., DuMont TV transmitter div. . . .George Cohen promoted to asst, sales director, Wm. H. Cormier to western sales mgr., Emerson Radio . . . Maurice L. Levy, Emerson chief engineer of special products from 1943-49, returns to Emerson as asst, works mgr. . . . Allen N. White Jr. appointed adv. mgr., Bendix TV-radio div., Baltimore, reporting to adv. & sales promotion director Herman Sacks . . . Albert J. Frankel, ex-Emerson & Tele-King, appointed CBS-Columbia buyer for civilian manufacturing program . . . Charles E. Torsch, ex-GE, named to post of chief engineer of Muter Co. subsidiary, Rola Co., Cleveland . . . James G. Perkins Jr. named mgr. of new branch office of International Resistance Co. in Syracuse, with Richard Johnson as asst. . . . P. M. Wheeler promoted to midwestern sales mgr., Indiana Steel Products . . . George Lindman, exKPOA, Honolulu, now in charge of San Francisco office, George P. Hollingbery Co., elected v.p. . . . James M. Robertson Jr., recently uhf field representative, promoted to Atlanta mgr., Capehart Farnsworth . . . Louis Hausman shifted to v.p. of CBS-Columbia in charge of sales, advertising, public relations, etc., from administrative v.p. of CBS-Radio. Distributor Notes: Admiral appoints newly-formed Maryland Wholesalers Inc., 867 Park Ave., Baltimore (Israel Hofberg, pres.), replacing Stephen Seth & Co. . . . Capehart-Farnsworth appoints Home Products Inc., Cincinnati; Morrison Supply Co., Fort Worth; Bemis Electric Distributing Corp., Roanoke, Va. . . . CBS-Columbia appoints Karl-Williams Co. Inc., Syracuse, N. Y. (Karl Stander, pres.); Mid-Continent Distributing Co., Sioux Falls, S. D (Paul J. Modica, pres.) . . . Raytheon names State Distributing Co. Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich. (T. J. Peters, pres.) . . . Bendix Radio appoints Biehl’s Inc., Pottsfield, Pa. . . . Pacific Vogue appoints E. M. Kemp Co., Sacramento. Canadian RTMA reports 26,260 TVs with value of $11,237,965 sold during March at average of $428 per unit. Toronto led with 8269, Quebec 8023, HamiltonNiagara 4000, British Columbia 1926, Ottawa 1236, other areas of Ontario 1184, Prairies 29. Sales for first 1953 quarter total 73,829, and projected production figures for second quarter indicate 82,495 units. More summer shutdown plans of major TV-radio parts manufacturers, in addition to those reported earlier (Vol. 9:18), as released this week by RTMA; Alliance Mfg. Co., July 6-19; General Instrument Corp., July 19-Aug. 1; Oxford Electric Corp., June 26-July 10; Product Development Co., July 4-19. More debut dates for new TV models, in addition to those already announced (Vol. 9:19) : DuMont, at Clifton, N. J. factory, June 9; Westinghouse, at Metuchen, N. J. plant, June 8; Zenith, at Chicago’s Drake Hotel, June 11-12.