| Show The Chain Store And The Manufacturer l and The Wholesaler i A talk tall by A W Hughes assistant to the President J C Penney Company at the Institute of Pub PublIc lIc Affairs University of Virgin la ca caThe The past ten to t twelve telve elve years have hay e wItnessed sweeping S and it changes in m the entire organization o of our national facilities foi fot movin g manufactured ed products from theIr then r SOUl source ce to the ultimate consumer Readjustments hay ha have hae e a become n ne necessary e necessary andall and all the processes ofIe oft of t Ie e taIlIng from the purchase pui chase of the Ie i e tall tail commodities to their thur e sale over the counter have ha changed manufacturer Under old condition the t showed made up his samples amples and show sho shoed showed ed them to the or jobbe r The wholesaler placed his order anthe an and d the work of the far f faras fas so a r as selling was ryas as concerned was con com completed Under that process of selling the th e manufacturer did not feel the ur urge ge urto to develop change the styles in m order to dev de v clop elop new buying interest on the part pat t of the general public With the growth groth gro th of the country and an d with Ith the re rewards ards h were promised by the success of e es s jobbing houses came a per pe r tod JOd of rapid gro growth groth th in m the number of wholesalers Jobber salesmen for equIvalent lInes were ere competition engaged in m hot tion allover all over the country The hotel sample room became the buying busing bu cep cen mg center cepter ter of the country country countr The start of Trade mark nark Ing forced a n new w condition the upon Jobber who hel had sold un tin der under tinder his own label As manufacturers cat cal on then thell 0 own awn n ad adel el ands and selling s l II ng campaIgns began to feela feel a return In increased volume from this new ne and up to then almost untried selling effort they sensed that the market world orld with Ith respond gradually increasing as Ing interest to even minor changes In desIgn and material The retailer found that he could keep his counters busy if he w v would keep his merchandise fresh new ne and andin andin I m in good t style Ie The jobber found that he could not continue to built hi hr lines a year id ahead d and successfully go on in m the theold theold theold old manner Out of the attempt of the Jobber to meet the new conditions in m distri button and merchandising brought about bv by significant changes in all forms of living have come man many new forms of dl distribution Manufacturers adopting natIOnal advertising as a means of creating more active e distribution set up their thell own dl distributing or tIon amZ and sold old to the retailer By this method the they ha have hae e seemed ed preferred distribution for their products and have in m general eliminated certain intermediate e expenses between then factor factory and the retail counter Manufacturers in m noncompetItIve lines ha have hate e merged their sales acts ach activities reducing the cost of selling In various sections of the country specIal t types pes of jobbing houses have been set up their actIvItIes to definite territories eliminating lon long ande and e expensive e selling trips cur cur- curtailing cur curtailing tailing ad advertising expense and con contacting tasting with Ith local trade de demands minds mands Many of these jobbers are arc doing an e excellent piece of work ork So called voluntary chains chams corn com I bitting the processes of jobbing and I II retailing I are serving seeing en mg satisfactorily I to meet the deminds for reduced dis h O eos costs ts in to some lines of rl rc retailing tailing Groups of department to stores res by b pooling their buying and dising efforts and dealing dIrectly with Ith factories and mills nulls ha have hae e sue suc succeeded seeded in m many instances in m cutting the cost of getting merchandise to the consumer Some of these methods have met With Ith distinct success some hive have nisi met with Ith failure There is still a great dell deal of work ahead before the most economically sound method of opera icon operation is finally reached tI tl may be necessary ry to vary val y the methods methode employed ed m in some ome lines from those employed in m others In the thelong thelong thelong long I iun tun un the fOI form m of or distributing agency which sel serves ves best to keep e e cess e cess expense out of the costs casts of get getting gettins tins merchandise from the factory to the I etall counter will be the one which will Ill cm survive It his has sometimes been said that the chain stores stoics es were ere instrumental factors in m the gradual change from flom the older fOI form m of jobber dIstribution to the newer newel foam which witch maintain m s a direct contact bet between een the retailer and the man manufacturer man er erThe The chain cham store has sometImes 3 sometimes been accused of buting to the i n in m the v olum e of business done by jobbers Inas Inasmuch Inasmuch Inasmuch much muchas as chit chu do only about 15 per pei cent of the gross retail busness bus busness busness t ness of the country this thIS statement can hardly be looked upon as be seriously on the jobber Style has been one great factor m i n building up oui out manufacturing and an d producing centers s to achIevements whIch even een e en the most optimistic of us u s would not hue hive h e anticipated when hen th the e present movement first made Its s start It cannot be said that the present system of merchandising with Ith dIrect t contact between the manufacture er erand e and the retailer has not been nth Ith without out certain gl great eat which i ithe m inthe n the analysts analysis of ns our economic life as asa a aa asa s a whole s hole more than out eight the th e general disappearance ance of the olds t order ordel The very force foice of the spirit of corn com competItIOn m bythe petItIOn which is being developed b by the speeding up of I retail ehll purchases purchase s canned out under modern modem model n conditions IS in m the long run the great gleat facto t of safety so far fai as the retail etall 1 Gusto custo customer mer is concerned Sentimental attachment for nee me methods of the past can play no par t m what is going on m in the present presen t any more than sentimental attach attachment attachment tf ment for the old bustle butle prints of o f 1880 should be accepted as a reason foi for women resuming the use of a bustles today |
