[organising the markets.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 183, 2 August 1923, Page 4

[organising the markets.

CHECK OK OVER-SUPPLIES. SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE AREAS. A good illustration of the importance attached to the science of marketing was given by Mr. A. J. Heighway, of the executive staff of the New Zealand Cooperative Dairy Co., Ltd., at a meeting of suppliers held at Eureka. He had been informed recently, he said, by one of the heada of Messrs. Swifts, Ltd., Chicago, that that organisation deliberately incurred a high overhead expense every year in acquiring information relative to marketing outlets. In their head office in Chicago they had one big room, epon the wall of which was a huge map of the whole railway eyetem of the United States, showing all the main towns and cities. Into thia room daily came weather reports from every area covered by that map. These were carefully tabulated and applied to commercial pursuits. Wherever it was found that a cold snap was developing in a certain area, or that a blizzard was expectei throughout certain territory, steps were immediately taken by telegraph to divert three or four, or more, train-loads of meat from the nearest distributing centre so as to have there ready for the demand that extra supply of meat which a cold Enap always calls for. This high degree of marketing ekfll was found of great value by the company, and hal contributed in no small measure to its sound financial position, in the coarse of the recent slump which had seriously affected other organisations not so well controlled. It was simply the knowledge gained by organisation which enabled it to successfully market iUs products. In the same way, the time had already come when the New Zealand producer had to apply marketing skill to his business. The tremendous expansion of the past four years meant that New Zealand to-day was supplying Britain with between a quarter and a third of all the butter imported yearly by her. In addition, we supplied Britain with half the cheese she required yearly. The essential difference between New Zealand and Denmark in this connection was that the Danes aimed to level their production throughout the whole 12 months, whereas New Zealand worked primarily in accordance with the seasons, and, consequently, towards the end of our producing season very heavy shipments fall upon the English market. These heavy shipments produced a temporary oversupply, which reacted in the direction of dump prices. The only way to prevent such periodic slumps was to widen the area of marketing and develop alternative centres of distribution or alternatively lengthen the period of sale. The solution of the problem would be found probably in the development of both ideas. The New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Co. had laid the foundation of profitable marketing areas in America an_: the East. Arrangements had already been made for sending regular supplies to Xew York, carrying sales into Canada and Honolulu, and, perhaps even more important still, attention was being paid to developing trade in the East—China, Japan and Java. From this work very definite gain was expected in future years, and this emphasised the point that it was only as the producer applied to marketing methods of big business, that he would secure the fullest possible return for his produce. The producer had the power to improve marketing if he exercised it, and it' would be proved by experience that if could most definitely be exercised only through big commercial organisations; such as had already been built up in the South Auckland Province by the producer himself.