DIRECT SELLING CHALLENGES SHOPS

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30143, 29 May 1963, Page 2

DIRECT SELLING CHALLENGES SHOPS

(By Maureen Eppstein) LONDON. The direct sales revolution may soon be hitting New Zealand. Mr John Bloom, the head of the organisation which pioneered the factory-to-constuner method of selling washing machines, recently announced his intention of moving into the export market. No specific countries were mentioned, but it is likely that New Zealand, as a major importer of British goods and ideas, may encounter this form of trading within the next few years. What will it mean? First direct selling is not door-to-door selling. By means of an extensive advertising campaign, the organisation gets prospective customers to fill in a coupon asking for free literature. An illustrated brochure is sent and rapidly followed by a visit from an area salesman who demonstrates the machine in the customer’s home. This entails no obligation to buy, but once the machine is inside the house, the odds are that it will remain. Consumer Saving To the customer, it means a saving of about £2O, provided you know exactly what you want before you take the step of inviting a salesman to call.

In this field, the Consumers’ Association is invaluable. Not only does it make regular surveys of the washing machines currently on the market, but through its analyses the reader can find out what points to look for in a machine. Such points as the rust resistance of materials, the labelling of controls, and the relative efficiency of “agitators'’ and “turbulators” are not often ones that come to mind without earlier study. For the salesmen, it means a profitable job. There are no middle men in this business. Factory workers aside, there are only general managers and sales managers on the staff. All the rest are salesmen, with little chance of promotion, but with the prospect of earning £BO to £l5O

in a good week. Most of them, however, spend frugally, knowing that profits are likely to be reduced as competition in the field increases.

By cutting out the wholesaler and the retailer, the firm can sell its goods 20 to 25 per cent, cheaper than the equivalent items in the shops. For the established manufacturers, and for the retailers, it is a desperate situation. Some manufacturers have brought out cheaper models that are competitive in price, but, since they have to carry th,, burden of retailing overheads, have had to suffer in quality. The retailers have been making a concerted effort to promote the image of themselves as established, local traders, dependent on their reputation for personal service and integrity for survival. In reply, the two direct selling firms now in the market have set up their own, highly organised national servicing systems. Nor are the washing machine firms the only ones to feel the pinch Mr Bloom has recently taken over a famous brand of refrigerators, and is advancing into the field of photographic equipment. There is no reason why the method should end there. It is even possible that shops for such consumer goods will eventually become things of the past.