BUSINESS IMPRESSIONS ABROAD.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 92, 11 January 1908, Page 6

BUSINESS IMPRESSIONS ABROAD.

. . BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 5 1 ; MK. B. ; ;E. H. WHITCOMBEINTBR- ■ . . VIEWED. After an extended trip through England, tho 'United .States, and Canada, Mr, B. E. H. Whitcombe, of Whitcombe and. Tombs, Limited, has 'returned to New Zealand. to take charge'of the firm's Wellington branch. Business at Home. , : Air. Wliitcoihbe, in conversation with a Dominion reporter, said tho visit was made from a purely business point of view. -He had travelled over well-worn routes in his joumeyings, and there was no need to enlarge on the scenic aspect of tho trip. Business at Homei lie said, was very good indeed, especially in the export, trade. The English manufacturer was showing • much greater willingness to'cater for tho colonial trade than formerly. There was also a tendency for a rise in prices, the result, no doubt,' of the increased cost of raw. materials, and of tho ever-increasing demands of the working people for .shorter hours and higher wages. Manufacturing Metiiods. Mr. Whitcombe came to the cbnclusion that a good peal could be said for the conservatism' of some of the English : business houses. Some firms, for instance, had not used the increase in'the price of raw materials as an. excuse to raise their terms to every customer. Rather than disturb old connections they were . soiling at former rates, and,' in'spit« of their meagre, and tin-: pretentious premises, some of the old-estab-lished firms were solid and very: wealthy. In many of the provincial manufacturing towns, tho; -methods employed by manufacturers iwero- hopelessly out •of date, and a' great amount of hand labour was employed' where machinery could ; have been advantageously substituted, and was so used- .in America. ' For ■ "this state of affairs;--the -British labourer - was to some extent -to blame. He had. a decided antipathy: towards - new . machinery, .'and. caused trouble if, it were-introduced to supplant labour. It was a. fact that .some trades were being driven out of the country becauso machinery could not bo' utilised in tho process of .production. .. Printing anil Stationery. Mr.- WhitbOmbe'V visited. the best manufactories'in liis own line of business in Britain, and found' that, there v.-erc very few firms with such up-to-date plant as 'was employed by the leading Dominion printers; and the reason was'that* the Dominion printing works were so miicli smaller' that new machinery was easier ofr-introductiOii because: the ; same displacement'.'of old machinery ' was iiot necessary. In England and America. whero : ;tho works werP so : extensive, the introduction of new machinery meant au enormous;'waste. of capital, owing'to the quantity;,of old-mach-inery that-had .tp -.be throiyij aside. ' Mr. Whitcombe.;,also ~made the interesting' discovery that . tho stationery trado was undergoing a' considerable.change in England,- owing to the''preference now- being 'shown for tho new olfice systems and appliances, mostly of American origin. Tho loose-leaf aud card systoms were becoming very popular, and in consequence'the older forms of account books were going'outf-lofiiiso.. .'Mr/ Whitcombo also states that tho' publishing-business Vat .Home is considerably depressed,, and the most pop-.' ular explanation 1 is that the restlessness of tho peoplo and their hia'ny week-.end excursions gave little, time for devotion to literature. In this connection week-end railway fares ■ were issued at considerably reduced prices, and these, with other distractions, kept tho people'too unsettled to indulge in anything hut tho lightest reading.'

"It is very.difficult indeed," said the New Zcalandcr, " jn/,somp departments; of our business to roach the roal manufacturer at Home." Thero woro :so many .professing to be manufacturers who wcro really nothing but middlemen'or "factors." This was one of the reasons _ why' principals- of colonial firms had to. visit England in order, to-reach• rock-bott'om in the matter of prices. ' Many very substantial -manufacturing firms were, so well-provided with ordors from the London middlemen . that tlicy seldom sought new businoss themselves. . .

In America, . . In Canada.®' and the '.'United' States : Mr. Whitco'mbo .. spent-,five .weeks-"...vi/sit-iug - the- leading " .printing, V.. works..';'in New York,. Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, 'Ho was'much-'.'im-pressed .with-the clever methods followed in tho States by the manufacturers'. ,They mado it-a'-ohief consideration in turning out their wares -to, : humour tha 'fancy' of tho customer. They also worked on a' larger margin of profit than the British .trader; and tho consumer, appeared to bp willing to pay dearlj' for almost everything.' Tho American manufactured . for stock , inMprcfereh'co' - to. catering for individual i.orders; Tho visitor found ho could only buy such articles'as were mado entirely by ' machinery-' from : raw material' raised ill America. Most other things were-generally'too dear. In his .opinion, there.was 'S' good deal of American liter*-, ture, especially; publications "of a technical nature, which'was-suitablo for Now Zealand. Tho American books wero often very attractively produced: l; ;In ; this connection Mr. Whitcombe found in England that the 7d. net cloth; pocket classics reprint series - are spoiling the sale, temporarily, perhaps,-6f tho ordinary 6d. paper cover reprint. In ono case thebaic of a classic series amounted to two millions. Out hero in New Zealand tho. sale of this class of literature was comparatively in its infancy. Tiio Return. - On his return journey Mr. Whitcombo travelled over the Canadian-Pacific Railway to Vancouver, whero he joined the Miowera for New Zealand. ' v •