The Dominion Magazine Page.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 805, 30 April 1910, Page 11

The Dominion Magazine Page.

\ THE MODERN mail-order business. 1

I HOW IT WORKS IN WELLINGTON. U m — , . =&* i

r! mail-order business in New Zealand is stall in its infancy, tat it is a lusty infant and ia bound' to grow with the growth of population and the expansion of the facilitios for distribution. The mail order "business has attained mammoth proportions in the United States, tint country of big things, and ite growth there ia duo to tha fact t&sfc tiuse-fonrtiis of the popuforfrm fit* in tbo country or ia towns and villages remote from anything in tto way of 'a ? d&br^i!e^ocmlrs < of goods other &an the village store. To anoh largo proporfckma has this business developed that it is said that in Chicago alone tie mail-order houses do a business 'agg.-egating £10,000,000 a year, most of which is controlled by .three houses. It "is said that these three nouses receive an averago of twenty-five thousand orders or letters overy day. They issue elaborate cata"logoes in. which their.ware 3 are described in a very convincing way. One 'of these catalogues weighs about 41b., contains 1200 pages, of .thToe columns each, and describes nearly every artiolo of lraman need or luxury. To mail one edition of this catalogue costs,'iri posrt--630 alone, £128,000. BUILDING -A MAIL-ORDER - BUSINESS. Building up a mail-order business involves much care, much thought and perfect organisation. There must be ample stocks to work upon, the "oorls must be of a satisfactory character, and there* must be sufficient 'of each grade 1 or quality to meet all demands There are quite a number of firms m Now Zealand who do a mail-order business, but comparatively few pursue it systematically, partly because of the trouble it involves, and partly be"suse it requires capital. At one time the big retail houses thought to secure country business by establishing branch establishments, but experience has proved this to be unsatisfactory and costly. The mail-order system' cfi eis a better means to this end. Among the foremost of the mail-order houses in Wellington may be instanced Kirkcaldie and Stains, Limited. For many years the firm has been supplying customers in with goods, but in .recent years special care has been i ! •__

devoted to this branch' of the business. ; The firm carries an immense stock, nnd as is -well-known large additions hate ■ bs-.>n made to the premises sid new departments added. The writer Vas kindly permitted by the manager of the firm to see the system in operation, p.nd * the details of the'work'were, fulls e.\- ■ plained. THE SYSTEM IN OPERATION. Kirkcaldie and Stains, Ltd.,, receive ( ; on an'average' about 200 letters,' a day. i; Most of these are orders for goods, and £ it is pleasant to be able to, say that most of the orders are accompanied by :'

remittances—cheques, J- postal' ~.notes, money orders, bank notes, and stamps. A certain, proportion of the letters are merely acknowledgments of receipt of goods, and a certain small proportion consist of cdmplaintß. A whole volume could be written about the triviality of the complaints made, but these are

not'passed .oyer.. lightly. . Inquiries'; are made, arid.where',there'are good reasons for the complaint prompt. steps . are taken to set ( things right. The greatest diplomacy, is. required, in dealing with the complaints, for'it-is. of, the v ory ossenceVofi the .mail-order, business to give absolute; satisfaction. .!-.' •< . ■ • :,, ]j All the' order'letters' go "through "an elaborate system of.numbering,.-dock-eting, and - checking, .so that at' any time,any order/or any one.article-.in an order, can be Vpromptly. triced."' - The execution of ...the orders ,is entrusted . to an expert, who cannot be put off with anythink' "just as good."' If the customer wants'a particular colour■ ■'of. dress stuff,.or a particular ..pattern! of lace or embroidery, .be: obtained, and;.anything '"near. ..eno.'ugh" will.not do., As .a'measure:.of.protection, customers "av3 invariably'''- requested to, name an alternative''colour .or pattern,y,aijd.'if the,qne. ; first asked is not 'procurable;the.alternative one is / sent.. Whe'r'ei'.a:lsecond-.choice : is';';not given, tlie.:'ntmbs't trouble!.is; taken/to , execute the.:.'order—if ; the particular article is', ; sokK'out or not' in stock, effoits . are'made.'to procure the goods, from 'the:/wholesale.' houses or from ''i'fi'SkS"' .;''?'" : ".'..■' -

assessed, way-bills or boat-notes prepared, and the package* sent away with as little deby as possible. It is the boa3t of KirkcakhV and Stains, Ltd., that except in very lare instances all orders received by the mornirg's ; mail are dispatched the same day! ,and j most of those received in the afternoon are also executed before the dose of the day. This promptness is a cardina l feature of the store, and is considered essential in maintaining and expanding the connection with country customers.A request ior. patterns or samples is treate J. with ■ the utmost respect, for, to the. firm, it means a possible customer, 'and ivery care must be exercised to turn a possible into an actual-, customer. Every effort is made to . eliminate. chance. "Nothing is left to chance." - By an elaborate system ■of checking, and the'close personal-'super-vision of the manager, the mail order department is growing.rapidly. ONE ESSENHAL TO SUCCESS.' ■ i To build up a'mail order business :'t • is. necessary to , advertise. Kirkcaldie and Stains full use of circulars, . postcards, and catalogues, and the amount paid annually to the Post .Of-"

other retailers, and if these fail the customer is told so frankly, and a pattern or description of another article closely approaching what was ordered is sent along. A disappointed customer, is as bad for the house as a dissatisfied one. It is very seldom that Kirkcaldio and Stains, Ltd., have to acknowledge their inability to supply, because they take care to. advertise only what is' in stock, and not to indulge in exaggerations as to quantities. It can be seen that the export buyer can do hotter for the customer than the, customer. could by. an actual visit to this store. Still, the firm is always anxious to have their country c'ustomors visit the establishment and get acquainted with the volume and variety of the merchandise. It gives them more confidence in tho firm and the goods. As soon as the expert has made his purchases iu the soveral departments tho goods, with tho accompanying dockets, arc sent immediately to tho packing-room, whore there is all life and orderly bustle. The mails, the trains, and steamers will not wait the convenience of the firm, consequently goods must bo packed, and carefully checked before they are packed, correctly labelled and legibly addressed, the postage or freight charges must bo

fice amounts to a very large sum. At the same time it must bo admitted that "the facilities afforded by the Postal Department for tho dispatch of . parcels, etc., and the conveniences ft:-, fomitting small sums of .'money have been great factors in helping to oxpand this particular okss of business. THE MAILING LIST: It must be obvious that a good moiling, list is of special importance, .vi:l Messrs. Ki'kcaldio and Stains are r.l. ways ansioas to add to their list. Twico a ,yosr illustrated catalogues dealing with fashionable apparel for ladies and gentlemen are prepared, and these are sent to all names on tha mailing list while periodically circulars and -sile sheets are also mailed. To keep the mailing list effective is a difficult matter, yet ib must receive constant 'attention, otherwise the postage expend cure is increased.- Matter that is returned • to ihe firm through the' Dead Lctier Offico means waste. There is the loss.of the postage, and the costs of rhailing besides losing the value of the catalogue, if supposing it had got into tho hands of a probable customer. Tiioso who wish to have their names, on tb« mailing list of Kirkcaldie End Staiu«~ Lti, 1 shjuld communicate with tie firm, and any change of address-should' be notified.