GIFT COUPONS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 53, 26 November 1930, Page 13

GIFT COUPONS

Business Men Opposed STRONG CRITICS State Action Wanted The council of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce last evening decided to request the Associated Chambers of Uornmerce. to arrange a deputation to the Government at the earliest possible moment to protest against a continuance of the coupon or prize-giving system, which was stated to be growing in the Dominion by leaps and bounds, and to be proving a menace to legitimate trading. . Mr. M. M. Heinemann submitted a report on the subject from the retailers committee. Unwilling Participants. “The organisers of these schemes,” said tlie report, “restrict their availableity to selected traders, and one company which was registered with a small capital in, August last, has extended its operations very considerably. It is alleged that traders have not voluntarily subscribed, to the schemes, but in taking them up, have done so in a spirit of selfdefence, in order that the schemes might not be made available to a competing retailer within their immediate vicinity, and with some assumption, no. doubt, that the business of competitors will be so. adversely affected that they will be driven to close their doors. _ k Profit on Lost Coupons. “Generally it is felt there has been no call for any third party in these cases coming in between the retailer and a consumer, and this third party thereby obtains the opportunity to make undue profits, not only on the goods for which coupons or certificates are to be exchanged; but more particularly from certificates that may be lost or never redeemed. It is to be explained that the certificate company enters into agreements with its selected retailers requiring them to purchase for cash from them monthly for agreed periods certificates to a nominated worth; and unless payment accompanies an order to the certificate-purveying company, certificates will not be supplied. “The ‘free gifts’ are usually of a type foreign to the merchandise stocked by the distributor who offers certificates; and even foodstuffs, perishable and otherwise, are included among those articles with which certificates upon request.are issued. “About 1900 a somewhat similar system came into operation by means of ‘trading stamps,’ and for several reasons, including restrictive availability and the undue profits accruing to the' promoters, Parliament saw fit to pass, in that year .the Trading Stamps Prohibition, and Discount Stamps Issue Act; and it.is considered generally among the retail trade that action in similar direction should again be takep in the interests of legitimate trading. “The Associated Chambers of Commerce at its annual conference in October approved of the following remit: — ‘That this conference deprecates the growth o£ gift, systems which interfere with other'trades; while there can be little objection to a discount or a rebate system whereby a client is refunded (a) in cash, when he is free to make bis purchases through the ordinary channels of trade, or (b) in kind In the form of similar goods that are the manufacture of the wholesale distributor, there are serious effects felt by traders when extraneous articles are offered under these schemes.’ Since then the New Zealand Employers’ Federation and various retail organisations have expressed objections in similar tenor.” -Action Recommended. The committee recommended that immediate'steps be taken to approach the .Government requesting action with, a view to' compelling the withdrawal of coupon certificates, and that representatives from the various trade and retail organisations be invited to participate in any deputation. i In moving the adoption of the report; Mr. Heinemann urged that the matter should be dealt with promptly, as the system was growing by leaps and bounds. The Employers’ Federation and several local bodies throughout the Dominion had recently passed resolutions against the pernicious system. . Mr. S. Jacobs seconded the motion, remarking that the, certificates were not being issued as intended. The system was an absolutely iniquitous one, which should be stamped out quickly. The president, Mr. D. J. McGowan, said he agreed that the system was iniquitous. ' Every trader knew that something could not be given for nothing. The motion to adopt the report was carried unanimously, and it was decided to ask the Associated Chambers of Commerce to arrange a deputation to the Government on the subject at the earliest possible moment.