TOPICS FOR TRADESMEN

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17329, 18 November 1916, Page 13

TOPICS FOR TRADESMEN

[From Ocr Correspondent.] . “ LONDON, September 16. PRESTIGE OR PENCE A retailer who has been fortunate enough to secure goods at exceptional prices can either sell at ruling prices and secure a handsome profit, or let his customers have, tho benefit and rely for his reward on tho impression such action will create. It is a debatable question which is the hotter course to pursue. To find a retailer adopting tho latter method is"exceptional, .'hut the minority is not always wrong. One would hesitate to say. that tho London firm* which is giving its customers tho advantage of fortunate . circumstances, which might bo used to command increased prices because of conditions dependent upon tho war, is in the wrong. In a newspaper advertisement the concern explains its-position and attitude. Tho war, it says, is causing, a heavy and rapid advance in tho prices of all drugs, chemicals and perl'uines, and other kindred linos, many having doubled in price, and some being impossible to obtain at any cost. Then : " We are trying to safeguard your interests in a price way. We are not advancing prices unless forced to do so, and then as little as possible. We are (fortunately carrying a large stock of goods—much heavier than is visually foiind in a. shop of our size—find are therefore in a position to save our customers’ money on purchases. V* e recommend that our women customers take this opportunity to test the merits of our goods.” -Treatment such as this at a time when increased prices are justified will make an impression on the buying public and secure its patronage not. only for to-dav, hut f° l ' time to come. COMMISSIONS FOR. ASSISTANTS. The practice of giving premiums on sales to shop assistants is one that has been in use for years in some shops, tho principal idea being to dispose of slow-selling goods.., With tho additional incentive, to the assistants, these goods are shown more frequently to the customer and consequently more sales are .made. The practice, however, was condemned hv a speaker at a recent meeting of traders in London. ' He said it had deteriorated into forcing upon the public overstocked or, slowmoving goods. Tho assistant know he could increase his salary through selling these goods, and the consequence was that quantity and not quality became the order of the. day. In the end, tho shop was the loser, as dissatisfied customers could ho directly attributed to this cause. An insistent salesman would sometimes vex a customer to the point of irritability with suggestions of goods that lie knew were .below standard’ and that customer was not likely to call again. Another regrettable feature, lie . concluded, was , that the goods wero not always reduced in price as they should he. In.defence. of the system a trader said that, like all other prizes offered for the purpose of increasing sales, tho practice .should bo judged by tho class of goods on which it was used. To give assistants a percentage on a now lino of goods was an excellent investment, for more 'time was required to introduce a new item than simply to sell an old and well-known one. Firms of to-day realised that tho practice as applied to , old or damaged goods was poor business. The giving of commission .on sales, said another speaker,, depended to a great extent upon the characterof a shop. He thought ,the idea would bo to tho detrimqnt of a shop that, catered to a high-class clientele —people of intelligence who camo in to buy did not like to he bored by a-shop aqsis-t-, ant. But shops catering to a cheapclass trade, wanting to incrcasb their sales of better-class goods, might do so with advantage by giving their 'assistants premiums, providing the proprietor controlled tho items on which commission was to bo given, and saw that it was only given on those goods that in his opinion wero thoroughly reliable. FEARED BOOT FAMINE. It is suggested that the Government should he petitioned either through local boot trade associations or the Federation to release a’t once a quantity of bends, etc.' Tho action of the Government in commandeering all supplies of certain classes of solo leather, it is alleged, is killing the business of small repairers and retailers, and handing their trade oven to the multiple firms. This is a matter of somo importance. A shortage of footwear is expected to be felt during the' next few months,' despite allegations that warehouses of hoot- factors are heavily stocked, and that, suggestions of scarcity are unwarranted. Stocks held by retailers will not ho sufficient to meet the requirements during the coming' winter, end additions can only be secured if tho supply of leather becomes more plentiful. This can only be brought about by a cessation of the requirements for military purposes, but as at the recent meeting of the Central Oommitteo. of the United Tanners” Federation it was announced, on official information, that in. addition to military contracts now in hand a million pairs of boots were required for Russia, a million for Italy, and two million six hundred thousand for the British Army, the ’outlook is not encouraging so far, as the civilian requirements of this country are concerned. THE SALE OF CHEWING GUM. As is well known, the chewing of gum in America is universal; it has -developed from a,habit into,, one might almost say a disease. The practice has been condemned by some people, hut apparently lias the approval of the medical profession. A Chicago doctor says it has a most soothing effect, and that it is impossible to irritate a person who is chewing gum. Then 'there is another American doctor, presiding over a hospital in New York, who, it is stated, prescribes chewing gum as part of his treatment for patients suffering from typhoid fever. He gives each one some gmn to chow throe times a day at regular intervals. It pleases the .patient, gives him something to do and think about, and cleanses the. mouth—an important thing in typhoid cases. Figures published recently by a London firm of chewing gum manufacturers of their liionthly sales d'iir-. ing the present year show that- the demand in this country lias risen enormously. Is tho, same thing that lias happened in the States to, happen over here? Of course, chewing gum has been known in this country for years, end one would have thought that ify the habit was to,stay it would have become common long ago. But the 6weet-eating public,- it must be admitted, has fought rather shy of it. Why, then, should there be this revival? It may perhaps be put down to the war. Our soldiers acquired the habit in the trenches, probably from their Canadian brothers-in-arms, and finding it to their favour, have continued the habit on returning to “Blighty.” Whatever tho cause, it would be well for confectioners to keep their eyes on this commodity.