FORTUNE IN A PHRASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13453, 1 June 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

FORTUNE IN A PHRASE.

1 j DEATH! OF MR. BEECHAM, OF PILL FAME. Nearly half a century ago an unassuming! man, who offered pills for sale, took up his stand at, an unpretentious stall in the pubj lic market of St. Helens, Lancashire. He had a quiet, convincing way with him, and his trade increased vapidly. One of his j customers was a woman, who returned to! I him one day stating that bis pills had done! jher a world of good: in fact, they were! ["worth a guinea a box." The unassuming 'pill vendor was Thomas Beecham, who diedj the other day a millionaire, at the advanced! '•age of 86, at his residence at Sonthport. !His fortune may be said to have been made, 'by the woman's phrase — of course, the' (business ability to make the phrase yield, [the fortune. In later years, when prosperity {was assured, Mr. Beecham made compara-i i lively few references to his early days, but | it is understood that he was a native of i Oxfordshire, and thence travelled to Wigan. i It .'S suited that the recipe for his pills was; I there given to him, and, recognising their! value, he determined to devote all his ener-j jgies to placing them before the public. Frorui j Wigan he attended the public market at St. Helens, where he eventually settled, to j build up what became one of the greatest I businesses of its kind in the world. It was not long before the little factory which he; i opened at the rear of his house in West-field-street became too small for his needs, for his numerous advertisements brought: him orders from all parts of the country. The larger building in the same street met the requirements of the business for some years, but even this did not suffice, and it was decided to erect premises which should meet the demands of the trade for many years to come. The result is seen to-day in the magnificent pile of buildings, which stand in Westfield-street, which are said to have cost upwards of £30,000. The factory itself is equipped with the latest and most up-to-date machinery for the production of the millions of pills which pour forth from the works week by week, and go to EVERY PART OF THE GLOBE. Mr. Beecham fully realised the advantage! of seeking fresh fields for his production,! and an agency was established in the United States, "a complete factory being! j eventually opened in New York, from which the American continent was supplied. Then! agencies were established in Australia, New ■ I Zealand, South Africa., India, etc. Mr. j i ßeecham achieved his remarkable success by ; I his own unaided effort. He felt that advertising if it was to be thoroughly effec- • [live, must be persistent, and it was not to j newspapers alone that he devoted his attention, for any means were utilised that would prove specially attractive. A few > years ago a ship was*wrecked at Blackpool, ' and in the early hours of the morning Mr. j ' Beecham's agent had covered the hull of J' the ship with the familiar legend, "Take Beecham's Pills— worth a guinea a box." ' This Jed to some litigation, but the expense " was gladly paid for the sake of the extra ! advertisement for the pills given by the | j reports of the proceedings. Some years ago ' lie conducted a party of Liverpool journal- i ists over the new buildings of the firm, land dwelling on the subject of advertising, ; remarked, "Our turnover is £150,000 a ■ I year. Of this the material, interest on capi- < tal, labour, etc., absorb £25,000; and we i spend £100,000 in advertising, leaving as a ' profit £25,000. My belief is," he added ; that if we reduced our advertising by one : half we; should speedily be making no pro- i fit at all." But Mr. Beecham's fortune was : not derived entirely from his pills. He was : a shrewd business man and a calculating investor. It used to be said of him. even in his .early days, that he determined to save so much per week, however. small his income might be, and that this was one of I his secrets of success. A-quarter of a century ago Mr. Beecham took his son Joseph into partnership, the firm becoming " Beecham and Son ;" but thirteen years ago he retired altogether from the business, which has since been entirely conducted by Mr. Joseph Beecham. Mr.' Beecham had since '. then lived a quiet, retired life, though he was a frequent visitor to the .works, pay- . ing his last visit a few weeks ago. The j unassuming old man, with flowing white ■ ! locks, was practically unknown' to the pre- , Isent generation, and* be passed through the , town almost unnoticed. His career was one 1 of unceasing toil from early morning until night. He knew every detail of-the vast business, and was a master of method, the most perfect order being observed in every department. How large his fortune was can only be guessed at, but the estate is certain to contribute many thousands of pounds to the Exchequer in the form of death and succession duties.