CHRISTMAS IN THE SHOPS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17347, 19 December 1919, Page 5

CHRISTMAS IN THE SHOPS

ATTRACTIVE DISPLAYS '.'••*■;' ''<'■■" '■•■■ ' \ ■ WIDE VARIETY OF GOODS SEASONABLE GIFTS AND NOVELTIES WHERE TO MAKE PURCHASES The near approach of Christmas is, as usual, heralded in Auckland by lavish displays of seasonable goods in the retail establishments in the city and suburbs, and by large -crowds of citizens and visitors from the country, all intent on the pleasant occupation of Yuletide shopping. The holding of the elections in such close proximity to the festive season appears to have fostereS, rather than hindered, trade, arid the laying-in of supplies of delicacies, and the purchase of gifts for relatives and friends, are proceeding on an unprecedented scale. For four years the festivities of Yuletide were tempered and saddened by the great war, but the coming of peace and the return of our soldiers have given us added zest to the enjoyment of the cheer which Christmas brings, and the revival of old associations, as well as increasing the volume of trade. For the past week tradespeople have been busily engaged in fulfilling country orders and attending to the wants of a multitude of city customers. Well-stocked shelves and counters lie behind the enticing displays in the shop windows, and the purchase of gifts, or those in search of seasonable delicacies, have an almost bewildering variety from which to choose. The principal pleasure of Christmas is to gladden the hearts of children with toys and dolls, and elaborate displays in many, large establishments indicate that the children have been extremely well catered for. The continued prosperity of the Dominion is to be seen on every side, the spending power of the people, notwithstanding the increased cost of living. Auckland is fortunate in having a great and prosperous back country to support it. Producers of all kinds of h r rec ;? d very good pHces - Th - P~ Yt cd d?stS: t i/goo a d nd the trade outlook for christ - «**• »- C f UmDS ' d6SCriptiVe ° f *? US ' ineSSeS that visit °" mentfwhlTot on v th° iT'r * f ° Und meDti ° ned establis »-

SUCCESS OF FARMERS' CO-OPERATION. THE FARMERS' UNION TRADING COMPANY (AUCKLAND), LTD. PHENOMENAL PROGRESS OP THIS GREAT CO-OPERATIVE. ALL FARMERS SHOULD TAKE SHARES. One memorable lesson taught by the war is the value of co-operation. Not until' the Allies decided to work closely together were they able to bring the long struggle to a victorious end. As Kivliae wrote: vr * 11 vi? * lh Z^ 11 *- nor armament, R,£°Ti, flul< ? 8 that the can pay %. *5 e cos * i «°-operation. .that makes;them win the day. Co-operation, so vitally important in War, , is equally necessary in Peace. Individuals and nations must co-operate if the problems of reconstruction ar e to be successfully solved. Or as Mr. Lloyd George said in a recent speech—" reap the fruits of victory each must give such 1 strength, goodwill and co-operation as he can." To this appeal no section of the community will respond more heartily than our farmers, for they know by experience what great things co-operation can accomplish. They hav e seen their own industry raised to its present high level through co-operation, and by combining with their fellows in co-operative merchandising, they have saved th middlemen ft profits on all their requirements. lo the farmer, therefore, co-operation is not a mere sentiment or theory— it is a vital principle that ho is applying every day for his own protection and benefit. A splendid example of the practical i nature of farmers' co-operation is the Farmers' Union Trading Company— > huge merchandising business owned by farmers and controlled by a directorate of farmers. The progress of this great co-operative concern is truly remarkable. Though established only four years ago, it now holds the premier position among New Zealand co-operative companies in membership, sales of merchandise, and value of rebates. On March 31, 1918, after two years' operations, it had 3027 names oil its share list, and a yearly turnover of £231,000. To-day, after another two years' trading, it has over 9200 members, and is adding new shareholders at the average rate of 430 a month. In turnover it is now doing more in three months I that it did during the whole year ending March, 1918. ■ Sales of merchandise during November were £79,195, equal to » I turnover of £950,340, which far exceeds the merchandise turnover of any other co-operative'company in New Zealand. Important Developments. A big forward move was made by the Farmers' Union Trading Company last July when it bought for cash "the 12 country stores of Messrs. Green and Colebrook. Since then it has acquired additional stores at Papakura, Te Puke, Paengaioa, Katikati, Maketu, Paeroa, Netherton, and Opotiki. The company intends to add other links to its chain of distributing depots so that its shareholders and customers throughout the Auckland Province may enjoy the advantage of personal selection and immediate delivery. The average value of the stocks at the company's branches is over £100,000, and ; the business done is registering big in- ' creases every month. In the company's six-storey warehouse at the corner of Hobl son and Wyndham Streets, £200,000 ! worth of goods is stocked to till the hundreds of orders that arrive daily by mail or are given personally in the salesroom. So rapidly is its business expanding that the Farmers' Union Trading Company has had to begin the construction of a "huge addition to its present building, an extension that will cost approximated' £40,000. When this new building is completed the company will have two and a-half times its present floorspace, and the largest and best equipped warehouse in the Dominion. Among the many interesting features of the new building, will be an up-to-date American cafeteria, a ladies' rest room, and a roof garden on the flat Neuchatel asphalt, roof. The extended warehouse will also have 12 cart entrances, six electric lifts, one spiral chute, 30 automatic telephones (each connected by a trunk line to central), inter-department [ telephones, automatic weighing macnine, bookkeeping machines, listing and adding machines, calculating machines, cash registers, dictaphones, duplicating machines, all electrically operated. j The Farmers' Union "Trading Company ! i has a staff of 500—260 being employed in i j the Hobson Street warehouse, and W0 in ■ the eighteen branches and three factories. I These factories are a recent development. It is true that during the past 18 months [ the company has been operating' its own I factory for the making of saddlery and I harness, but its entry into the manufacI turing of furniture and footwear was made only a few weeks ago. The' company s j furniture factory, which is situated near! Mount Eden Railway Station, is a commodious, well-lighted building, having sufficient floor space for 40 cabinetmakers, ' while the boot factory—a splendid two- i i : i

storey building in Newton-is fully equipped with modern machinery, and has a capacity of 3000 pairs a month. Saving Three Proflt3. Ownership of these factories has strengthened the position of the Farmers' Union Trading Company, and enabled it to confer greater benefits on its shareholders. , Formerly this Co-operative saved for its shareholders the wholesalers' and the retailers' profits, because it handled all goods m its own warehouse, and distributed them direct from Auckland or through its branches. Now it is able to save a third profitthe manufacturer's, for it, secures all the surplus over the net manufactured cost of the goods. These three profits belong entirely to the shareholders, who receive them in the form of rebates, dividends and reserves. Some weeks qgo the company completed the first six months of its financial year, and the balance-sheet disclosed such a strong position that it was decided to increase the rebates on shareholders' purchases. Here is the new rebate schedule : — 33£ per c#nt. (6s 8d in the £) off all commissions charged on produce consigned to us for sale. 5 per cent, off -crockery and hardware (except roofing iron, fencing wire, lime and cement). 5 per cent, off farm implements and machinery. 5 per cent, off jewellery, stationery and fancy goods. 5 per cent, off drapery, clothing and mercery. * ' 5- per cent, off furniture and bedding. 5 per cent, off boots and shoes. 5 per cent, off saddlery and harness. 5 per cent, off seeds. 2£ per cent, off groceries, flour, sugar and kerosene. , These are the biggest rebates being paid by any co-operative concern in NewZealand, and the savings they offer on all classes of merchandise are so substantial that every wise farmer'will decide to secure them by becoming a shareholder in the Farmers' Union Trading Company. Over two-thirds of the 300,000 ordinary shares of the company have now been taken up: 18,575 shares were sold in November. 14,620 in October, and -the monthly average for the past seven months has been nearly 13,000. It i s obvious that at the present rate of sales the remaining shares will soon be disposed of. so intending shareholders would be well advised to make immediate application for their requirements. Last year a dividend of 8 per cent, free of income tax was paid on these shares, and it is the intention of the directors to continue paying this rate. Visitors to Auckland during Christmas and New Year-weeks should take a walk through the Farmers' Union Trading Company's six-storey warehouse, corner of Hobson and Wyndham Streets. A special staff is employed by the company to attend to the wants of callers and show them over the warehouse. One can move about freely and inspect the huge stocks of merchandise, comprising everything the farmer needs. Such a visit will be an interesting experience and will give one an impressive object-lesson in what co-opera-tive trading means. COLEMAN OX PRESENTGIVING. "Mind you,'' said Mr. Coleman, with that humorous smile of his, as he selected one of his extra-special cigarettes, "pre-sent-giving is an art, and should be taught like any other accomplishment. It comes naturally to some, of course. But, as a rule, people give such inappropriate things. They are like the little girl who made a kettle-holder as a birthday present for her aged grandmother, and worked the motto on it, ' The Good Die Young.' '• Now it would be no good to present a man who takes no interest in sport with a cricket bat or a tennis racquet, and it would be equally futile to present a vegetarian with a haunch of venison. And yet gifts almost as inappropriate as these are often given. And see what a lot of useless things are sometimes presented as weddn.g presents! " I')} say nothing about gifts for ladies, but if the person you propose to give a present to is a • he' just try and think what fnat friend of yours would be likelv to value. It shouldn't be anything he'll throw aside as soon as he-looks at it while he murmurs : " Hang the fellow" —(that a you)—"the tiling's no earthly good to me! Why didn't he choose some*thing I want?" "That's it! Select something he'll be really grateful for—something he's needing every day, and all the time, and if you ask me what the average man will prize more than most things it is something in mv line of business— pipe, or a few boxes of choice cigarettes, or a box of good cigars. Now I have cigarettes the flavour and aroma of which would tempt an antitobaccoite to change his views. There are, lor example, the famous Boguslavsky Russian cigarettes, a very high-grade article. among my customers, and most of my customers are connoisseurs, by the way, appreciate this brand, I can toil you. The "Ardath' is another celebrated I brand. It is .popular in the West End of t London club smoking-rooms, and comi mands. like the Bogusmvsky, an enormous j sale. Of course, I stock heaps of cheaper I varieties for those who.want them. "As for cigars, I import some brands | ! specially for after-dinar smoking on fes-1 i five occasions, such as) b'rthdays, Christ-

I mas or New Year's Day, etc. An extra | good dinner should be followed by an ' extra good cigar. Now" a box of my choice ; ) Habanas makes a splendid present for a \ smoker. I have some very special Manillas, ; too, and many smokers prefer a really good Manilla to any other kind of cigar. 'But i I have! any quantity of other brands. _ " THen I have lots of sundries— cigar and cigarette cases, cigar and cigarette holders, etc., etc., and all kinds of shaving outfits, etc., including some very fine razors. " Take it from meif you want to give a man a really acceptable presentsome- , . thing he'll remember you in his will for— i ■ give him. one or other of the tilings I have suggested. And then you simply can't go wrong." HOLIDAY ATTRACTIONS AT MEIKLE'S. This old-established drapery, which, as everybody knows, stands at the corner of • Queen and Wellesley Streets, is making f great preparations to capture th e holiday trade, and is already busied in exhibiting to crowds of callers the many attractive lines it is now offering. Meilde's has always been a popular shopping centre, because it invariably contrives to offer its numerous patrons really worth-while goods which it imports direct from London and the great Continental cities famed for such wares. To describe, even in brief, a tithe of the holiday lines just now en sale at this store would occupy far more space than we have at command. All we can do is; to call attention to just a few of the " very specials." To begin with, the firm is making a prominent feature just now of smart millinery. The styles are the latest Parisian, and are -made from the newest Paris models by Meikle's own staff of expert modistes. So faithfully are these Parisian models imitated that it is hard to tell the copies from the originals. But Meikle's clever milliners can copy anything. Some very stylish summer-weight costumes in all-wool cream worsted and garbar. dine will appeal to intending holidaymakers as just the thing for travelling. They are modestly priced at 150s up. A line of silk sports coats also compels admiration. They ar light and most becoming; intensely smart, too, and quite reasonable in price. Two thousand millinery shapes—"the" latest—will find a quick* sale at As 3ld and up And so will the splendid assortment of lovely flowers (a scarce line) all going at very low prices. A job line of really pretty voile blouses are very much under-priced at 7s lid, and a manufacturer's stock of sample blouses is .also offered at very tempting prices A fane assortment of Fuji and tussor e silk costumes are cheap at 89s 6d up, and a line of crash motor-coats, at from 37s 6d will soon be all gone. A new shipment of lovely feather boas ia assorted shades ■ 2°S?&? S™' The y "* remarkable value at. s»j 6d Then there is an extraordinary line of black mercerised Lisle hose, worth 4s 6d, going tor 2s lid.per pair Amongst the miscellaneous lines suitable . tor gifts are:—Handkerchiefs in great i variety, fancy soaps in pretty boxes per- . turnery, fancy embossed leather handbags, knick-knacks m antimony-ware, military i hairbrushes (for men's use) a great assort- . ment of lovely-coloured bead necklets, and i the fashionable and beautiful silk hose so . much appreciated by ladies e I Male'sl 56 ' *° money ' ? worth •* s J- STORMONT AND SONS, i BAKERS AND CONFECTIONERS, ' GREAT NORTH ROAD AND QUEEN STREET. This now flourishing business was es- . tabiislied in the Great North Road '(close - to the corner of Ponsonby i.oad) five years ago, since which time it has made ' steady progress. Within the last few months the policy . of the firm has undergone a change, and that change came about in the following [ way: • fe In March of the present year the firm was awarded a gold medal for sultana block cake at the Bakers' and Confectioners' Exhibition, at Christchurch, and also a diploma of merit for another of its specialties. [ 1 After becoming the' recipients of these j , honours the Messrs. Stormont decided to : specialise in block cake, and with this end in view relinquished to a very large extent then- bread business (with a trade of 500 loaves per day), and have since then devoted their energies principally to cake-making, then- output of sultana block cake now averaging upwards of a . ton per week. As they do not make for the trade the, whole of this cake goes i to meet the requirements of their cusi tomers. I But although block cake forms so prominent a feature of their business, it is not the sole feature of it, because they . produce a variety of pastrycooks' goods, • and have lately been busied in making the Xmas cakes for which they find every i year such a ready sale. These cakes" ' which are in all sizes, make a brave display at both the establishments run by Stormont and Sons. The Queen Street branch, adjoining the entrance to Security Buildings, was opened only a few weeks ago, to meet the convenience of city customers, and the experiment is fully answering expectations, for the shop is already well patronised. This firm has built up a reputation for fair dealing, and has sought all along (and not in vain) to win the confidence of the public. "We are oat," says the senior partner, "to give cur customers goods of the very first quality at the lowest • possible prices.' To this policy the Messrs. Stormont have, throughout, faithfully adhered, and it is- to this that they attribute their success. Mr. Stormont, senior, it may he mentioned, is a native of Ireland, and has seen a good deal of the world. . He has . followed his calling in Scotland, in London, in Birmingham, on the Continent, ■ and in the United States of America, ac quiring valuable knowledge and experi- . enco all the time, and for tin last dozen ' years he ,has been in New Zealand. • Twelve years ago he arrived in Auckland, where he founded the business under ■ notice. Mr. Stormont is a man of some culture, 1 and is a diligent student of literature, ' possessing more than a nodding acquaint- ' ance with the works of the great writers, ' past and present. He knows how to use 1 his pen, too, and at one time was a constant contributor to an English journal of repute devoted to the trade of which he is a member. And when, years ago. ' the National Association of the United : Kingdom promoted an essay competition ' on the subject. " Practical Bakehouse Ob--1 serrations," Mr. Stormont's paper, char- i acterised by " The British Baker," as "of great length, but equal importance' won j ' for him milch kudos. The journal just " quoted goes on to say of the writer of the essay referred to: "He is- capable of i taking great pains in anything which he ? undertakes, and his capacity for hard : work is very great," and adds: "We > commend the straightforward and honour- ' able career of Mr. Stormont to other ' operatives, and express the hope that ! some of them may be stimulated by the f example of one who commenced to con- - tribute in a quiet and humble manner to . our pages, and who has now raised him- • self to the proud position of securing the • highest honours open in competition to I the trade." This is an allusion to the ' time when Mr. Stormont sat for the City . and Guilds examination at Birmingham, I when, contrary to his expectations, he r came out Of the ordeal with flying colours, ■ and was awarded a doubly first. He ■ attributes his success on this occasion to his extensive experience acquired in different countries, his knowledge of chemisI try, and to the practice he had in using his pen when a contributor to the trade ] journal before mentioned.