THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DULY. THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1925. PURCHASES FROM BRITAIN.

Wairarapa Age, 19 March 1925, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DULY. THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1925. PURCHASES FROM BRITAIN.

An analysis of New Zealand ’s imports into competitive and non-competitivo —from the viewpoint of the United Kingdom—is contained in the latest report by the British Trade Commissioner, Mr N. Elmslie. He shows that in 1923 Britain had a smaller share, under both headings, than in 1922. This fall in the percentage of trade secured by the United Kingdom, and the rise in the United States percentage, have reversed the movement that had been proceeding throughout the previous six years, and the percentage of trade secured by Canada, which has been rising slowly since 1920, has registered a sharp advance. These three changes are due to the one cause—the great increase in imports of motor vehicles. The value of imports in 1922 was £882,793, in 1923 £2,424,815, and in the first six months of 1924 £1,705,511, and, since over 80 per cent of the imports come from Canada and the United States in fairly equal shares, the rapid growth has markedly affected the trade statistics. Mr Elmslie devotes a long chapter of his report to the instruction of British merchants and manufacturers seeking business in the Dominion. He states that a very considerable volume of trade is being lost by British industry through lack of knowledge of the market, failure to give ‘ ‘ service,' ’ inefficient and inadequate attention to selling organisation. This criticism does not apply to all classes of trade, nor to all suppliers in any class, and it must be admitted that there are many evidences of the adoption of improved methods, but there is still ample scope for improvement. Knowledge of a market in which important business is being done, or can be obtained, is so obviously desirable that it hardly seems necessary to comment on it; but Mr Elmslie has had sc many cases brought to his notice in which business has been lost through failure to understand the requirements of buyers, the habits of the country, or the channels through which business can best be obtained, that it is clear that very many firms do n»t appreciate the necessity for such knowledge or for adjusting their methods in the light of its teaching. Selling organisation is the most important, and the most difficult of all questions under the existing conditions, and, in view of the increasing competition from other countries, it is all important that selling should be conducted on a carefully thought-ont plan, prepared with exact knowledge of the market and the system of distribution that is in existence.