FAST RECOVERING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 191, 14 August 1931, Page 9

FAST RECOVERING

BRITAIN’S EXPORT TR/\DE REORGANISATION OF BUSINESS NEW ZEALAND’S GOOD NAME That we in New Zealand will soon L . sea a revival of Great Britain’s prestige in the world’s .xport trade is the considered opinion of Mr F. W. Mothes, t, Ina 7 director of the Goldberg Advertising Agency, who recently ret> turned to the Dominion after spending eight years in England. ‘‘l have no lime for the man who harps about Britain being down and out,’ he w said in an interview this morning. “I came in contact with the heads of many- large businesses, and I can honestly say that I saw no signs of a downward trend. What I did see was a complete reorganisation of busi- '■ ness along sound lines, and unmistakable evidence that the Old Country vas rehabilitating herself in the export ii market.” ,In recent years, said Mr Mothes, Great Britain’s most pressing problem had been the reorganisation of her industries in order to cope with the rverincreasing problem of unemployment. ■ British entrepreneurs had had to face a situation whore the world’s needs had gone past the products that they e had been relying upon for years. In I, order to save the vast amount of capital invested in those businesses it had been necessary in many case-, to T reorganise the works or to investigate >- the costs of production and the suit- >- .i" ° f P rocesses - In many instances c it had been necessary to scrap the It whole of the existing -Jant and intror duco an entirely new process. Mr Mothes here quoted the ease of a lace n manufacturer who employed 500 girls The demand for lace had fallen corn! b plctely away, and it looked a;, if the c pany would have to closo down The manufacturer took a trip to America, i studied the manufacture of silk hose and returned to England to reorganise ie !?tYi“’?i O a h, \’” ls ’ noss ’ with tho Te- . suit that to-day ho was employing 2000 d girls. The progress that was going on m England at the present time was It donWt) V S J OW ’ bUt therß WaS 110 y toub. that it was economically sound , ■ and the good results would be more >- i apparent within a few years. Coal and steel Industries. One of tho main problems in. Great Britain at the present time were the IS steel and coal industries, on which ,1 thousands of workers depended for their livelihood. These industries were r very difficult to alter basically as enormous amounts of money were sunk in ir them and any disturbance of them y would cause hardship. However, there was no doubt that there was a definite h torward movemei.;. towards putting tho t b°"’ s lndustry on a “ entirely better I- Tho business situation in Groat Britain had improved greatly during the , r year that he had bee there, said Mr Mothes. One reason for this was comr plete reorganisation of concerns that . had lost their trade. British man- facturers had shown a marked change in their attitude towards their selling f problems. They now realised- that it e was not sufficient for them to say that n their goods were British and to let them sell themselves. They realised that they t 8 had to cater for their customers. Peri- sonally, Mr Mothes found the British ! manufacturers more eager to learn the l_ i requirements of fTo ? ew Zealand mar- I y I ket than previously. An impression had got about that Great Britain, if she was not actually down and out, was in a very bad way. That was absolute'iy incorrect. The reason why at ini/ | pression had been allowed to exist was « i that the British manufacturer was not ! a man to proclaim his godos from the . house tops, but rather concentrate on his work without toiling the world v : what he intended to do. This silence J [had been somewhat to his detriment in the past, but he would , rove himself at t [the top of the tree before many months a I passed. “ i “New Zealand’s name stands highest 0 I when tho overseas Dominions are dis- - cussed,” said Mr Mothes. “There is i no doubt that the good will establishj led by New Zealand during the war, together with the splendid impression h created by our Rugby and cricket ’ teams in recent years, did much to bring the Dominion very prominently s before tho people of the Old Country.’’ I On every side one heard nothing but I praise for the gentlemanly qualities of o the New Zealander, whether on the I- sports field or in the world of business. lt was felt in England that the com- ■, mercial morality of Now Zealand busines houses was tho highest of the Dom- - inions, and Engl sh business people ~ were glad and eager to have dealings . with New Zealanders. 11 ! ’ -■ 1