New-York tribune., 1881-03-28

O0f OUT aT9TFmeIT--TWIT
1880 did not amount to 3 per cent on sales l
state further that IN my opinion, not slngie one OF
our competitors FeaiiBss pfODt amountIn2 W 'cL
cent on sales. Now. as many laGies have rather
hazy idras on the subJeCt of percentage. explain
the above fact by saying, that II YOU purchase a
dollars worth OF goods at our counters, you paw the
wholesale price of the goods plus the actual cost OF
retailing them and cents to the members oi the
firm as an equlyaen for the Use Of their capltal
and The OF their brains. Or to put II IN another
form: II we pruposed to supply the necessities OF
ladies' at the actual cost Of goods plus the actu"
expense of selling, charging nothing FOR the use OF
our capital, charging nothing for our own services
ton proposes to do nasmuch as iT must pay services
of manager and assistants tnen, where customer
now pays us a dollar she would paw Ms 81 cenIs.
OvERIAsKED AND UNDERPAID MEN.
But" says somebody, "even il 3 per cent on
sales sounds very little vet your sales aggregate to
millions aud therefore yOur tots profits are large
too large" l maintain, in reply, that successful
merchants, as compared with s.iceessful lawyers
and physicians. are underpaid and this ls true III
spite of the fact that merchant in New-York. WGo
wishes TO stand in the first rank must devote him
self to his work with an appl cation which ls not
known in any other profession To successfully
control u retail establishment employing from oOO
to 1000 employees, especially in the heat of the pre-
vallIng competition IN trade engenders such
multiplicity Of detail and is task
tions give way under It, Ponder me experience OF
the last FIVE years. OF the OJgI1al firm of X. H.
Macy and Co., Mr.. Macy, Nj. Lt Forge and Mr.
Valentine died ia rapid sure ''slOn-aiI Young men,
Mr. Morris Altman died yuung. Mr. Charles JODn-
ston, of j. & G. Johnston, died yOLnR Of the Drm
of Fl. ONelli & Co., Mr.. Heury ONeIli has, for sew
eral winters been compelled to seek a southern
climate. OF the firm of Conking & Co., Mr. w. H.
ChvVIs ~ at present wnterng IN Nassau for his
heaGh. OF the hrIn of stern Brothers, TWO of the
firm have bean III during the past year. OF the hrm
nt Elrie 4 trnf fheTa
travelling in EUROPE for nearly two years IN pnrsnit
of health and tine writer oil tbs afsr being c0lhned
hls room for nearly SIX months. intends TO take
SATURDAYS steamer for tne South, IN the hope OF
building up shittered constitution. In fact, the
most serious question which faces onr merchants at
the present how to conduct buslBess SUCCESS
iully and remain alive at the same time.
A COMPARISON OF ADVANTAGES
"But," mterpuses some economical member of the
elite uf New-YOrk (fOr the advertisements tell us
that the elite have purchased the shares Of the Asso
cIationl "granting that all you have said is true
you certainly cannot deny but that | can at least
save the per cent by buying from the Assoca-
tionD do deny IL most emphatIcally. Ii IL pro-
posed to AVOID "the expenses Of an ordinary store"
II the Association manages It's business IN such
way that members can ruIoInage over the stock
until they find what they want, measure 1t aud
wrap 1t up themselves, tho cashier and carry 1t
home under their arms. admit that the very con-
siderable expense of saes-lades, parcel-cerks and
delivery-room can be- avoided. 1 admt further.
that IL the Association locates itself IN Bavardst or
on Eleventh-ave.. that there can be a con-
siderable saving in rent. But take 1t
that the Association will be managed
for the convenience Of members. and
therefore will be centrally locaed that 1t vii! pro-
vide salrs-ladies, parce,clrrks delivery and other
factlesj and that intending to include reading re-
fre,hmeDt a1d writing rooms, besides accODOda-
ton for $3.50 900 worth of stock. t will necessarily
occupy good deal OF space. The saving Of rent VIII
be almost nothing If anything. Where our Gus
tomcrs paw Ms per cent for our capital nnd ser
wees the members Of the Association mast pay
something tO the IN inager aud assistant manager.
Mhat PER cent cannot say. That viii depend upon
the amOun, nf the sales. But can saw that u the
American Dress Association dOes no' efct larger
sales than does the ENGLISH Dress Association, and n
the services uf even fairy competent manager arc
engaged, 10 viii have % pay hiin ana MS assist
large or even larger percentage on Saes than
our customers pay us. NnO can mauage business
more ccOnOmicallv, manageroT wei lhe Assoria-
ton promises pay lts nelp larger salaries than they
now oOtaln "a the CITY stores, and bope that this
promise viii be realized. But, snpp'sinR that no
arer salaries paid, ana supDOslng that To" man
aRrr had the same ability ana the same experience
that we have which Of us could MANAGE tO buy aud
sell goods with the least eNpensef Every business
man knows that hr percentage uf expense naturally
reduces iiseli the volume OF business increases
The percentage OF expense for selling hhit million
is considerably less than tnat for selling quarter Oh
n million. 4 @ ASSOClatiOn. restricting .ales 10
shareholders, Will, nj most be- pltTOnIZ q Dy from
ten 70 hitern Thousand ladies'. SuppOsnG even that
ths members of the Association are all veal by and
that they will give It their entire trade, We SHAH
nevertheless iOr every ten thousand dollars sold bY
the Association, sell fully hiLv thousand Bat fur-
tber than tniS. the manager II Interested IN ne
profits OF the Association 10 An Insgnl1cInt degr O.
We are interested IN every penny OF our pr2uis.
should the Association fail. tno manager will. at
most lose his position. Should our bnsluess taIi we
should lose not only Onr enttre PERSONAL fortunes
but our rrputatOns our business credit and our
hnip u
IN profits and not at ali responsible, we being
wholly interested wholly responsible itrrdnlreS
but little know ledge OF human ItuIe to Judge az TO
which Of the two will exercise the greater scrutiny
on the thousand and one expenses of great estaO-
lishmenl. No. my dear Madame ElIte, you cannot
even save tue per cent.
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS.
The prospectus tells us that the Association "re-
moves the iDducemcnt for iilegtimaIe GAIN" What
ia ileqItimate galn As one of the managers of our
bus,uess. my gain for labor and for exposing my
capital 20 the rsks and chances Of trade ia per-
centaoe OF profits, in lieu Of salary. Ii should
appIy for and be- appointed to the position Ot man
aqer of the Cooperative Dress Association. NV gain
wonld consist of both q salary and percentage Of
the profits Which gain is legitimate, and which
illegtimatef
.But.D again SAYS some friend of the scheme
how about the English AssOciatlODsP There Is
little doubt that the Army and Navy Society
the Civil service Cooperative Society aud tho Civil
seryice Supply Association of England arc all very
successiu II is easily explained In the first place,
"a regards prices there ~ no such competition III
England AZ there is in New-YOrk; and secondly.
which Is the principal reason. tho Army and Navy
and the members Of the Civil service are not
only a large class but they are influenced
by a strong esprit dU corps which would
Naturally induce them to confer their entire
notronape on an association mana1ed by their rep
rrsentlfives fhe Ladies' Dress Association Of Eng
land on the other hand, 49, IN my ODlnlon flr from
ha;ny a sncctss Originally starting with capital
of $3.50 OOO its sales last year take the fae Is from
Air Barnaids article In SGtbRa'S for AprlD
Sgh,ch with n eaptal OF n quarter of million, sells
onIv S4OO 900 year ~ not only failure-lt Is an
outrageous failure. With such capital II ought to
seI from one to two millions. aud il 1t does not 1t
cannot compete with the stores Of New-fork; On