The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1886-09-18
WANAMAKERS.

everything. lhe little store
has about as many sorts of
work to be done as the big one.
but few to do them and slender
facilities. 1t depends on the
little region it serves made
quately. 1t can't do more or
better than rudely and dearly
serve the less intelligent part
Of its neighborhood.
So whoever can write a let
ter and wait few days for the
answer goes by the little
country store to the general
store in the city. What city ?
That question brings out the
most important fact in the case.
1t costs no more and takes but
little longer to write to a store
a thousand miles away than
ten. Wherever you are you
have your choice of the stores
of Boston, New York, Phila-
delphia, Cincinnati, Chicago,
St. Louis, San Francisco. And
every one of these stores can
have the whole United States
for its country.
Our notion then of a store
is a store to draw the trade Of
the country, a store to be
chosen all over the country be-
cause it serves its customers
near and far so well.
The question is What sort
of store will be heard of,
approved and ado pied by
thrifty people all over the
country? The answer is short
and easy. 1t must have what
they want and sell as they
want to buy.
1t must know the whole
range of its merchandise. No
one man can do that. There
must be as many managing
men as classes of things to
know about. Call them buy
ers.
A buyer must know his
goods. That means more than
you think. He must get the
best in the world for the money.
How can he pick out the best
without knowing all, compar-
ing all, turning pounds, francs,
piasters, marks, rupees, into
dollars, computing duties,
freights, expenses. He must
know wearing qualities, fash
ions, changes, changes in max
ers as well as materials. What
he must have in his stock every
day is his choice out of all the
world. He must choose for
all sorts Of people, uses and
tastes. Whoever his custom
er, he must be suited, what.
ever he wants suited better
than he knows how to suit him
self.
Such is the stock of a fftieth
part of the store.
Having got such a stock he
must keep it fresh and new and
choice with customers picking
it over every day. That calls
for management. Statesmen
have to be taught. All this
picking and choosing against
his stock must be done through
a dozen or score or hundred
statesmen. All this helping ig-
norant customers get what
they ought to have in spite Of
themselves must be done
through statesmen.
There is just one way to dc
it. The store must have a
spirit as well as bone and mus.
Gle. The multitudinous goods
and fifty buyers and hundreds
or thousands of statesmen and
other helpers constitute the
bone and muscle. The spirit
is the motive back of them all.
THE motive" you are think.
ing, lis profit" Better than
that and wiser. The motive is
not success but the means OIL
success. The spirit of helpful
ness-that is the motive to
prompt every one in the store
from boyto master.
There must be this unity, not
another: helpfulness. Service
is what the store is for. Perfect
service is what it must aim at
And just SO long as nine-hun.
dred-and-ninety-nine in a thous-
and Of merchants work for pro
fit and only render such service
as comes in their way, SO long
will diligent ever-watchful faith
fulservice win.
All this management calls for