New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-24
RETAIL DRYGOODS.
A TREMENDOUS GROWTH AND DEvEL-
OPMENT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
GREAT BUSINESS SKILL AND STRATEGY RE-
oUIRED IN MANAGEMENr-ABLE MEN
WHO KNOW HOW TO AT
TRACT CUSTOM

Peace hath her victories, no less renowned
than war;" and it may be said with equal truth
shat the man of peace, the man upon whom falls
the demands of a people for the supplies which
enter into its daily life, must have much in COM
mon with the great general il he would succeed
In these days of keen competition and alertness.
In no business is this more powerfully demon
strated than in that Of retail drygoods where
the tremendous growth and development OF re-
cent years has created demands to meet which
the purveyor must have unusual and far-reach-
ing qualifications. Like the general on the pat
tie field he has constantly under his supervision
An army Of people. and though his army is Dent
on conquest less CORY and terrible than 'ha' Vi
the military leader, he must surcharge IL Win
his own enterprise and energy unless ne "ouio
zee his rivals reap the fruits OF trade. inc tiIhe
of little stores when the proprietor nimsel was
able 10 meet all Of his customers and IN person
attend 10 their wants has long been past put IL
is no less necessary to-day than 1t was twenty
five years ago that the customer shall nave con-
fidence in the salesman. and that the latter
sho,rld feel personal responsibility in catering
60 his wants To inject this quality into even the
hun,blest OF his employees Is paramount neces-
day His own magnetism. his own energy and
the perseverance which has enabled him to enter
into q business Of such vast proportions must De
rejected in his saespeople II he would succeed.
In the same manner and in like degree to that
which must come from the general on the heid
" he would have his army win battles.
ABILITIES REQUIRED.
The resemblance does not cease here. With
conditions in the retail trade as they exist to-
day. it is highly necessary that the merchant
should be strategist also. He must plan his
fall and winter campaign. his spring and sum-
mer business many months ahead OF time he
must study the wants of the people and be pre-
pared 10 meet them; he must in a measure
gauge the quantities of goods that VIII be re-
Quired for his business. or he may find himself
overstocked, with ruin staring him in the face.
for styles change and goods become almost
valueless
Then, again. too little stock is as bad as too
much. The customer who goes away once UNI
satisfied may never come back again. and the
merchant must be prepared to satisfy all corners.
Then. too. he must be ready to adapt ms
stock to every change in the trade. and all
kinds of competition He must have the brain
and the quickness Of thought to meet opposition
merchants in the open field of trade For every
point they score and every trick they turn he
must score likewise For every bargain they
offer he must in his turn offer one as good or
better, and ii must be done at once in touch
with the season and the days demand 1t Is
because the NewYork merchants make GEL
ence of their business that we have in this city
some OF the most remarkable retail establish
ments in the world. The great retail houses
which are thronged daily by thousands OF shop
pera not only of this city, but from all over
the country, are ordinarily referred to as mar
sels and phenOmenOns
They are reither. They are simply the tangi-
NE logical outcOmes Of hard patient, perse-
,ering effort and thought. They are the re-
suits Of persistent effort and wide-reaching
knowledge.
VAST ASSIGNMENTS OF GOODS.
The time when paper of pins and a bolt of
-