New-York tribune., 1903-04-21

III w. >'/
FOURTH ANNIVERSARY
of the
Wdndmaker Piano
Business
In Which We Celebrate One !
of the Greatest Successes /
of Modern Retailing - -
* INE who stands in |
NV the WANA8fAKER Piano |
H0A STORE today and looks |
k<1/LA over the vast area de
M voted to pianos, which /
I9A Is still all too small for
u this great business, can
scarcely realize that it
is only four years since the new era
of piano retailing began with the
WANAMAKER announcement, we
hare entered the piano business.
1t has been the WANAMAKER
privilege to give new life to many
lines of commercial endeavOr; but
it has remained for the piano busi-
ness TO illustrate most fully the
possibilities of. the WANANGAKER
methods and policy for in the
selling of pianos there IS very much
more REQUIRED than the merely
commercial This business Is tul
of sentiment and demands artistic
treatment in all its phases; and
vet the broadest distribution, and
LARGEST possession OF pianos among
the public, demand that CONNER
ciaI common-Sense and business IN
teoritv should be allied with art
and sentiment in retailing
This business was not under
taken by the WANAMAKER STORE
Eohtlv. As stated on the very first
dav OF entering the piano business,
"This important part OF our bush
ness was only announced after a
direct and specific preparation OF
hall a year, following general
tentative preparation OF nearly ten
wears" And we said at that time,
Z. It will be conducted like every
other part of our business, earnest
ly and intelligently; and, II You
please. in a dignified way, way
worthy of you and OF US, and OF the
important mercantile and musical
interests that are sought to be
served.
The business was begun III a very
modest way, particularly IN New
York. where all the manufacturers
of hioh-cIass instruments had their
own organizations for the selling
of their pianos. 1t was our am
bitiOn to represent a piano OF the
very highest order; but four years
AGO Chickering & Sons were firmly
established at Chickering Hall,
where their business Was conducted
in the old artistic and dlgn1hed
manner. which in those days
seemed essential to the MAINTAIN
inp of their artistic position And
II was not until a year later that we
succeeded in convincing this classic
firm that their interests could be
better served by enlisting the sell
ino and the distributing facilities
of the WANAMAKER STORE.
The successful and dignified man
ner in which the selling OF CHECKER
ino, Pianos was done IN Phlladel-
phia. where they had no such es-
tabIisbment as Chickerlng Han,
established the fact that the NAN-
AMAKER idea in piano retaining
meant larger progress TO this great
, industry so that on April 24tn,
1900. on the seventy-seventh ami
yprsarv of the foundation OF tnaU
great house, we took over from
Chickering & Sons the business OI
selling their pianos for New YORK
and vicinity. And from that DAY
to this the artistic, as well as COM
merciaI progress of the piano m
dustry has been most rendEhaUle-
The most pleasing feature TO Us mas
been the overcoming OF the pTeJuUlCeS -
existed in the trade previously 70 -
Thought of selling pianos IN a SeIslaL
store The event has not only pioEeu S,.0
vast possibilities Of the success OF 49, A
MAKER piano selling. but it has accom-
pIished infinitely more. The whOle pIdLC
Industry has been given new lie; oeCause
Of the modem ideas which have oeT'
appIied 70 plano selling The aPpu-
cation Of the One-prtce system mas o@sS -
the keynote of progress 1t marked tne
day when the jublic could not only ouy
more economically. but II eStaollsned
public confidence in the values o. pianos
Another cause of progress was the aP-
pIicatiOn of the easy payment plan 20
pianO selling. II became possible for al
ost any home to possess piano, so tnat
TODAY thousands upon thousands o.
homes that would never have undertaken
the purchase Of u piano on a cash oasls.
now own this greatest possession OF sh
artistic home. -,
The piano trade in general has pronted
immensely because the WANAMAkEh
policy started new era OF exploitation
through it's advertising, stimulating pun
liz, interest in pianos. and eSta bllSnlnS the
fact that Il was easy 10 possess one IN
asmuch as the new methods were logical
aafeFs