New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-05-22

OF certain urInSs WHO employ WHAT are
their employers as entertainers
ITO the buyer the entertainer Introduces h,r,
self as the moneyed partner OF the firm shopla
the buyer be in the store about luncheon time n.
entertainers suggests certain cafe where ths~s
is a table reserved for him and his friends IF 4,
is late in the afternoon and the firm has a I'm.
of goods it wants to close out as as possible
the entertainer Announces that II is too late 10 do
any work. as he Is going to the theatre thar
evening and has reserved seats for the buyer ana
his wife. IL she is in town. Between the acts OF
that play this moneyed man feels certain that In
the bright light OF a nearby cafe he will cfneh'
that sale. Some entertainers have automobiles
which In their leisure they employ to take the
buyers about the park or to see the sights Of the
town Above all. the entertainer IS a man who
can please. He must be genial and ready OF wit
He must carry himself SO as to win respect Above
all, he must 'cinch sales"
Not to fall prey 70 the wtles OF the enter
taIner' said buyer for Cincinnati department
store. 'I politely decline his invitations. A man
cannot accept favors without giving them. Even
If a buyer does not touch drop OF wine his mind
is Influenced by a man who treats him royalty A
buyer can easily get the reputation OF sucker
and that reputation soon reaches the ears OF the
head Of his firm. Yes. know Of some merchants
who own their stores and who fall victims
sometimes 70 the oily entertainer but that Is
their own lookout After they go back home they
find that they have paid for 1t all dearly. Their
goods have cost them too much. or proved In
ferOr and unstable
Many out OF town stores have united IN making
their purchases through syndicates- There IS such
a syndicate Of buyers in Walker-st- and another IN
Spring-st. One buys for ten stores. and It's pur-
chasing power IS tremendous. Each maintains
staff Of local buyers. who are specialists in their
respective lines. There IS the cloak man, the
pet man. the hosiery man. the notions man. and so
on through scores OF departments
As a general thing. these do not DO the bulk
Of the buying for the stores they represent. They
act more as counseIIor5 to the out-Of-town buyers
who come direct from their respective stores For
example. a buyer from St. Louis store will walk
in morning and announce that he has come
on to buy carpets He wants to see the New-York
local carpet buyer. The two men meet and there
is conversation like this:
New-York man-You don't want TO buy many
ST Louis maxwell. rugs are getting more popu-
New-York man--Rugs are the thing and know
four houses which have some fine domestics. You
Just opened up new line IN another their i;' sale
win wind up to-day, So you may get some job
St. Louis man-Give me the addresses. and I'll
60 eTSa ana a Se m 20 along and INTRODUCES
you There's nothing IKE hstie formally malt with with
air" they will pay you more attention
The two men go out together into the maeIstrOm
OF Broadway.
oftentimes syndicate viii be asked by client
TO buy up big stock OF goods Immediately. with
OUT waiting for the arrival OF the out-of-towu
buyer. Only recently a Texas merchant teIs-
graphed on to the syndicats with which he was
Burned out Must have complete new stock at
once; Have engaged temporary quarters Use
The syndicate buyer figured busiIy for twenty
To Wo all aes fo ns s9d Put sTs .h
shipments, II was near the end Of the season. and
The men went out, and for three hours he kept in
Then he vent out Himself a9d S6urbt e IN roo,
$4,000 worth OF goods had been bought. which was
after the FIRE a stock worth $1oo.o65 was ready for
1t is estimstaa that the out-of1oun 5ivs9 Who
buys Tor another spends 80 per cent more time in
YET If he does not f prey 10 ne s s TSsE
tainsr he often acquires valuable liza education ,
and watching how things are done IN Nev-york
hours. a woman buyer from Keokuk, Iowa, the
other DAY. went out with a local woman corset
Br.gdwsy he Iowa woman SAID;
Jacket is shorter than what everybody here is
Long jackets are the styl. this winter" was the
"And they .don't carry red bags. neither as they
NO; Red bags were fashionable last summer.
And the shoes. Why they are all high heels.
Even the shoPgirls go around or stills"
york; '----- --''' = 4"''9 '''' '-'-DS Il"
That evening when that woman buyer, returned
wrist bag There were a few drops OF water on the
lifted her skirts with tight pull. which displayed
French heels OF the most extreme type.
How fast they do learn mUrmured the man
ager TO the notion
The great department stores OF the country, in
GLIDING those OF Chicago. have permanent
headquarters in New-York. in charge OF a head
buyer, who is assisted by a corps OF assistants.
The head buyer may have speciality Of his own.
but his chief duty IL to send out his buyers where
they can do best and to keep in touch with the
heads OF the great wholesale houses. Buyers
constantly coming to him from the department
stores. and he makes frequent trips to the
to know what stocks selling and what not.
The system OF one head local buyer differs from
another. One may have the wholesale men send
IN samples. TO be compared side BY side in his
own ofdce. Others send buyer out with a sample
70 make an option when he finds bargain. Re-
quests To- samples ars made over the telephone.
or the samples are sent IN voluntarily by messen-
ger boys. An assistant buyer for such a depart
ment store would be regarded a small man Il he
did not buy $4,000 worth OF goods a year.
The head buyer must also be expert ''mer-
chandise man He should be able TO go through
department. store and by mere Inspection or
any article say how much IL IS worth and whether
II Will SELL He needs a remarkably retentivs
memory as we'll as great executive ability