The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1904-05-20
IN A DEPARTMENT STORE,

Important Parts Filled by the Ac yer.
Using Men and Buyers.
The man who writes the daily ad-
vertisement for big store comma nds
a big salary-ten or fifteen the usand
dollars. He must be original, resource
full and witty-a man of ideas, alert
to see and use opportunities. The quail
ity of his work tells day by day, for
the effects of cleverly written adver-
tisement show Immediately in the in
creased sales in particular depart
ments. Every night, the reports of
gross sales in the three score depart
ments, as compared with the CORE
spending days in the previous week
and the previous year. indicate wheth-
er the days advertising appropriation
has been well spent. Every day the
buyers" give the advertisement writer
a draft of the next days particular Of
ferings-a clearance sale of winter
overcoats, shipment of Partisan dress
fabrics, bargains in new novels, or a
cut-price sale of canned goods. These
the advertisement writer Yields into
one big display announcement, which,
when it has been approved by the gen.
eral manager, becomes the law and
gospel Of the next days business.
Copies Of 1t are posted on all the floors
| and are put into the hands of all the
salespeople. Every salesman and sales
woman in a department must learn,
the first thing in the morning, the spe-
| cial prices at which, wares are offered
in the days advertising. The days
advertisement is the Baedeker for both
shoppers and salespeople.
The massing Of three-score or more
| varied shops under one roof demands
| an efficient staff of department heads,
| or buyers" The worth of buyer is
measured by the amount Of net profit
he can show at the end of the year.
He must be on the alert to seize op-
portunities for acquiring desirable
stocks at low prices-the bankruptcy
Of a manufacturer or big merchant
Is one Of thees opportunities; he must
be able to forecast the future tastes
and demands Of the shopping army;
he must know when to plunge buying,
ten, twenty, or thirty thousand dollars
worth of goods in single order; he
must know when to push and when to
| mark down certain stocks, and all the
time he must keep his weather eye on
the doings of buyers in rival stores.
If he carries a line Of foreign goods
he makes yearly trip abroad to buy
directly from the makers, whether it
be Partisan gowns, German toys, or
Persian rugs The toy buyer goes
to the Continent, in January to order
his next Christmas stock. The sue
cessful buyer is master of his depart
ment, and he usually commands high
salary, sometimes as high as twenty
or thirty thousand dollars year. al
though four-fgure salaries are the rule.
Every night, at the close of business.
the salespeople give the amounts of
their total sales to their buyers, who,
in turn, foot up their department to-
tails. The buyers then report to the
general manager, who compares the
days sales with the business the year
before. Marked variations are made
the subject Of inquiry. Every night,
when the general manager leaves the
store, he knows to a cent the days re-
ceipts, how they compare with the pre-
vious year, and, if they vary from the
normal, the reason therefor.-Success