St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1908-03-28
UP TRADE.
METHODS PURSUED BY THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL MERCHANTS.
WORK DURING DULL SEASONS
Necessity Of Advertising and Meeting
Composition Given by the Large
City Department Stores and
Mail-order Houses.

ne mid-Winter period is generally
lne dullest ID the retail trade. Why
TINS is SO IS hard to explain. Farm
ers md q time of rest during Febru-
afy and March, and portion of April,
ana the weather Is generally such
mat they like to keep by their own
nresides. While the country retailers
may find Iull in business, it is diff
.erent with the mail order houses. The
farmers leisure time affords him a
chance carefully to go over the large
catalogues and other advertising mat
Ter sent out to him, and quite often
~ is attracted by the alluring de-
scrlption Of goods and the supposed
low prices. Thus it is that the mail
order houses benefit, while the local
merchant loses.
One OF the faults Of the average
merchant Is that during dull times he
makes no effort to increase trade. He
puts into practice system of false
economy. He generally curtails his
advertising bills and lets goods re-
main upon his shelves, that a slight
EFFORT In the right direction would re-
move. The mid-Winter and the
months of early spring are the best
months for the live merchant to ar
range his campaign for the year. It
Is time when the residents of the
rural communities have not much else
to do but To read. A little stroke of
enterprise on part of local merchants
at this period is more likely to accom-
plish good than at any other time.
Well prepared circulars quoting
prices SO that comparisons can be
made with the mail order house cata-
logues will result In bringing consider
able trade, that otherwise would be di-
yerted by the large catalogues.
It will pay the merchant in the small
town carefully to study the methods of
the large department stores and to
beenfit by the work of the mail order
concerns. The large houses do not lie
down during the dull period. They
make an extra effort to gather in
trade, and these efforts generally win.
The present season is an exceptional
one. Universal talk of panicky times
has made great class Of people more
economical III their every day affairs
They are looking for opportunities to
save money. Low prices attract them
The merchant realizing this condition
can turn matters well to account by
making the right kind of effort. This
is the time when Intelligent appeals
to common sense and the preaching of
evils Of concentration of capital, and
the necessity Of protecting home in.
dustries, will have the most beneficial
effects. The home merchant has all
the advantage over the foreign insti-
tuition. He has the goods to show
the people before they pay their
money He should be able to give
as good values as the largest con-
Germ. His expenses are not one-half
according to the amount of business
he transacts as are the expenses of
large city department. store or the mail
order houses.
The trading away from home evil
is up to the local merchant. He
must realize that these days the back
the lazy man and the incom-
petent ones cannot well succeed in
mercantile life There is competition
that must be met, and it must be met
In a business way The only great
lever that the catalogue houses use
ID that of publicity" 1t is the right |
use of advertising space, and of ad-
Fertising methods. The principles |
that apply to the largest concern also
apply to the smallest one. It is pure |
" a matter Of degree. The merchant
who does not use printers ink these
days cannot expect to make a great |
success In his chosen field.
D. NJ. CARR.