Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-31

but was not long in finding out that no
dollar was mine until | had it to my
credit in the bank. 81 L
Whether they were good debts or bad debts
they kept me awake nights
had to pay mine or quit.
Another thing that hit me hard was the I'M
fairness OF letting the man that bought cigars
and tobacco credit get just as much for
his dollar as the fellow who paid me spot cash
studied this long while and finally figured
out that | could take the old idea of giving
coupons redeemable In premiums and give it
netD meaning and cdlues in Profit-Sharing
could then put my business on cash basis and
make the Proft-Sharing plan hold my trade
steady by making it an object to trade with me-
figured that the man who traded with me
night along was earning me bigger profits than
the fellow that only came once in while
could hold his trade easier and with less expense
therefore, the way to keep the steady Gus
toner was to give him share of those profits
II | could do it IN way that made his share
OF the profits grow in just the same proper
tons as the trade he gave me grew. would
be treating everybody alike and making it an
object for man to deal with me lust as much
as he could
So | started the coupon plan of profit sharing in
a small way. but with this difference from most
coupon plans:
FIRST, gave as premiums nothing but standard
quality goods the kind youd select when YOU wanted
the best make of any article.
Second. the redemption value of the coupons in
merchandise unusually liberal so that it was
easy to get premiums without any long waiting
Each coupon worth two-fifths of cent in
merchandise | euht &c
pons with every dollars worth of goods sold So
every purchase from five cents worth up earned the
consumer profit-sharng coupon
He was earning profits for me and his continued
trade made these profits bigger than if depended
sen transients. why shouldn't he get his share7
az 5sesee. | wasn't asking him to pay more because
sr Sds profit-sharing My goods had to meet
the s,est competition in quality and price and had
to my customers at least as much value as they
could< anywhere else to hold their trade at all
Now We told you just the outline of the idea
itself, sharing plan that made my first
success In tn cigar business. When we organized
the United CigA Stores we knew this plan was abso
iutey sound andN made il feature of these stores
rgnt rom the star ..ldness depended upon
high Redemption " &c OF the coupons and rigid
rule that every single pA ;um that we cataogued must
be standard high-quah> article advertised in the
newspapers and magazines and carried in stock at the
best stores.
mat was thirteen years 9yo.
And our business grew ss.ady. and our volume Of
profit-sharing through Profit Sharns Coupons kept
pace right along. We kept opening more Profit
Sharing Stations to distribute the premiums and kept
adding to the lines of goods given as premium, until
you could get almost anything you
wanted either for your own use, wear III
3;, 81; i g: :: s'' to some one else M
And all the time we had to sell i|Tl{=-
our goods at prices that would Mill
meet all competition, otherwise we RNIIH
could not have kept our customers kIew
The coupons had to be @ lA
share of the profits they ~
earned for us.