The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-11-21
RETAILER NOT DOOMED

Printers Ink.-In numbers that are
increasing every day they are becom-
ing convinced that retail mail-order
after all is serving only a fractional
part of this country's retail trade and
that the small town retailer is by no
means skidding rapidly to destruction
with a downhiH pull. or course, this
Is no new revelation about mail-order
houses. The condition prevailed yes
terday as much as 1t does today. But
the retail dealers associations, and
some jobbers as well, have been max.
ing such a tremendous furore about
mail-order sapping the life blood out
Of the retail store and running the
small town that manufacturers regard.
ed the proposition as much more i'm
portant that 1t really was.
Sears, Ward and the other mail-or-
der houses are gaining every year.
Their sales are huge in the aggregate
but represent a ridiculously small pro-
portion Of the retail trade of this coun-
try.
Fear on the part Of the retailer
which has been carefully fostered by
people who ought to know better, has
distorted the issue to make 1t seem
big. out Of all proportion and reason.
Sears and Wards sell clothing. But
there must be a few retailers selling
it too. Anyway, Hart Schaffner &
Marx, who make clothing for retailers.
have not been forced out Of business.
Sears and Ward sell watches. But
the big factory of Elgin keeps on run.
ming and growing.
Sears and Ward sell general mer-
chandise to the consumer. Yet Chris
Hansen. of Fort Atkinson. Wis. and
thousands Of other retailers like him
are increasing their volume and net
profits year by year.
There is retail business enough in
this country for everybody selling at
retail. whether the selling be by cat
alogue or over the counter. Each gets
business in proportion to the way he
lines up to his opportunity whether
he is located in Chicago or in Topeka.
The whole trouble is that the retail
er has put in too much of his time In
being afraid rather than in lighting.
He has been crying aloud before he
was hurt. The amazing growth Of the
big mail-order houses proved to him
beyond all argument that the country's
retail business soon would be central
lied much after the way Mr.. Rookie
Teller handles oil. Therefore he would
lie down and die.
This panicky condition has been a
burden on the manufacturer for years.
And 1t may as well be admitted that
his own perspective was not overly
correct, either.
But now it really does seem that
manufacturer, jobber and retailer are
at last getting clothed and In their
right minds as regards this retail mail
order problem. They no longer pic
ture julius Rosenwald as eventually
carrying around most of the country's
retail trade in his vest pocket. Mr..
Rosenwald sells much goods. But
they sell much more. Mr.. Rosenwald
has his limit. Their limit never will
be reached. All the logic of the sit
uation gives the retail store the bet
ter of the argument. It is natural for
people to buy in the retail store. The
catalogue man has to overcome this
feeling before he can get an audience.
1t is pretty generally understood that
all people interested in the transac-
ton should pull their heads out OF
the sand, wipe the dust out Of their
eyes and look the problem squarely in
the face.
They then will see-many of them
are seeing-that the retailer can, II
he will, run the right kind OF store
and that il he runs this kind Of store
Mr.. Rosenwald's catalogue is not go
ing to hurt him much. Mr.. Rosenwald
admits it himself. Nobody knows bet
ter than he how absurd it would be
for houses like his to aspire, to corner
the country's retail trade. The losi-
cal increase in his fractional part Of
this trade-and it will be fractional
then in similar proportions-will give
him and his house all they possibly
can do for many a long year to come.