Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-02-26

| fTObltI1lS Vi NHC ANNt"'lNi' ia
second lecture OF his series on retail
merchandising Tuesday evening.
Frank Stockdale pointedly told re-
taIlers where they were weak, why
| they failed and would continue to fail.
| Altho his address was intended to aid
merchants in sowing problems COM
mon 10 unusual periods in history,
| stock dale's advice was just as apple
| able to days of prosperity as 10 more
pinched times. such as may be anti
! cipated in reconstruction days.
| Exceptional prolits in war days have
| esulted in merchants not gifted with
| real business sagaCity riding upward
on the wave of prosperity because
| they entered the period of war with
| huge stocks on hand. They reaped big
! profits not thru any effort Of their
! own. and the speaker asked his audi
! tors II il were not true that man
who had made big money thru no
! fault of his own on an up market
/ would lose il on a down market. Some
OF the weakest merchants" he declared
| had reaped the biggest harvest De-
! cause of the big stocks they carried
at the outbreak of the war.
! Big War-Day Profits.
| To illustrate. Mr.. Stockdale told OF
| a merchant who had had an average
| net profit of $4,000 a year from his
! business but whose net pIoft leaped 10
$4,000 in 1917. The increase was en-
tirely due to the increasing price of
merchandise. Stockdale told him he
had a 5000 profit which did not be-
long to him in the sense that he had
not actually earned the increase.
IF, however. this merchant sue
ceeds in retaining the IS, 900 extra pro.
fit in the lean days to come, then"
said Stockdale, he will be "a good
merchant"
To such a merchant the speaker
advised the creation of reserve fund
for the days Of exceptional depression
in business. The reserve fund, he
declared. was the foundation OF
| financing a business.
Don't raise your standard O, NV
ing on the net basis Of war profits"
he advised. Don't put your earnings
into investments where you can't get
the money out readily. Don't put it
into wildcat schemes
Value Of Trade Aceeptances.
The income tax and its advantages
were passed over briefly by the
speaker. The income tax, he said, is
doing much to help the merchant
chart his business and it had done
much to make the retailers keep up
their credit.
He also referred briefly to trade ac-
ceptances, declaring the system to be
a practical one. Trade acceptance -
said one merchant to Stockdale. put
me on cash basis and can go into
any market and buy"
As to the Future.
Manufacturers and wholesalers,
continued the speaker, referring to
the outlook for business in the i'm
mediate future, have kept prices down
and given retailers an oportunity to
unload. thus obviating failures in the
making. Is .,.
There has been no time when SO
few merchants went out of business
ana so few men attempted to enter
business as in the past two years, he
continued. Few merchants, in this
period, attemptedsto expand their bus
mess. 1t has been time when mer-
chants have been compelled to follow
a straight Set line and when things
break" those who have deviated from
the straight course will be "shuffling
off,
Retail merchants are going slow in
buying and this is the right course,
said Stockdale, but some curtail pur-
chasing until they throttle business.
Buying on a down market is the big
problem for the merchant today
Purchase Movable Goods.
Push out slow moving goods and
buy quick moving stocks, was Stock
dale's advice. Secure lines which can
be turned over quickly or business
will become stagnant and eventually
the merchant will fall. Asset rule for
figuring turnover was given, which
was set down by everyone present.
The rule follows: ~ q
Total sales at cost divided by the
average stock carried at cost equals
the rate Of turnover. 4ts,. ~
Few merchants. said Stockdala, were
able to figure turnover, but he. pre-
dicted, in ten years there will not be
one man among fifty in buAiness who
will not be able to figure turnover.
In conclusion the speaker advised
the retailer to get Ready for keener
competition and preparelto inset the
well equipped merchant The we'll
managed stores are the stores that
will win in future. Retail failures arc
coming along" he said. get ready for
them"
This evening Mr.. stockdsls viii
speak on advertising and the meeting
will commence at o'clock in order
that those wishing to attend the Irwin
Cobb lecture may do 20. The stock
dale address will be out In time TO per-