Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-02-06
THE WEIGH STORES

y 1
employees. So far the I919-1920 sales
indicate that the business will run we'll
over $600,0OO
The S. E. WEIGH Department store
was Incorporated in 1912 and remain
ed a close corporation until 1917, !
when two employees were sold some of
the stock. This idea has been followed
up and as fast as an employee quail
fies himself he or she is given an OPP
portunity to purchase some of the
stock on the partial payment plan
At present seven of the department
heads are stock holders.
There is under construction by the
company, in Berea, brick garage 60
X 100 feet which will be opened for
business in a few weeks. With this
added department will come more en-
ployees and greater volume of bust
ness. Next January large establish
ment, to be known as the Richmond
WEIGH Company, will be opened on
Main street in Richmond, the county
seat, carrying full line of-groceries,
| hardware and farm machinery This
will also increase the number of en-
ployees and volume of business. John
, w. Welch is president of the Berea
National Bank and the Hazard (Ky)
Drug Company.
Welch owns the real estate and
buildings, seven in number, that house
the Welch Department Stores. These
buildings are fitted out with their own
water, light and heating systems.
In order to fully appreciate the
really phenomenal growth of this bust
ness one must make comparisons No
other store in Berea can boast of a
business of over 100000 In Rich
mond, the county seat, town of g.
merchant who will reach $4,000 this
year. Lexington, the center of the
famous Blue Grass Region of Ken
| lucky, city of some?? bgge
lucky city of some $4,000 residents
has but one retail establishment whose
business last year ran as high as
$15O,00O.
WEIGH draws his trade from a radius
of twenty miles through the rough
billy, mountain country and down into
the blue. grass, even invading the
ticounty seat. He has signs stuck W
jtonaH thezroads beading into Berea a.
far out as ten mikes. People who have
traded there for one, two and ter
years have this to say about Welch's
"He sells cheapeB "He tells people
what he has got 6 SELL" "You can al
ways find anything you want a
! Welch's," ellis mi thods are right ane
his goods are right"
, Now, Berea is located where road.
are bad in winter and summer. Their,
are no sidewalks fh Berea to speak of
1t is not pretty town and there il
nothing, except the college, to mark i
apart from dozens of other struggling
dusty and dilapidated appearing coun
try towns. Nothing there to attrac
buyers except Welch's Department
Stores, although other small mer
chants seem to eak out an existence
in spite Of this tremendous competi
ton.
If there is any one big factor in tn,
successful operation of this establish
ment, outside the personality Of JOIN
w. Welch himself, it is the logged
systematic and voluminous advertis
ing they do. They use all the .countr,
papers in the surrounding counties
They issue their own store paper ian'
they have mailing list of, $500 liy
names of heads of families to whom
goes regularly this paper, and FIRE
quent specials besides. In fact tn
Welch Stores are carrying on with a
thorough and complete an advertiser.
system as can be found in any of tn
large cities.