The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-07
NOTHING BUT BEST QUALITY OF GOODS
 WERE IN DEMAND AT
 CHRISTI MAS-TID.E
Local Merchants Declare That Popular Priced Goods Were Not Considered
 During Xmas Trade.
 Interesting Facts
Fly GORDON MCKINLEY.

| An1 that IS what they bought Laconic, but il sums the Birmingham Christmas trade
 More than 2o of Birminghams stand
 ard retail stores selling all sorts of mer- chandise, were visited yesterday and asked what manner or trade they did
 during the holiday period. With one ex- cept.on, they said the trade not only called for the hest. but would not even | take the trouble to look at anything else comprehensive illustration is the statement of NJ, Sommers, manager of the secoad floor of Loveman, Joseph & Loeb. and one of the firms most trusted buyers. He said;
 We were stuck, literally, on our popu-
 lar priced stuff I have been buying for | the firm for years. For this seasons I Christmas trade knowing that the times
 are very prosperous, we laid in a heavy supply of gools for this class of cur
 trade. We have it yet For years we ! have specialized on s25 suits. In buying 1 for the store that class or goods, With prices what thev have been the past few years you can see what we were Up against to gee something really good that we could sell at that figure Finally we did. The goods we bought to sell Tor go cost us s225o not much margin of pront. Yet we have the line on our hands, al
 most intact
 A FAIR EXAMPLE "I'll give you a fair example of what has been going on: About week before Christmas a colored woman bought an ss0 dress She had been dealing with us i hal aefore. Some alterations had to be made and she came back to be fitted. A clerk was taking a suit that retailed for s3so out of q box. T d like to try that on the customer said. She did. How much is it, she asked. That's s395.' I'll take it. she said ard took the cash out of her pocket l book and paid for it on the spot. l That is, practically, fair sample or ] what we have heen up against venture | to say there is hardly store selling the l sort of goods we handle, that has not | had similar experience: experiences, dd ! I say; that fundamental change of trade. | That condition obtains all through our | ready-to-wear departments or mereh"ir disc fer women.
 1 "rhey are buying silk underwear as fast as we can stock up. It beats any thing in our experience. They go after 1 silk underwear headlong. I suppose the pretty things women have been dreaming l of, I mean women of modest means. TOT | years and years. are now, hnanciahN | within their reach, and they are making their dreams come true. White and col /, ored it's all the same. They buy ohe highest priced goods we have. l 'As I size lip the situation. men are making more nroney than they ever dls' 1 and vast number of women are makins l good money, t5c All we fo.S who nave something to sell can do is try to cater | nd what the buying wants we try to fur nisn them.
 BEST TALKING MACHINES 1 The Clark & Jones Piano company was visited next A salesman was picked al random by the questioner. | How have your goods moved this sea son?" was asked.
 ! Most peculiar year and most profitable we've ever had. All the high-priced artl- cles swept clean, popular priced stuff SUI | on the floor I'll give you an illustration. A coJorad man same in the other day and wantel to see talking machine. l put | a record on a good $50 instrument and looked at the customer for approval. Hc was looking out of the window. He turHeh aid said, T want to see taking ma 1 chine not a match box. l put recoru on a sz75 machine and started II. FLO" much?' he asked. s275.' Just put II in my | 1T,
 and see if it's all right
 1 sI did The bank said they would casn all the checks that man signed. so we put the talking machine in the tonneau oi 1 an eight-cylinder Cadillac car and our customer rolled away. That is only an | instance It occurred day after day all during the Christmas period. our ousi- ness with the colored people, until this year las not heen very extensive, put they Fought right and left and 40 per l cent of our trade for the high-priced ma chimes was cash"
 s15 SWEATERS
 I. NJ. Horn is a department mansser for Black x Sons, one of Birmng-
 bam.s finest mems furnishing stores.
 ..Its too deep for me-" was his an-
 swer to the trade question NeWspoys
 and telegraph boys are buying the sosrs of sweaters we formerly sold to car- ouning college Toys. During the first part
 of Inc holidays when it began to get chilly and the little chaps came in for
 sweater. we would show them the s2.oc
 variety. Tn high disdain they wouidn '
 even look. Nothing short of the best TOT
 ,.e.., cash of course. Some of 'em had
 eno y1yTt;ta and colored boys alike, all
 ,'ad n,onev. all wanted the best. We have
 une of popular priced sweaters.
 They. ere here yet
 l "I got some light on the sltuatlon rom
 Ia negro man. He asked for a suit of
 underclothes. Now, we have some
 mighty good garments at ooiiar :
 niece. The customer laughed outright
 when told him the price. He said'
 White man. I made $500 during the last
 20 days I want that kind or clothes. He bought several suits at $7 per each. I s225O DIAMOND
 The Jaffee Jewejry company came
 next.
 once upon time I could size up
 1 customer" clerk said, "but not now
 These days I just smile and look inter-
 ested. A modestly dressed working
 man came in day before yesterday and asked to see diamond. I sized him up for carat, at the outside. and took out the tray. That the best you can do?' he asked, turning to the door Then I showed him some larger stones He picked out a beauty, s2250, held II up to the light, took the notes from his pocketbook, slipped the ring on hi. finger and walked out.
 .It was that way many a time during the holidays. Mighty few went under $500 for stone. And it was the same with watches. Solid gold only. the de mand seemed. with the best sort o' works We had put no little stuff 1T stock for the Christmas present trade Want to look it over, it's all here MEMS CLOTHES NJ Well Bros handle very fin' | made clothes. in fact. one of the bes