The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1922-01-12
TRADE REVIVAL
UPTO MERCHANT
Much Depends Upon General Attitude
in Relation to Home Town
Advertising
F. p. MANN GIVES A FEW TIPS
Devils Lake Business Man Reveals
Secret of His Success

Secret of His Success
Fred P. Mann of Devils Lake, N. D.,
president of the North Dakota Retail
Merchants association, believes the re-
vival of business is up to two factors
the retail merchants and their accept
ance of their advertising activity in
their home newspapers.
Mann is firm believer in local ad-
vertising and the use of good space.
He believes in it because it has built
for him business of $50O,000 a year
in town of 5000 population. He says
frankly that advertising has done it
backed of course by a proper know
ledge of merchandising. Advertising
got the trade and Mann knew how to
take care of it and foster it.
He does not bother much about pop
ulation. because he knows that town
Of 500 population has at least 200
buyers and he wants those buyers in
his store. What is more, he gets them.
Writing to the editor of the Ameri-
can Press, Mr.. Mann says:
II am enclosing you one of our ads,
from the Cando Herald of Cando, N.
D., a little weekly newspaper Of about
6OO circulation, as a sample Of the
kind of real, live advertising that can
be done by the merchants in the small
towns through their weekly or daily
newspaper, and am sure if you could
get all of your subscribers to get their
merchants to put in ads of this kind
there would be quite a revival of the
retail business of the United States"
The advertisement, which was repro
duced, ran four columns by twelve
inches. It had not cut in it-this be-
cause Mr.. Mann was dealing with .
newspaper in little town Of 600 peo-
pie, the publisher having no facilities
for the handling of more intricate and
telling advertising. However, there
was snap to the copy, and always the
prices are mentioned.
There is no haggling over rates
when Mr.. Mann places his copy. He
wants space and is willing to pay
fair price for it. He knows that even
at the highest rate it is possible for
a publisher to charge there is very
little profit and he aims at good will
as we'll as an opportunity to present
his appeal.
Advertising space is the most val
liable asset of the merchant, accord
ing to Mann. If it is not productive
it is the fault of the advertiser. He
does not know how to use it. The
answer lies in the fact that the Mann
Devils Lake store is the most success
full store in the United States and
Mann is the biggest user Of home
town newspaper advertising in the
United States.
The Owosso, Mich, Argus Press
has the following to say concerning q
talk given to Owosso business men by
Mr.. Mann:
and helped by the visit to this city
Thursday Of Fred P. Mann, whose gen
ial, whole-souled disposition radiates
cheer and optimism, and whose re-
cital of facts and his experiences in
the business world so closely parallels
that Of many others that it seems to
be almost page out Of the history
of their lives. There are variations,
of course, but Mr.. Mann's story of
what he believes to be the great Sc
cret Of his unusual success, and the
manner in which he has met and over
come some Of the competition that
threatened his business, suggested to
his friends in Owosso-for he has
many here now-ideas they also can
appropriate in the greater develop
ment of their business.
"One thing about Mr.. Mann, while
he is privileged to travel about the
country considerably and is much
sought as speaker before commercial
bodies, he is always alert for new
ideas and is big enough to give credit
to the other fellow for some of the
good things that have come into his
life. He related such an incident on
Thursday night.
i "Mr. Mann learned early in his busi-
ness career that it is one thing for q
merchant to fill his shelves with a
stock of goods and quite another to
sell them, and sell them quickly at a
reasonable profit. He appreciates the
fact that the merchant who makes but
two or three turnovers of stock year
must either sell at a higher price or
} not make the profit he must have if he
; is to continue in business-for every
successful business must have profit,
or quit.
"The quick turnover not only gives
; the merchant his profit, but also en-
ables him to keep a cleaner, fresher
stock. The question then to be an
: swered is, how can such good results
be obtained, and there is but Qua an
: swer, careful business management
and good service being conceded a
fundamentals-and that is by the use
of advertising which honestly informs
the public Of the goods offered for
! Continued on last pase)