New Britain herald., 1922-07-01
ADVISES THAT MERCHANTS
 STUDY SELF HELP STORE SYSTEMS

Wellssley nlls. July l.-In an in
 terview today Roger W. Babson ap-
 pealed to merchants to study the
 self help" stores. He believes that
 ths ssnall merchant has great oppor- tvnity if he will only adopt modern methods and advertise more. He in- ststs that the public does not demand the chain stores but rather demands economical ard convenient service. People buy from the chain stores De- cause that is the only place in their community that they can ret such service. he continued.
 Chain stores are having . tremen. dous run today They are springtng up like weeds in every community. Local merchants are beginning to be- come panic stricken. They fear that the chain store is to swallow up everything. Grocers, druggist and clothing dealers are especially trou- bleda Considering the tremendous number of small merchants this is . problem in which every one should be interested. There are for instance over 3oo,ooo independent grocers in this country. To have their business wiped out out would result in | tre. men4ous economic appeal. All to- -gether there are over 100000 small
 merchants in America who are vitally interested in this problem. As they will be wiped out If the chain store proves to be the legitimate method of merchandising.
 Personally feel that this change to ta hA tA At hsA comes nearer to giving the public what 1t wants and prospers for that reason. If the local merchants will adopt the sAme up-to.date methods of economical merchandising he need have nothing to fear from chain store competition. These newer and epec. ially these self help establishments are doing a splendid business because their plan is practical ana because they are being operated by young men with initiative and enthusiasm. The railroads did fine business when they were % operated, 20 Or 30 years ago. Chain stores. however, will have their troubles just as the railroads have had theirs. Clerks, truck driv- CTS, and buyers will some day be or ganized and as saucy and Independent as the typical plumber is today. Then the chain store sales will drop off and operating expenses will increase and they will have to adopt more mod erh form of merchandising or give way to new order The self help" system eliminates labor difficulty to considerable extent and presents a most interesting study both as to serv- ice and to cost.
 I appeal particularly to merchants of the older school and urge them to study very carefully these "self help" stores, with their self help" service. It is true that the average nnerchant cannot get the advantage of collective buying unless he himself joins a chain. Any merchant, however. can install a "self help" system of selling Independently. Of course, this means more than reorganizing the fixtures of his store He must change his entire attitude The self help" stores for instance are very dependent upon ad. Verusing. much more so than are the chain stores and local merchants. The latter must advertise more than ever If he is to adopt the self help" gvs. tenn. l am not a merchant, merely A Statistics, however, clear ly indicate that if the local merchant conunues as at present he will be