San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-02
Efficient System Aids Sue
cess While Obsolete Meth
DDS Spell Failure.
URGES NEAT FIXTURES
Goods Should Be Displayed
So as to Attract Buy
ers, Says Mann.


the business can be a failure or
success, said Fred p.
Mann in his third speech to visiting
merchants, local jobbers. manufac-
turers and others in the Gunter ball
room Thursday morning at 10 O'CLOCK.
He chose as his subject. "How to
Properly Conduct Retail Bust
ness"
Entirely too many businesses in
the United States are conducted in
a haphazard manner, Mr.. Mann said.
Many merchants believe that they
have finished the job of beginning a
business when they have rented their
store building, stocked it with mer-
chandise and put in the fixtures.
They do not stop TO think of en-
ploying modern accounting systems.
To successfully conduct business,
he said, it is exceedingly necessary
to install the best fixtures which
will always make the store attrac-
tive to the customer.
when l installed several thousand
dollars worth of fixtures in my
department store in Devils Lake,
y. d., several years ago, every one
in town said that l had made a
serious mistake. But it was one of
the best investments that / have ever
made. Those fixtures made my store
neat in appearance. They made 1t
easy for me to display my merchan-
disc properly so that it would be
right in front of the eyes of the
customer as he came into the store.
Efficiency Valuable Aid.
"Not only should modern account
ing systems be installed in every
business establishment but it is a
valuable investment to purchase de-
vices which aid in the rapid as well
as the efficient selling of merchan-
disc. One of these devices which
will more than pay for itself in a
short time is the 'Measuregraph.'
81 have found that this machine
will pay for itself by actual expert
ence. Before installing it on my dry
goods counters / employed the old
method of tacks certain distance
apart on the edge of the counter and
also used the old yard stick. One
I1Aiay We had a great sale of /silk
remnants. My sales people sold q
h large amount Of the. remnants and
before they were delivered te~ the
buyers thought IL would be a good
idea for my own peace of mind, just
to measure few of the remnants
sold to test the salespeoples' accur-
= acy. ] found. fortunately that most
of them had been over-measurcd and
that after figuring the entire lot OF
silk already sold together, taking
into consideration the number OF
inches that had been over-measured
with the old yard stick 1 found that
I was losing five. per cent on the
sale that | could have gained pro-
vided the goods had been measured
accurately. That ended the Old
method. / installed the Measuregraph
at once. In addition to this | made
Il short survey among about twenty
five merchants of North Dakota and
TO the surprise of every one of them
found that they were losing more
than three per cent on their gross
sales Of dry goods. They all installed
the Measuregraph soon after that.
Cash Register Snystem.
"Another method of selling has
been installed in my store which is
a great improvement over the old.
1t 10 the National Cash Register sys-
TEN, which gives every clerk separ-
ate cash drawer. OF course you have
to educate your salespeople TO the
point where they can operate these
cash registers efficiently.
Another mistake being made by
entirely too many merchants in Tex
as as well rs other states today is the
fact that only few of them ever
visit away from their own stores.
This is serious. If an owner Of n
store visits other cities yearly he can
bring back to his community new
ideas in craftsmanship as well as
stys TO arrange his stock. He can
|Sften obtain new ideas in accounting
systems when visiting other and
larger stores than his own.
"A man must have some knowledge
of his own business if he expects to
make it a success. 1t seems to be
the general idea ell over the country
10 begin a business with no ideas as
to how it should really be run other
than Just stocking the store with
merchandise and then waiting for the
customers to come in.
Appearance Is Essential.
The appearance of the store is
Essential. 1t should be attractive
and the merchandise should be ar
ranged so as to catch the eye I'M
mediately. The store should not be
over stocked.
Another point TO be remembered
by the merchant is always TO put
On a good front Never let the pub
ic know your business is slumping,
f it is. for there is nothing more
detrimental than complaints of bad
ines.
"The arrangement of stock is an
,ther vital point TO be considered
especially by those who are contem-
,lating openig new business. /
pnly wish that I had employed an
experienced department store maD-
ger to arrange my stock when L
pegan business in Devils Lake sew
raj years ago. If / had. | would
be thousands of dollars ahead today.
'ou can often buy brains to do many
hings of that kind. The result will
e astonishing.
Craftsmanship in any store is nee
ssary. Never allow your salesman
D have that take it or leave it air
bout them. But how do you expect
hem to increase their sales when
on never tell them ANYTHING about
!: Bring them new ideas of how
b sell merchandise. Impress upon
hem the Importance Of their neat
ersonal appearance and their health
nd courtesy. Never let them sell
pparel to a customer unless 1t is