Evening star., 1924-06-28
KEEP ORDERS down
TO AVOID LOSSES
Retailers Explain New Meth
DDS in Trade Which Alarm
Manufacturers.
BY j. c. ROYLE.
Special Dispa tch to The Star

ID cs Ss oO LEi.
Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, June 2S.-The chance
to avoid big mistakes in business is
held responsible by business men in
otner sections Of the country for the
policy now in vogue of buying from
wholesalers and manufacturers In
small quantities for immediate needs
and repeating orders frequently.
This policy continues to bring pro-
tests from the manufa cturers, but
these protests fall on deaf ears, ac-
cording to merchants now here as
delegates to the Democratic national
convention.
New Trade Methods Noted.
III a man puts money on a losing
horse at the track" said one retailer
from the far west today, "he does not
erect, is just what some manufac-
turers are asking when they mis-
Judge styles or public demand. 1t
used to be the custom for the west
come himself to the big eastern trade
centers once or twice a year and buy
sufficient goods for his requirements
Tor SIX months or more. When the
did S that. he stood or, fell not only
by his own judgment, but that of the
manufacturer. If either guessed
wrongly, he had to take biz 'oes
Now, however, before he involves
big sum he consuIts the auvI.e o.
his customers, which is infallible. In
parcel post and freight services
there are few losses from failure to
have enough goods in stocks, and
these are more than counterbalanced
by the fact that the merchants
shelves are no longer loaded down
with goods he has paid for or must
pay for and which his patrons will
not buy.
Resident Buy ers Popular.
Under this system il a manufac-
turer misjudges the public taste, 1t
is his mistake and he must stand the
consequences. Under the old sys-
tenn the retailer was forced to take
stand a part of the loss whether he
wanted to or not. Nowadays mer-
chants in other sections of the coun-
try are coming to depend more and
more on the services of a reSid ent
buyer in cities like New York and
quent trips to the distributing
centers."
Merchants from Georgia, Texas,
Utah and Tennessee expressed SIM
liar opinions, declaring that the
whole country was being knit more
closely together by the speedy dis
tribution of business and fashion
news which had made it impossible
for manufacturers to unload on mer-
chants in distant sections goods
which had proved 'stickers" in To-
calities nearer the factories.
Manufacturers Suffer.
The manufacturers angle of the
controversy was outlined by state
ment made by S. B. and B. w. Fleish-
er, Inc, of Philadelphia, one of the
largest manufacturers of hand and
machine knitting yarns in the coun-
try. This statement shows that the
greatest net sales of the company
since 1909 were in 1919, amounting to
SS,6S9,94 which yielded net profits
of S903,S35. This latter amount was
more than s200,s00 less than the net
profits in 1917, when sales were but
s5,67s.s96. In 1920 sales were up to
$s,064,946, but the company had a
deficit of s227,0s3. With smaller sales
in both 1921 and 1922, profits in those
years were over s1,OOO,O00. but last
year, with sale of $7,035, ITO, the profits
amounted to only S5,3S4.
Such figures indicate, manufacture
ers say, the vicissitudes which even
the best managed manufacturing
company has to face. They assert
these troubles are being multiplied
by refusal of the retailers to order
their requirements in advance.