Evening star., 1925-11-29
CHRISTMAS TRADE
GETS FINE START
Santa Claus Reindeer Barely
Escape Running Over
Thanksgiving turkey.
BY HARDEN COLFAX.

| Christmas goods. in the trade that
| this year promises to show IA ! record
! volume. are moving so much earlier
than usual that, in fact, the Thanks
j giving turkey had difficulty in esCap-
| ing the hooks of Santa Claus rein
| deer.
/ Merchants in many communities
| found the early demand for Christ
mas goods SO strong that ThankSgiv-
| ing novelties were forced into much
smaller space than usual.
| The Christmas trade promises to
| show an increase of somewhere around
! 20 per cent above last year. accord
| ing to early reports from key cities.
| The estimate appears conservative.
| Purchases of toys alone will agTre-
| gate more than $l25, 900 900.
Money Appears Plentiful.
| The shop early" campaign ap-
| pears to have brought results, bat the
main factor i'll the November buy
ing of Christmas merchandise un
doubtedly was the generally pros
| porous condition throughout the
| country, which has resulted IN the
| ma jority having money at hand to
| meet their desire for earlier selection
! of gifts.
Stocks of retailers this season are
not excessively large, 10 put II mild
! ~ Some stocks Of seasonal goods
are Stil moving 10 destinations.
Irp"rts show that advertised goods
! are III strongest demand, indicating
! that shoppers are scanning the news
! parer advertising columns, making
| mental note, and proceeding to stores
| with definite objects in view.
Club Savings Enormous.
Optimistic reports of early Christ
| mas business are expected to be
| amply supported by retail activities
| beginning this week, when the ma
| lority of the Christmas savings clubs
VIII distribute funds to depositors,
| followed closely by the payment of
| bonuses by numerous corporations
! and the declaration of extra diVi-
dends by the more fortunate ones.
Seven million persons deposited
| S3l4 .l54 900 in Christmas savings
| clubs. this year in $500 banks of the
! United States. AS compared with
| 1924, the amount of money deposited
in such funds increased - per cent
and the number of depositors in
creased II per cent. BY geographical
groups, the distribution this year
will be: New England. S42, $50;
| Middle Atlantic, Sl26.722 400; East
! North Central, S67 500 $40; West
| North Central. S14, ,046 400 South At
| lantic. sl7 ,406 100; East South Cen
| trail, S12,310:S00 West South Central
S10,7l1.lS0: Mountain, 1856 900; Pa
cifc. SIT $40 900.
+ Based on past percentage expert
| ences Sal, 1863 $50 of the total pay
ments by Christmas savings clubs
this year will go into the cash regis
ters of retail merchants before De
cember %.
Gifts More Costly.
Santa Claus is going to distribute
| rather substantial gifts this year
| There has been an increasing tend
ency since the United States was In
the World War to make gifts of more
lasting character, and hence of higher
price than formerly. This tendency is
! more marked this season than ever
before, and the stocks of merchants
will testify that they have taken not,
of the demand from their customers
The gew-gaw IL still here. and prob
ably always Will remain, but not in
such numbers as formerly tandy
| will more than hold It's own in Christ
mas trade this year Judging from ad
| vance demands upon manufa Cturers
From the purely secular standpoint,
the celebration of Christmas centers
about children, although the mer-
! Niisiill SclS HIS I'fl Sti NuIulllS Oh DuSl-
ness from the exchange of gifts
among adulst. The toys this sea
son are taking on a more substantial
nature.
I. s. Leader i'm Toy Market.
The United States. which for many
years has been the greatest market
for toys. is now the greatest pro
ducer as well. Production of dolls
toys and games, excluding all athletic
equipment, increased tenfold between
1904 and 1923, when the last census
of manufacturers was taken. and in.
! creased fourfold between 1914 ant
1923. The 1923 production was valued
at s56,066, 900 at the factories, a value
| which more than doubled before the
ultimate consumer was reached for
toys are costly commodity to
handle.
German and Japanese toy makers
formerly dominent in the American
market, now are negligible factors
Imports of foreign toys in the first
nine months this year fell to S2.935..
900. compared to S4.144. 900 in the cor
responding period last wear
On the other hand. children in 62
foreign countries will find American
toys in their stockings this Christ.
mas. exports in nine months aCGre-
eating s2,131 900. compared to S1,915,
600 in the same period of 1924.
Copyright. 1920