Evening star., 1925-11-27
HOLIDAY BUYING
|SALREADY HEAVY
Today Considered Real Open
ina of Great Annual Christ
mas Rush.
BY j. C. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK. November 27!-Holi-
day trade got under way with a rush
today in practically every city of the
country. Although this was the first
day of what merchants usually con-
slider the holiday buying season, early
sales already have run from to 20
per cent ahead of those for the CORE
spending period Of 1924, and there is
every prospect that retail business
from now to January ! will estab-
lish new record for all time, exceed
ing even the period of wild buying
which took place in 1919 and 1920.
Merchants are not waiting for bust
ness to come in. They are going after
IT, Newspaper advertising is being
extensively employed in scores of
communities, and special efforts are
being made to attract suburban and
rural patrons to the metropolitan
stores. Some retailers are buying as
many as full pages in a single
edition Of their local papers in certain
cities.
street parades which rivaled those
OF the circuses We're a feature of
Thanksgiving day in several trade
centers, and this method of attract
Ing Juvenile as well as grown-up
customers probably will be oxten-
siVely followed elsewhere. The
opening OF toy fairs and displays
today was followed by a rush of
business, which indicated extensive
recorders before the close of business
December "a
Make Shopping Easy.
Merchants are making special
Efforts to make shopping easy for
their patrons by providing against
traffic congestion and arranging
parking spaces for customers cars
In New York several of the larger
stores maintain their own garages
where patrons automobiles are
cared for free. In Boston customers
OF 80 retail stores will be given free
garage storage from 9 to IL am. each
day at the North Terminal Garage
which will accommodate 1850
vehicles.
To secure this free service il is
only necessary for car owners TO
produce sales slips from one of the
stores. If cars are stored beyond the
IL o'clock limit q charge of 10 cents
an hour is made, with a maximum
OF 30 cents for the day. Some stores
In cities surrounded by suburban
towns are running busses on regular
SSlicuuieS from ilHeSe districts To
their own doors
Extra help was put on in most of
the stores two weeks earlier than
normal.
Buying Already Heavy.
Sales already have been of such
volume as to eclipse the December
buyiny a year ago and some of the
leeading retail organizations are al
ready assured of larger profits for the
year than for any annual period in
their history. Reports from 555 de-
partment and general retail stores
show they did a, business of S16S.a55.-
600 in October. and November sales of
the same orga niZations are expected
to exceed Sl75 900, 900 by a large mar
gin. These figures represent gains
OF over l6 per cent as compared with
the corresponding periods of 1924,
hitherto the banner year. In Chicago
the gains were as high as 81 per cent
Mail order houses also are doing
tremendous business, ranging higher
than year ago. Increases in sales
of chain store organizations have
been startling. The five and ten cent
chains increased their sales over %
per cent over those of a year ago.
and the stores handling merchandise
retailing at more than 10 cents piled
up gains as high as 80 per cent.