Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-09
S|DE-L|NE SALES
. CAMPAIGN PUSHED
Companies Find By-Products
Helpful in Increasing
Business.
BY ]. C. ROYLE.

Few manufacturers can afford to be
without side line for their plants these
days. So important have the side lines
become that it is difficult at times to
distinguish between the main product
and the subordinate production.
The trend is all directed toward the
elimination of seasonal periods of de-
preston in the various industries and
trades. It is counted on to stabilize
employment, stabilize output, increase
the efficiency of personnel and ma
chinery and open new sales outlets in
both the wholesale and retail sales.
The extent to which this trend has
percolated is especially notable in the
radio field. Normally, there is pc
riod of slackness in the sale Of re-
ceiving sets throughout the Summer;
to overcome this, radio receiver manu-
facturerS are turning toward the sale
of refrigeratorS, both electrical and
non-electrical; home movies, phono-
graphs, cameras, electrical appliances
such as fans, percolatorS, irons, man
giles, washing machines, sporting goods
motor boats, sail boats and electric
clocks,
Branch Lines.
For example, General Motors not
only makes and sells automobiles, but
they are engaged i'll the manufacture
of radio sets, refrigerators, airplanes
and other products. The CroSley Radio
Co. manufactures and sells Icy-ball re-
frigerators. The GrigSby-GrunoW Co.
not only makes radio sets but is now
putting upon the market refrigerator
unit in the lower price range.
westinghouse and General Electric
not only manufacture radio sets and re-
frigerators, but all types of electrical
equipment. Atwater Kent has made
very considerable experiments with re-
frigeratorS and the sale OF retriger-
ators and it is understood has dropped
this side line, at least, temporarily. II
is natural that the trend should turn
toward the sale of electric merchandise
since this fits in with the radio lines.
There are now approximately 19,050,-
600 wired homes. In SO per cent OF
those, or 17,700 homes, there is one or
more electric irons. About 100000
vacuum cleaners, while 30.2 per cent, or
5,735,00 homes. have electric washing
machines. Nearly 80 per cent are equip
ped with electric fans and % per cent
with coasters. There are approximately
1885, 900 electric heaters in operation.
Further use of electrical equipment
seems inevitable.
Seeking Business.
The market unqueStlonaply eHISlS anu
the manufacturers are going after the
business. They are centering their at
tention not only on refrigerators, OF
which there are some 1925 900 in OPP
Grafton, but on electric cookers. Only
SIS per cent of the homes of the coun-
try are equipped with cookers end 3.S
per cent, or 725000, with electric ranges
for cooking. over 81 per cent of the
wired homes of the country are with
out electric ironing machines. In 1927
$4,000 electric clocks were sold. In
1928 this rose to 10000 and the in
crease since that time has been even
more remarkable.
There has also been marked gain
in the sales of telectrical-driven eXer-
cisers, floor polishers, heating pads,
waffle irons and violet-ray outfits. The
same general trend which is thus
shown in the radio and electrical equip
n1ent fields is becoming evident in a
score of other manufacturing lines.
(Copyright. 1900