Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-31
Razor Company Official Dis
covers Opportunity in
Land of SoViets.
DESCRIBES CAMPAIGN
FOR FOREIGN BUSINESS
Declares Process of Building Up
Sales Depends on Individual
Efforts.
/, BY JOHN r. SINCLAIR.

| Ok JOhN r.. SINCLAIR
special Dispatch to The Star.
| NEW YORK, August 3O.-When the
American market is oversold the BUSH
| ness man turns his attention to foreign
export. For decades surplus American
products have been sold abroad, re,
heVlng the home market of serious
overproduction.
Is foreign business hard to get2 Can
any American firm that has patience,
| thoroughness and accurate information
| OF the market of each country" really
expect to succeed in expanding foreign
sales in a definite and successful
The tariff developments, both in the
United States and abroad, have brought
the question forcibly to public atten-
ton. The recent statement of Or.
EDWARD =. Pratt, former chief of the
Bureau OF Foreign and Domestic Com
merce, that the new American tariff
act had done more to injure American
foreign trade than any official act by
| the Government of the United States
! during the last generation is serious
| charge. He believes that American
foreign trade Is now seriously handi-
capped In every part of Europe rs a
result of tariff reprisalS.
| So asked Frank j. Fahey of Boston,
vice president and general manager of
| the Gillette Safety Razor Co., the secret
| OF his company'S success in the for
| eign market. His company makes three
| out of every four razors sold in the
| United States, but their foreign business
comprises IS per cent of their total
sales, which are now 100000 blades
and 100000 razors per day.
"a manufacturer recently asked me
! at luncheon in Boston club how we
were able Ito sell IS per cent Of our
| output abroad" said Mr.. Fahey. II
| gave him an outline Of our 25-year
| development of foreign markets, and
| he said: But that's too slow! It would
take me 10 years to get results from
| that kind of a program. I want Egypt,
Samoa and Brazil for a sales territory
| now. I want Australia and Ecuador.
| There must be millions Of possible Gus
toners there If I could get to them"
"Just how do you reach the millions
Of people in these faraway landS?"
asked Mr.. Fahey.
"Yes, there are millions In those
countries" he replied. There are q
/ billion in the Far East alone. We sell
| every one Of the 80 countries Of the
| Far East but it has not been an over
| night miracle. Each of these 80 coun-
| tries represents an individual sales
1 problem which we have spent IS years
| in learning. One of the least difncul-
| ties is merely to interpret your message
into words, symbols and pictures tnat
| the people Of those nations can under
| stand. Millions of them can neither
read nor write. In certain countries
| certain colors are barred because they
| are royal or sacred"
"What are some Of the practical
| problems in the export field that you
have found from experience had to De
metz"
"The manufacturer must learn to
pack his product so that 1t viii with
| stand dampneSS, heat or salt air. In
some places the package must be ant
| proof and verminproof. An intimate,
up-to-date knowledge must be constant
| ly in the manufacturers possession as
/ to tariffs and rates OF exchange. he
| must also be familiar with the individ-
| ual trade discount and credit practices
| of each country. He must be prepared
| to meet hard times, political upheavals,
| tariff changes, revolutions and eartn-
quakes or drought: His knowledge OF
| conditions and of the personnel or
| trade channels in each country must be
| such that he knows what to do IN
| any emergency"
| ''What about Russia, Mr.. Fahey?
| Are the business opportunities Tor
American goods there equal TO those OF
| other nations?"
| today. The younger generation Oh
Russians are smooth shaven. SANTA
| ton is the keynote of the Soviet gov
ernment's policy and the daily shave
is almost as common as In the united
| States. You cannot picture the modern
| Russian with a full beard. he Is
| smooth shayen, and we are selling MN
| hundreds of thousands of razor blades.
| The picture of the wild-eyed BolShe-
| yiks, with bullying eyes and race COW
| cred with whiskers. is q joke. The
new Russian leader is smooth-shaVen
| individual" -,
| to-
| developed at this timer"
"The famous Ganges Valley has
| population of 25,000,000. OF these
many million wear foreign clothes, use
| foreign toilet articles, eat foreign
| foods, speak English well, and use
safety razors. We tell our story there
in "a different Indian dialects. Ad-
| vertising in foreign countries Is VI
| tally important but it must be worked
out according to what will appeal
! to the people of each individual coun-
try. In our art work we use Tor
eign faes of the right type to APP
peal to each nation. You cannot reach
a man with q brown skin or yellow
skin by showing him the handsome pro-
file of a HOLLYWOOD movie star. AdVer-
Using must also be quick and flexible.
Sometimes 1t Is necessary to send 1t
by cable"
with dealers? Have you any special ar
rangement in this field?
EVEN the best advertising campaign
must, of course, be attended by the nee
essary arrangements for distribution OF
| stock to the dealers. They must have
! the product to sell when the public asks
| for it, and they must be able to refill or
ders promptly Otherwise, you create a
dissatisfied dealer. 1t also is necessary,
in my opinion, for the home office to
control even such a worldwide selling
organization as ours. We have branches
ali over the world, headed by nanag-
ing director, usually and preferably an
American stepped thoroughly In our
methods and policies. Our statesmen in
every country are natives, although
they are required to speak English so
that representatives of the home ONCE
can get first-hand information concern
ing their market when visiting with
them.
These managing directors are
trained at home and must, of course,
speak the language Of the country in
which they are to be located. In adj
dition, the men of the home Office con-
cerned with our export business are
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