Evening star., 1932-03-27
Drug Store Conference
On Merchandising
BY HARDEN COLFAX.

To put forcefully before interested
business men all over the country the
dollars and cents value of the latest
business survey made by the Depart
ment OF Commerce is the object of
conference to be held April 26 and 27
at st. Louis. Primarily drug store inter-
ests will be represented, but there will
be on hand also representatives of many
allied lines, which sell through the
drug stores.
1hlS meeting, 1t was announced today
Will consider findings of the national
orug store survey relative to store ar
rangement, causes of failure, packaging
of merchandise, stock control and the
keeping of records, which will provide
the business man with what he ought
to know about the goods he handles
so that profitable merchandise may be
moved more quickly from his shelves
and Improbable merchandise made
profitable. Officials as we'll as business
specialists of the Commerce Depart
ment will take part in the discussions
and addresses will be made by leaders
in the trade.
Essential information resulting from
the drug store study which will be
presented to the conference will later
be incorporated with the other market
and merchandising material which the
department is just presenting to individ-
ual business concerns in cooperation
with the National Association of Com
mercial Organization Secretaries and
| the Chamber of Commerce of the United
States. After nearly eight months of
preparation, this material is now being
made available to individual Chambers
OF Commerce and Boards of Trade, as
experience from business men and con-
Germs which have thoroughly tested
the value of this merchandising infor-
nation. 1t will the department be-
lieves, help the business man to know
when he is making money or how he is
losing it.
The facts have been reached through
some very laborious experimentation
and investigation in a number of sur
veyS of particular industries during
recent months, including the grocery,
drug, confectionery, jewelry, furniture
and blue print industries. A SubStan-
tial number of concerns in these in
dustries report that, despite current
hard times, they have already effected
considerable savings and increased their
profits by taking into account the les
sons learned by other business men
and which they can now use, thanks to
the Department of Commerce.
X = x
During recent weeks, the department
announces, seven important wholesale
and retail trade organizations of East
ern Pennsylvania and New Jersey have
put into operation programs of group
application of scientific merchandising
methods based on plans developed by
the marketing service division of the
department and worked out IN this drug
| store survey. These organizations in
clude grocers, druggists and other busi-
ness men in Philadelphia, Atlantic City
and Trenton.
1t is also learned that the organized
grocery trade of Pittsburgh has already
extended among retail dealers of that
city and Allegheny County the benefits
of the application of the principles OF
profitable merchandising resulting from
these surveys, particularly the grocery
survey of Louisville, KY, completed
some months ago. This Pittsburgh food
survey is the first example of organized
| group application of the Commerce
Departments research work in the
| grocery field.
| These cities and towns in Pennsyl-
vania and New Jersey are reporting
that the ideal works" with them. The
( meeting at st. Louis next month will
iattempt to show what this application
means in dollars and cents values to
another major national industry.
(Copyrignt, 1882