St. Paul recorder., 1943-01-01


What are you doing for postwar
consumer demand that will effec-
lively employ your widened produc-
tion facilities? These and many
other questions are plaguing many
manufacturers of durable and con-
sumer goods today.
Your planning today for the
peace tomorrow will largely deter
mine your survival in the tremen-
dous postwar rush for customers
to buy the many products which
will then be put in manufacture.
One important market cannot be
ignored-America's 100000 Ne
groes.
The Negro market, which in 1889
spent nearly six billion dollars, will
greatly increase its buying power
after the war, due to the widely ex-
panded employment gains made
during the war in nearly every in
dustry. Much of the gain made will
be result of Negro integration in
labor unions and other organized
labor groups.
From the viewpoint of the manu-
facturer, this is of extreme i'm
portance. The Negro market looms
larger as the need for full cultiva-
tion of every American consumer
becomes apparent.
To more readily see the value of s
this market, let US look at the rec
ords of those companies that are
sales leaders in. the Negro market
because of wise employment of
Negro specialists in sales promo
tion and merchandising; that have
enviable performance records now
in the field of selling and distribu-
ton.
One of the earliest pioneers in S
the field is the Standard Oil Co. of '
New Jersey. Seven years ago
Standard Oil employed James A.
Jackson, former chief of the Busi- Z
ness Bureau of the United States
Department of Commerce. Today, }
Standard Oil enjoys $50 of all the
gasoline and oil sales to Negro con- {
sumers; has over 400 Negro-owned {
stations and would have shown an g
increase of unusual proportions for '
1912 were it not for Pearl Harbor. =
Thinking in terms of dollar value,
Negro motorists used $7,000,000
worth of gasoline and oil in 1910.
In gallons that represents over t
6,500,000 unit gallons. s
Other gasoline companies also
have enjoyed remarkable success in :
the Negro market. Continental Oil i
Co. of Oklahoma has an able repre- I.
sentative, Dudley Luck, who travels
its Negro market areas. Like
Standard Oil, it too enjoys large
sales. It would be safe to estimate {
its share of the market at about :
2O9o. Shell Union Oil Corp. has
Negro statesmen and Negro sales
supervisors; consequently, it has a /
large slice of the Negro business. t
Certainly with cars costing less
in postwar years, Negro ownership
of cars will nearly double likewise,
the sales of gas and oil.
But will you be ready to get your
share of the business then?
Yes, if you include in your plans t
a Negro specialist to develop the {
market for you. {
Consider the record of Pabst ,
Sales Co., for instance. Five years
ago Pabst business among Negroes
was relatively insignificant, despite
the fact that beer consumption !
among Negroes is high. William B.
Graham did job in Ohio, then
moved to Chicago to work for a
distributor. Edwin L. Morris, vice
president in charge of advertising
and director of sales promotion fol
Pabst, conceived an idea. He said
Lets hire William B. Graham anC
put him in charge of the entire
Negro market"
Sales to Negroes Soar
Pabst hired Mr.. Graham and its
sales in the Negro market have
scared ever since. Here are the re-
suits of his work in Harlem, New
York City's Negro community:
Mr.. Graham came to New York
in the winter of 1941. He surveyed
the field, then put Negro sales
man in the Harlem territory. Pabst
sales for Harlem in the entire yea1
of 1910 amount to $4,000 cases.
But in May, 1912, Pabst sold over
10000 cases Of beer in the same
territory. Pabst moved from fourth
place into first place nudging the
formidable Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
out of that position.
Budweiser sold 10000 cases of
premium beer in Harlem the first
nine months of 1941. Sales certain
| ly, and huge sales, too!
Now, Pabst has two Negro sales
men in New York City, a 100000
radio program with Negro talent