THE CUBA REVIEW 17 



MARKET DEMANDS AND SELLING METHODS IN CUBA. 



The movement to and from the United States of many persons interested in 

 Cuban trade, as well as printed matter and correspondence, tend to show a growing 

 interest in the trade of the Republic. The old questions of what will sell and how 

 best to secure a market are arising more and more with manufacturers and exporters. 



As the manufacturers of Cuba, outside of sugar and cigars, are relatively limited 

 in extent it follows that a very wide range of products used by the people are im- 

 ported. These imports include nearly all kinds of merchandise required by a rich 

 and prosperous State, modified somewhat by climatic conditions under which frost 

 is never seen and where, during the ordinary winter months, the temperature is 

 frequently at or above 80 degrees. These conditions affect the character of clothing 

 required, the question of fuel, the construction and furnishings of residences, and 

 have their effect in various other directions. 



Agricultural Products Imported — Demand for General Merchandise. 



Though an agricultural State, there are important branches of agriculture that 

 are all but wanting in Cuba. Thus cereals are not raised on a large scale, the hay 

 crop is unimportant, and large quantities of flour, potatoes, meats, beans, canned 

 goods, apples, and other agricultural products are imported. Though many cattle 

 are raised on the island the dairy industry is as yet undeveloped, and much milk, 

 butter, and cheese are brought from the United States and other countries. The 

 rural population largely engaged on the great sugar plantations is essentially dif- 

 ferent from an agricultural State of the United States. From all this it follows that 

 the market in Cuba for harvesting machinery, thrashers, cream separators, and many 

 other kinds of tools and appliances is as yet not a large one and that the rural 

 population furnishes a limited market as compared with that of American farming 

 classes. 



As to a very wide range of general merchandise, however, the demands are large 

 and tend to increase. The stores and business houses of Habana, with nearly 400,000 

 population, display large quantities of practically the same kinds of merchandise dis- 

 played in similar stores in the United States. Thus there is clothing and textiles 

 of all grades and prices, fancy goods, shoes, jewelry, fans in great variety, chinaware, 

 toys, furnishings for residences and offices, musical instruments of all kinds, automo- 

 biles and automobile trucks displayed in attractive show rooms, sewing machines, 

 cash registers, electrical appliances, sanitary plumbing, tools used in various indus- 

 tries of the island, books, pictures, photographic supplies, stationery, canned and 

 bottled foodstuffs, fresh fruits, drugs, toilet articles, etc. In a lesser degree similar 

 merchandise is found in other cities and towns of the country, of which there are 

 several of importance. An essential feature of this merchandise is that it is prac- 

 tically all imported. With the merchant in the United States domestic goods are 

 ordinarily the rule; with the Cuban merchant the reverse is the case. It follows that 

 the island, with an area slightly larger than that of the State of Pennsylvania and a 

 population of about 2,500,000, furnishes a valuable market for many classes of 

 merchandise. 



Selling Methods. 



The methods employed in selling goods in Cuba are essentially the same as those 

 employed in other countries where imports are on a large scale. Several well-known 

 American concerns have branch houses at Habana in charge of American managers. 

 Some of these branches have ample facilities for storing and handling foodstuffs and 

 other merchandise in quantities. This method is expensive and is adapted only to 

 a somewhat limited range of products. 



