Vii 



hderchandisiny of Lumber 



I'Kiiriiily lopv Willi 



KROM THE STANDPOINT OF A YARD WHOLESALER AND 

 CITY RETAILER 



. i-nf:.sii>KNT .ni.n •> skidki, i.i • 



ST. l.Ol IS. MO. 



llio followinj; foreofiil juiikt offers doiiio HiRvific 8ii)(|j;oxtiuiiN tliiit 



II o|H'n the wuy pretty clearly in the efforts to enlist the retailer in 

 the inerchnnilising efforts. 



Wi iiu-.! lii-rc tnil.iv on n l.lollll'ntll||^ oooiimIuii. >Ve havo coim- from 

 ovi-r.v ixirniT of tin- iountr.v to vii.lt whnt nilRht «i-ll Iw termed the most 

 Cleaiillc uiittitl uiidi'rlnklni: over :itteiii|'(i'il In tin elTiirl to presi'ut lumtxr 

 to an audlenre. Thn.w who arc and will Ik- able to eonic peroonnlly will 

 Itc the galiicni by havlu); aetunlly seen this wonderful presentation of 

 forest produrls. Those who, for one rensou or uuother, will he unable 

 to view this exposition, will, however, have the tieneflt of n vlvhl pletnre 

 of thf show, placed liefore tlieio liy means ijf tlic modern educational way 

 of the pn-ss. 1 do not know what your hopes were as to attendance. 

 I trust the number Is U|> t'> experlctlons — but whether It Is or not, the 

 coacenlrntlve elTort made to do things, the gettoirether Ideu, the thmiglit 

 of the phiunlng commlteees, the broad lines of endeavor, the objects, the 

 motive, the hope of aceompllshiueut. the awakening of an Interest among 

 lumlK-rinen as to the duty we owe ourselves, our brother, our customer. 

 and our business, will he a force, when larrled away by those who have 

 attendeil. that will not only be enduring but will be a developing propo- 

 sition to lie reckoned with in the future. 



MEUCHA.NDISIMJ .V X.tTIONAI, Is.SIE 



This Imdy. the National Lumber Manufacturers' .Vssociatlon. was no 

 doubt orcnnlicd for purposes .if "hettir linys ahead" in conducting the 

 luniUcf business. I do not know what thought you have given In your 

 dellberuilons to merchandising as a general proposition. I very much 

 (oar that that policy of merchandising which is current with the most 

 progressive ideas in other lines of manufacture has not received that 

 alteiiTlon on your part which It deserves. But that censure Is merited 

 by all the branches of the lumber business, mill Interests, wholesaler, 

 and retailer. 



MEBCH.XNDISI.VG a PRCXiHESSlVE AllT 



We have been lacking in the art of so merchandising as to continue 

 t>eiug an attracting force to those who were our best customers, and 

 arc failing as well to sufHcieutly Interest those to whom future develop- 

 ments may make us one. We are dealing in lumber, the article that 

 helped civilization to populate the new world ; lumber that was as 

 available as it was useful ; lumber that was as workable and lent itself 

 to the effort of an ordinary workman as well as it did to the effort of 

 :i skllhMl mechanic; lumber, an article which In Its varieties was bound- 



-~ and adaptable to oil kinds of uses in the localities where It grew. 

 LfMiiEK Merchandising Itsei.k 



I'oDsequently lumber merchandised ilnel/ — it did not need much ad- 

 v.rtlslng — it almost sold itself. The methods of merchandising today 

 are. therefi»re. bn.sed more upon what was than what should be — an<i 

 the advertising of lumber, while of the utmost Importance, is secondary 

 t" the fundamentals of merchandising — the subject which has been 

 "icned to me for today. 



Lcmbeu Mekchandising fro.m the Wholesaler's Sundi-oint 



III discussing the merchandising of lumber, I do so from the stand- 

 imiiit of a wholesaler with a yard to back me up. and also from the 

 standpoint of a retailer distributing in a large city. Let us, therefore, 

 first consider the changes in location of forest supply : then the change 

 in local demand: the character of a city's lumber demand and its changes, 

 as compared with that of town or village. We can then see where 

 the substitutes propogate and why they succeed. We must owake to the 

 transformation from a developing community to one of permanence, as it 

 takes place all over the United .States, and under this head would come 

 building construction, railroad work, street work, bridges, etc. 



Weighing the Factob.s to Keep Us Agoing 



When we weigh all of these factors in our minds, we cannot help 



but reflect upon what is necessary to keep "our business" a business. 



Let us consider the former manufacturers of a time when smaller mills 



who were sawing wood were one of the mainstays of a community. 



and for the purposes of Illustration take the Mississippi river as a 



basis of argument. All the way from Minneapolis down to St. Louis were 



sawmills after sawmills, sawing for local use and nearby territory. 



Civic Pride in Home Institctions 



Did you e%-cr sto[i to consider the local pride that ottachcs Itself to 



boosting the product of a "home" manufacturing plant — would not the 



I'liiployi'M an well an the dependent* act an boosters? Do you al»o ap 

 pri'cliile Ihe iiiiliienie in hU cominufilty of the proprietor and his worklni: 

 forci'. now mnnufncturliii; the wood conipetllora. a force that the uw- 

 mlll wielded'/ J>o you not bi-lleve hU employes are loutlnK their horn» 

 uliout thilr products'/ Would you expert an employe of a wall board 

 factory to use a wood ceiilnK, or an aiphnlt shlnide maker to buy wooden 

 Hhlngli-K'/ Think about this and then let me get back to the old mill- 

 town. Most of these old mills have vanished, there as well a> on the 

 <ireat LukcN, and on the Ohio, nnd In Pennsylvania, and we (lud mir 

 source of supply at far off points, with dlslnnccs varying from IJ.'ii" i.. 

 :!,.'iUO ndles. 



The fiiANGE OK Mll.l. to .Vkw Kieluh 



\ great many of the mlllmen have migrated from these foreiit countrlea 



to new llelds. and this marks the beglnniiiK of a chouKc Jn the mer- 



chaudlslng of lumber. The yard was liquidated, or perhapi aold out to 



Sei-auatiun of Mill Trade and Yard Trade 

 Here it is where the manufacturer separated from retail merchandising. 

 Tl e manufacturer has. however, tried to continue in Ills paternal power 

 of mercliuudislng his lumber, lie seems to forget. In a measure, that bis 

 personniily has passed away from his old community- that he sur- 

 rendered his right of "eminent demand" to another, and he must recog- 

 nize tills condition of affairs. We say. therefore, "All bull to the old 

 man" — he's as fine a fellow as walks the earth—but he's been Itossing 

 so long that he kind of overlooked the kid who has grown gray-haired 

 and ought to have a look In once In awhile, and a say-so. too. 



KEEI'INO an .WaILABLE SriTLY WiTIIIV ItEAI'II 



Why should the wholesale yardman be tolerated'/ fan the mlllnian 

 successfully sell direct with lumber receding and receding from the 

 main centers of demand'/ Here arc other trades establishing branches 

 of their own, or agencies, so as to be before, and nearer to, the people 

 and to offer to furnish them supplies quickly. Here are the lumber- 

 using communities demanding an assortment of all the new kinds of 

 lumber coming into prominence. Wlio will put his money Into them? 

 ("an you, .Mr. Manufacturer, overlook your hoy, the wholesaler, and your 

 boy, the retailer, when you outline a national campaign'/ 

 Bringing Back the Forests 



What is the wholesale .vard doing for yon right now? Nothing less 

 than bringing the forest back to the doorstep of the consumer. The 

 wholesaler has returned to what was your home town in the forest 

 area. The wholesale .yard is trying to build u\f lumber and continue 

 lumber for a real market, where you can get what you want In or out 

 of season at a marketable price. It Is selling to the smaller yards of 

 the country, who cannot buy straight carloads of tie new kinds of 

 wood, since their communities would not consume them within a period 

 commensurate with the investment. 



Overstocks in Small Ymids 



You cannot expect a retail lumber yard to keep a S20,0n0 stock In 

 a con-munity that uses only $20,000 a year all told, and still keep all 

 the types to be considered a "progressive." i'he source of supply lielug 

 so far away makes it hard enough for the retail yard to anticipate the 

 demand, not to speak of the dilliculty it has of taking its place in 

 line uud waiting for cars besides. 



THK WHOLESALER IN THE VaNGLARD 



Tlic wholesale yard, therefore. In my opinion, must take a large part 

 In the introduction of new woods as relay stations or storage yards. 

 So the wholesale yard, at any rate, saves the retailer from the Instability 

 of the market, or on slow moving items. 



Weather Bird Merchandising 



Quite a difference in this method from that of "The Weather Bird" 

 merchandising of the mlUman under the "subject to prior sale" slogan. 

 The sales manager gets to the office, opens your mail, sees orders in 

 sight for eight cars 4 x 4-10", .vou consult the barometer and find 

 seven more cars with the other hoys about town — result : Clear sky 

 for 2 X 4-16'. So take in sail, turn back half the orders and raise 

 the quicksilver two points. How about No. 2 boards? Heavy gale, looks 

 cloudy — drop your quicksilver, and so on until you scrape the bottom 

 of the harbor. 



Should Lumber TSk a Stable Priced Bcildino Article? 



Should merchandising In lumber be a speculative game, a wheat pit 

 drama, or should It be a stable business? If we believe In lumber as a 

 staple coinmodlt.v — can these conditions be remedied? And is our "latter 

 day way" of mill marketing correct and conducive to the making of 

 friends among the family, or of discord and distrust? How can the 

 pulilic have confidence in a double-edged proposition? In the fall, when 



