April i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



225 



THE CLOSE OF THE RUBBER FOOTWEAR SEASON. 



THE season just closing has witnessed a marked excep- 

 tion to the generally accepted rule that, to be of value 

 to the rubber boot and shoe trade, a heavy snowfall 

 must come early in the winter. During February and 

 March there were snowstorms of such a character that they 

 would have driven people to buy rubbers in August. Not only 

 was the depth of snow deep, and its duration longer continued 

 than is usual in many sections, but the total area covered, 

 under these conditions, was greater than for several years past 

 In consequence, it is believed that retailers in most parts of the 

 snow belt were enabled to clean out their rubber stocks to a 

 greater extent than for the past two years, while many jobbers, 

 who had considered their busy season at an end, were called 

 upon for fresh supplies. An immediate resu't of this favorable 

 condition was that jobbers began to receive oiders for next 

 season's trade, and manufacturers will begin the new season 

 with much more encouraging prospects for a demand for their 

 products than was the case at this time last year or the year 

 before. Below are some details obtained from the trade in 

 various sections, which are believed to be fairly representative 

 of the conditions prevailing through the regions in the United 

 States where rubber footwear is worn : 

 NEW YORK CITY. 



At the general offices of the United States Rubber Co. it 

 was stated that their stocks were almost exhausted as a result 

 of the late storms, whereas usually a large reserve was kept on 

 hand. " I do not think I overestimate," said a member of the 

 office staff, "when I say that the recent snows have been worth 

 between $5,000,000 and $' 0,000,000 to the United States Rub- 

 ber Co. alone. Our office stock is exhausted and we are 

 already, early in March, receiving numerous orders for shoes 

 and boots to be delivered next fall. I think all the factories 

 will be compelled to run at very near full time during the com- 

 ing season. The average of snow over a large area of country 

 was very great, and the immediate demand for rubbers was so 

 urgent that the retailer not only sold his up to date stock but 

 worked off his old stock." 



William Morse, president of the Merchants' Rubber Co. 

 (Nos. 70-72 Reade street), said that their stocks of rubber boots 

 and shoes had been almost exhausted. " While every class of 

 rubber footwear sold actively," said he, " there was an espe- 

 cially active demand for 'storm king' boots. I came to my 

 office on Sunday, March 2, to get some mail, and before I 

 could get away, I sold 800 pairs of these boots to parties from 

 Paterson, New Jersey. That city was under water and they 

 had to have boots. Several other sections of New York state 

 and New Jersey were also suffering from floods, and it only 

 took a few days to exhaust the market so far as this style of 

 boots was concerned." Mr. Morse said that many orders were 

 coming in already for next season's trade, indicating a general 

 depletion of retailers' stocks. 



Irving R. Fisher, of Nathaniel R. Fisher & Co. (No. 146 

 Duane street), said that the demand from the city retailers 

 was so great that the firm had difficulty in keeping up with 

 orders. They made 300 deliveries in one day. Mr. Fisher 

 thought that, on account of so many rubbers being sold late in 

 the season, and likely to be worn only a few times before 

 spring, many people might not feel like buying new rubbers 

 next season. But he did not believe that this would prevent 

 the retailers whose stocks have now become exhausted from 



buying liberally, in order to be ready for any emergency next 

 winter. 



J. L. Allen, at the office of Morse & Rogers (No. 134 Duane 

 street), said that his firm had practically cleared all their lofts 

 of rubber footwear. Several hundred cases of rubber boots 

 were delivered in a single day. An accumulation of 400 cases 

 of out of style shoes, which the firm had had no idea of ever 

 finding customers for, disappeared quickly when people began 

 to buy rubbers without caring what the styles might be. Mr. 

 Allen did not think that enough people would save their rub- 

 bers bought this spring, to affect the demand for such articles 

 next season. 



Among retailers throughout the city the same sort of testi- 

 mony was given in regard to the effect of the weather upon the 

 rubber shoe trade. J. Frank Beamish, manager of the shoe 

 department of John Wanamaker's store, said that he had al- 

 most entirely cleaned out his stock. " We not only had an 

 unusually large quantity of up to date rubbers," said he, " but 

 we bought last summer all of the old style stock of the United 

 States Rubber Co. and most of the old stock of George Wat- 

 kinson & Co. These goods we put on the market at consider- 

 ably less than the regular price for rubber shoes. We kept this 

 up during the fall and winter, beginning in September last, 

 until we had disposed of the entire stock, and we sold of this 

 class of goods alone upward of 250,000 pairs. The snow and 

 slush of the late winter enabled us to dispose of our regular 

 stock, which was larger than ever before, and entirely apart 

 from the cheap rubbers, at .fair prices and with remarkable 

 speed. Our stock is at present very much lower than it has 

 been for the past three years. The demand for rubbers during 

 the latter part of February and first week of March was phe- 

 nomenal, and the buyers made no inquiry about brands or 

 styles. They wanted rubbers for immediate protection." 



L. M. Hart, manager of Cammeyer's shoe store in Sixth av- 

 enue, said that never in the history of the store had the stock 

 of rubber shoes been so light as at present. The effect of the 

 storms had made the demand for rubbers so active that the 

 stock was speedily cleaned out. As much replenishing was 

 done as possible, but the manufacturers had been unable to 

 furnish the goods. 



W. H. Conner, manager of the shoe department for H. C. F. 

 Koch, on One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street, said that when 

 the unanticipated demand had depleted his stock he bought all 

 he could get from jobbers, but he could not get all that he 

 wanted. The customers as a rule took anything they could 

 get, and old styles as well as new were all disposed of. 



George W. Berrian, of Maiden lane and Nassau street, one of 

 the oldest retail rubber houses in the city, said that his stock 

 was thoroughly sold out. His trade is largely with persons hav- 

 ing offices in the loner part of the city and residing in the sub- 

 urbs. Everybody had bought during the periods of snow, and 

 the suburban residents had been especially heavy purchasers 

 of arctics and boots. Trade had been slow up to the snows 

 and then he sold more rubber foot wear in a few weeks than he 

 had sold in two seasons. The customers cared nothing about 

 brands. 



Like reports were made by small retail dealers throughout 

 the city, as, for instance, those on upper Third avenue. The 

 demand for rubbers had been active, and stocks had become 

 greatly reduced. 



