232 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Al'KIL I, 1 9IO. 



A GOOD RUBBER FOOTWEAR SEASON. 



THE season which is just closing in the American rubber shoe 

 trade lias been one of the best ever known in the industry. 



This has been largely due to the fact that blizzards and snow- 

 storms have bei 1 over the entire territory of the United 

 Xo single section has escaped an excessive number of 

 snowstorms. The result of it has been that everywhere in the 

 1 stocks 1 1 rubber footwear are depleted. This is true 

 not only with regard to the retailers, but also true with regard 

 to the jobbers and the manufacturers. A representative of the 

 I d States Rubber Co. said, concerning the present situation: 



"This has been the best season in the experience of the com- 

 pany. Beginning early in the fall there occurred snow and rain 

 storms all over the country that called on the retailers for their 

 full stocks of goods. ' Before Christmas Ave began to feel the 

 result of these weather conditions. Repeat orders and duplicate 

 orders were poured in upon us from all par^s of the country. 

 There were many rush orders which were so insistent that we 

 were scarcely able to fill the demand. The jobbers had not 

 bought very heavily last spring because the retailers were fairly 

 well overstocked. This was due tc the unusually mild winter of 

 the previous season. As soon as the bad weather began to ap- 

 pear, however, there was a heavy rush upon the retail mer- 

 chants, and in order to keep up with the demand of the actual 

 uners these merchants began pouring in telegraphic orders 

 upon the jobbers, who had in turn to order from the 

 manufacturers. 



"This condition created a pre-holiday demand which, if the 

 bad weather had not continued, might have been the end of the 

 business. But, as you know, beginning with Christmas week, the 

 entire country was covered with blizzards and snowstorms. The 

 result was that the early demand was not sufficient for the con- 

 sumers. People had to have rubbers and they had to have 

 them quick. Orders came to the manufacturers in a volume 

 never before known, and the demand has kept up from the be- 

 ginning of the new year until the present time. Never before 

 has there been such a succession over as wide spread a territory 

 of storm conditions. Even the south has had snow storms be- 

 yond anything ever known before. 



"We have found that our business has increased not only in 

 those parts of the country which have heretofore been subjected 

 to 51 vere weather conditions, but way down in Texas, Louisiana 

 and lower Mississippi, the demand for rubber footwear has been 

 unprecedented. You understand that there are some sections of 

 the country that have a considerable amount of snow every year 

 and these sections furnish our dependable regular trade. It is 

 when the other sections, those that ordinarily have few severe 

 storms, suffer from adverse weather conditions, that we get this 

 extraordinary demand. I believe that it would be safe to say 

 that not for very many years has there been 1 condition where 

 all the stocks — retail, jobbing, and factory — are as thoroughly 

 depleted as at the present time. It would be impossible to say 

 that there has been any extraordinary demand for any given 

 type of rubber footwear. The demand has been created by 

 weather conditions, and under these circumstances the con 

 sumer buys what he can get. The volume of sales of the United 

 States Rubber Co. probably will be found to be the best in its 



history." 



* * * 



Ix discussing the situation of the rubber footwear trade, a 

 member of one of the largest firms of jobbeis in New York 

 city, and one not particularly allied with the manufacturing 

 mt, rests, said : 



"Our own business is largely confined to New York city and 

 adjacent territory. During the past season, however, it has 

 been better than ever before in rubber footwear. At the begin- 

 ning of the season the retailers were pretty well stocked, but the 

 storms of the early winter cleaned their shehes rather thor- 



oughly, and we began to feel the press of orders before the 

 first of January. This has kept up until the present time, and 

 to-day we are receiving hurry up orders from retailers who 

 cannot meet the immediate demands of their customers. 



"In volume of pairs this has been the largest year we have 

 ever had in the shoe trade. It has not, however, been the largest 

 year in the total amount of money received. The reason for 

 this is the change which has occurred in the character of foot- 

 wear that is demanded. As I said before, our trade is largely 

 in the big cities. Every year these cities are succeeding in clean- 

 ing off the streets quicker and better than ever before. This 

 results in their being a demand for lighter rubber goods than 

 ever before. Each year we find in our territory that fewer boots 

 and arctics are used, and more sandals and light rubbers. The 

 better cleaning of the streets also makes more people go without 

 rubbers entirely. This year, however, there were a number of 

 sudden storms that caused people to hurry to the nearest store 

 and lit themselves out with rubber footwear. 



"As far as I am able to judge, the retailers in this section of 

 the country are very nearly sold out. We expect a big business 

 next year, in spite of the high prices of rubber goods. People 

 must have rubber footwear no matter what it costs, and we 

 have not found, when there have been a series of storms and 

 widespread inclement weather, that price made much difference 

 in the volume of sales." 



* # * 



The manager of the shoe department of one of the largest de- 

 partment stores in New York said, with regard to the rubber 

 shoe sales of the past season : 



"The numerous storms of the past winter have kept us hus- 

 tling to the jobbers to keep enough rubber shoes on hand to 

 till immediate demands. Every time that one of these heavy 

 snows came, followed by a lot of slush on the streets, our aisles 

 were filled with customers who wanted rubber covering for their 

 feet before they left the store. When we were not able to give 

 these people exactly what they wanted they generally took what 

 we were able to give them. 



"We carried over a considerable stock of rubber footwear 

 from last season, because, as you know, that season was excep- 

 tionally mild, and the only severe storms which occurred were 

 so late that many people put off buying. This year the storms 

 began early and were fairly consistent. The result has been 

 an unprecedented rush. Time and time again our stock clerks 

 have reported that we must have more rubber footwear. The 

 result has been that we have bought and have sold more rubber 

 shoes this season than in the past two or perhaps three seasons. 

 At the present time we are none too well stocked, and on ac- 

 count of the prices of rubber goods are not anxious to buy 

 immediately." 



A conspicuous success among automobile accessories during 

 the past year has been the Twitchell air gage, for registering 

 instantly the air pressure in tires. This has been illustrated 

 and described in The India Rubber World (April 1, 1909 — page 

 254). A statement during the past month was that during one 

 year more than 100.000 of these gages had been sold, all over 

 the United States, they having been ordered largely by tire and 

 automobile manufacturers. A traveling representative is now in 

 Europe, conducting a campaign for the introduction of the gage 

 in Great Britain and on the continent. Mr. W. D. Newerf, of 

 the W. D. Newerf Rubber Co. (Los Angeles, California), who 

 control the Twitchell gage says : "Out of the last 90,000 gages 

 manufactured we have had to replace less than one dozen, al- 

 though all were sold under a guarantee insuring absolute ac- 

 curacy." 



Under the customs laws of Japan imported bicycle tires here- 

 after will be classed not as rubber goods but as parts of bicycles. 



A book for rubber planters — Mr. Pearson's "What I Saw in the 

 Tropics." 



