I) PAGE FOUR HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES. HEPPNER, OREGON,- THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 1930. nmrnmnirn t n iiiivimi b TO MERCHMVTS Independents Helped Thru Study of Chain Store Competition. By CALEB JOHNSON. What are the facts about the chain store situation? There is no other subject on which so much conversation is spill ed, most of it highly colored, if not violent. But most of the argument is based on incomplete knowledge of the facts. What are the facts about the chain stores? Are they dominating the retail business of the nation? Are they likely to dominate it? Is the day of the independent merch ant over? Those and all the other questions which center around the chain store situation can only be answered when all the facts have been gathered. Who is going to gather the facts? The chain store interests present one set of statements which they regard as the facts, the defenders of the independent dealers present an other set which they call the facts. There is only one impartial organi zation which has an interest in the subject and the facilities for finding out all the facts and presenting them in their proper relation to each other. That organization is the Federal Government, and finding out the facts about the chain store "men ace" is exactly what the Govern ment is doing through the Federal Trade Commission and the Depart ment of Commerce. The Federal Trade Commission is primarily concerned with unfair business practices. When it has completed its nation-wide survey, now under way, we shall know just how much the element of unfair ness, price-cutting below cost and similar practices enter into the chain store situation. In the mean time, the Department of Commerce has made extensive and intensive studies of chain store methods and those of the thousands of indepen dent merchants, and has found out many of the reasons why chain stores succeed when independents fail. And this is the important part of it the Department of Commerce is not only willing but anxious to show any retail merchant, who is threat ened by chain-store competition, how he can compete with the chain store. For the Government at Washing ton is definitely the friend of the independent retailer. "He is, as a rule, an integral part of his community or neighborhood," savs Dr. Julius Klein, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, who has personally directed much of the Governmental research into the chain store situation. "He knows his patrons not only as customers but as people; he is familiar with their circumstances, their likes and dislikes, their well-grounded prefer ences and their capricious whims. In his store, therefore, he greets them in a spirit of old-established friendliness. So he has that intan gible but invaluable quality that we may call 'the personal touch.' There is a psycho'ogieal asset here that every independent retailer should realize and justly prize." On another occasion Dr. Klein. speaking on independent merchants, said: "They are, after all, the backbone of the American business organism. On their diligent but unpretentious activity the whole commercial struc ture of the nation rests. Most of them do not belong to chambers of commerce or trade associations, few of them read trade papers or attend business conventions. They are just plain business men, citizens, taxpay ers. But they, more than any other single element in our business com munity, are most constantly, regu larly and intimately in contact with the great army of consumers. Even those who fail are important factors while they survive, inconspicuous though they may be as individuals. Through them the manufacturer and producer has his only contact with the consumer in almost every class and kind of merchandise." That is the spirit in which Wash ington is taking up the chain store situation. And here are some of the facts they have found out already. Only 15 percent of the retail bus iness of the United States is done by chain stores, even when the term "chain" is used to mean two stores under one management. Only percent of the nation's retail business is done by the mail order houses. Only 2 percent of retail sales are made by house-to-house canvassers. Company stores and consumers' cooperative stores do 2Vi percent of all retailing. The remaining 77 3-4 percent of all the retail trade of the United States is done by independent mer chants dealing in general merchan dise or special lines. So far, then, the chain store has not put the independent merchant out of business. And there is a de cided belief among Government of ficials who are looking into the mat ter that the chain store movement has reached its peak and that the tide is turning in the other direction. All that the .chain store offers which any independent retailer can not offer are lower prices for cash and better merchandising meth ods. Starting from that point, the Government's researches have been in the direction of discovering why the independent merchant cannot compete on prices, and why mer chandising methods which have made the chain stores generally sue cessful cannot be adopted by any dealer. The answer to both questions is that the independent merchant can compete with the chain store on both points, and the Government at Washington stands ready to show him how to do it. It is increasingly easier for the independent grocer, for example, to carry a small stock and replenish his shelves quickly, thus getting the benefit of fresh goods and quick turnover, which is one of the strong points of chain-store merchandising. Some of the largest grocery chains have established their own factor ies and bakeries, leaving great in dustries out in the cold so far as the chain-store market is concerned. This is a serious matter for many large manufacturers and packers of grocery products, and two or three of the recent mergers on a national scale in the foodstuff industry have had their genesis in this situation. These new combinations are ao- tively cultivating the independent grocery trade. They offer him the same facilities of prompt delivery that the competing chain store en joys, the same or better credit, and competitive prices, with the added advantage of enabling him to sell nationally-advertised goods. That is a purely economic devel opment of the situation. It Is spreading rapidly, and in some in stances is being backed up by fin ancial aid to the undercapitalized retailer who in other respects has the making of a successful merchant. But capital and goods are not suf ficient ammunition with which to compete with the chain store, the Government's researches have dis closed. It takes expert knowledge of market and merchandising. Those the chain store supply through its central organization of experts. The local retailer who would compete with the chain store must arm himself with the same kind of expert knowledge, and that is precisely what the Government Is prepared to furnish him. Without attempting to go into de tails here, the facts which the Fed eral Government has collected and which it is already to place at the disposal of any merchant, cover the whole field of retail merchandising. How to determine the extent of the local market for any class of com modities, how to pick the right lo cation for a store, select and replen ish that stock to the best advan tage, how to display the stock both inside the store and in the show windows, how to advertise, what sort of accounts to keep and how to keep them, how much capital should be available for a retail store of any kind in a community of any size, how that capital should be pro portioned between merchandise and reserve, how much credit a busi ness of a given volume is entitled to, how expenses should be appor tioned between rent, help and other items those and many other facts not guesses or estimates but facts based upon actual investigation and thorough study of thousands of suc cessful and unsuccessful retail bus inesses, independent and chain, in many different parts of the United States. In other words, all the expert knowledge which makes the chain store a more efficient merchandis ing institution than the general run of independent retailers are, has been collected and is still being gathered at Washington, analyzed, surveyed in its proper proportions and made available to every mer chant who seriously wishes to com pete with the chain store, instead of merely grouching about it. The independent retailer who wants this Government assistance can get it by merely writing to the Domestic Commerce Division, De partment of Commerce, Washing ton, D. C. And any local business association which is in earnest in wanting to improve the local retail situation can call on the Govern ment for an expert adviser to sur vey their field and tell them how to do things differently and more profitably. SALESMEN WANTED To run Heberling business in Morrow County. Many make $60 to $75 weekly year around work no lay off. Write today for free booklet. G. C. HEBERLING COMPANY, Dept. 1836, Bloomington, 111. 5-6. For County Assessor To the Republican Voters of Morrow County: I hereby announce myself a candidate for the office of County Assessor at the com ing primaries. If nominated and elected I promise to serve the people of Morrow County to the best of my ability. FRANK W. TURNER. (Paid Adv.) 3 DRINK MORE MILK Wise old Mother Nature made milk for children. Into it she put every thing needed for sustenance, and in the most easily assimilated form. So, Drink More Milk. Let the children have plenty. It is the cheapest food you can buy. Alfalfa Lawn Dairy WIGHTMAN BROS., Propi. Phone 30F3 Tuic Car wTtiis tag is your assurance of Quality and DepenaaDiiiiy L. ii n - 1'iirna -J II -J n 1 TOlel in- c- this niico , "'"". .Pry - v, UOII"1"- tnclUU- Karl i net QUICKC- There's no greater as surance of used car value than the Chev rolet red "OK that counts" tag, found only on the used car stocks of Chevrolet dealers. This tag guar antees that the car bearing it has been carefully checked and thoroughly recondi tioned by expert me chanics. If you want reliable transporta tioninsist upon a used car "with an OK that counts." 1929 ford I new "7. I ..II 17 v-- , ,illll" i thai " . I SPECTACULAR, The great reception accorded the new Chev rolet since its introduction, January 1st, has brought unusually large numbers of fine used car to our showrooms. To make room for fur ther trade-ins we must clear our stocks at once. Therefore we are offering these spectacular values for 3 days only typical selections from our used car stocks. Buy now and profit by these extraordinary savings. LOOK AT THESE BARGAINSl 1926 Star Coupster Late series. Run only 10,000 miles. If you want economic al transportation, don't overlook this. 8225 1!)26 CHEVROLET TOURING. Good paint, fair rubber, motor in fine condition. This is Just the car for those hunting or fishing trips', or other C4 1ft rough service v 1!26 C UK V ROLET PICK-UP. Recondition ed and ready for use. Just the thinif for the farm for light ( hauling. 11)28 :s2oo CHEVROLET COUPE. This is a smart looking Jnh. A depend able 4-cyllnder motor that will give you lota of mileage at low cost. Paint and rubber in ex cellent condl- QQ 1928 DODGE SEDAN. Standard six. Just nv puintxl. Motor recondi tioned, i ino (grnrt rubber Vw"" Buy "OK" Used Cars From Your Chevrolet Dealer Ferguson Chevrolet Co. Heppner, Oregon FOUNTAIN FAVORITES All the preferred sodas, sundaes milk drinks and ice cream dishes .are concocted best by fountains dispensing PRIDE OF OREGON The ice cream made from good rich cream. Our product is so deli cious that you always want the last spoonful. Morrow County Creamery Company I Bank Credit and i 1 Bank Balances I m The key to ready bank jJ ES credit lies in the size of M En your average balance. m M Build up your bank bal- 2 Eu ance with us and you-al- wt g ways have a bulwark for M B3 emergencies ready bank M Wt credit for all business op- 83 83 portunities. M 1 Farmers & Stockgrowers National 1 I m Heppner Bank Oregon unfltt Won lC V 1 sfSsssS sertce' SUV 1 OJLf rv CTL V rJ&rvT. Peoples Hardware Co. Heppner, Oregon