1925 Lumber Turnover

By W. Wadsworth Wood

Note-ll/. LI/adszaorth Ilooil, President of the W. D. Wood Lumber Company of ;Birmingham, Alabama, is'ihe creator of the BILL DING Advertising and Sales plans now being efrectiaely used by hundred's. of the countr5l5 -retoilers. These deaTers uith iheir emjloyees constitute the membership of the Bill Ding CIub of Live Lumberinen.

Frederick Halsey in a recent article states: .,The entire business world can be divided into two classes-the ..let's goers', and the "and-tlen-what€rs." The latter are the greater suc-cesses because they_plan carefully before they make a dicision.,, The go-cetters are O. K. But it's cheaper to know where and how to gef itiefore starting.

We can already tell pretty much what 1925 holds for the retail lumber dealer. And each individual dealer will make more profit if he looks the facts squarely in the face.

The indications are 11t"1 lr'il4ing during 1925 will not be up to the volume oL 1924. There will not be ilarse decrease. orobiblv not more than l|Va. But this 10% must be laken into iciount in plan_ning- sales. There has been the usual expansion in the retail lumber business. There are more dealers no-w than a year ago. Since there is to be less business in 1925 divided among this grealer number of-dealers, everyone who is to show figures on Ihe rig-ht side of the book next December must cut expenseJ and handle tFe work on a more efficient basis.

Roger Babson has caught the situation. He says that there are not exactly too many lumber dealers, but that there is too little creative work being done by them. This means that there are too many orders-takers: too few merchandisers.

The basic truth behind the report of the United States Coal Commission applies equally well tb the lumber trade. This report states:

"Retail facilities, ranging from the simple equipment of the country -dealer to the expensive plant of the large city dealer, are -c_onsiderably overdeveloped. Undoubtedly the same service cguld be given in many maikets at less cost to the consumer if there were a smaller number of dealers who would then use their plants and equipment more nearly to their full capacity."

The lumber man should be the real home merchant. A good part of his sales and advertising effort should be directed to the prospective home owner. In order to do this it follows naturally that he should run a Building Department Store with complete stock of building materials-everything that goes into the home with the possible exception of plumbing, heating and lighting fixtures.

It is of utmost importance that the lumber dealer sell the general public his institution, that he establish firmly the fact that he personally, is behind all of the goods that he sells, backing up the manufacturers' guarantee. Not only will this build good-will bUt it will also form closer contact between his concern and the bunrlt public.

I believe that there will be no radical change in retail prices. During the past few months the market has strengthened with the demand, but there has been no run-away market; no sharp uptrend. Therefore, we look for no violent drop. The volume will be sufficient to hold prices at approximately the normal level.

It is essentiirl that the lumber retailer plan a campaign for 1925. Starting in January, he should advertise to take full advantage of the spring building. This will grve him time for the necessary sales effort to close inquiries and to prepare his schedule, so as to make prompt deliveries as soon as ground is broken. He should continue advertising, so that building will continue throughout the summer and fall.

The lumber retailer has a great opportunity and a great responsi- bility, It is his privilege to perceive chances for the expansion of his town. By striving for better homes and more of them in his locality, he will do society a service and create new business that would not otherwise come to him.

I speak from experience when I call this an opportunity. Since we have started the Bill Ding trade figure advertising in Birming- ham, our business has multiplied several times. Some of it is of course due to the fact that this distinctive advertising places us to a large degree above competition. But much of it is also due to the fact that we have sold homes to people who had not previously contemplated building.

So I see 1925 as a year of prosperity for every careful, energetic

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Why Sell Redwood?

n NE of our good dealer friends in a recent letter jokingly V remarked that from his standpoint one of Redwood's big disadvantages is its permanence-its great durability makes replacements unnecessary. Nothing short of a cyclone will destroy Redwood. Fungus does not rot it and worms and insects leave it alone. It is a slow burner. Thoroughly painted, it looks well a long time. Even unpainted, it still rcsists decay. A Redwood house needs little repairing. But this dealer keeps right on ordering Redwood, He finds that telling these sad facts about Redwood to his custorners does not drive them away.

Sometimes he even ventures to remark that according to the U. S. Government Report entitled "Physicol, Mechanicatr and Chemical Properties of Reduood" there isn't any other wood, either soft or hard, that averages as high on durbaility, lack of shrinkage, strength as a bearn or post, ease of glueing, u,orkability and ability to "stay put."