Random Editorial Ramblings

By Jack Dionne

At a recent meeting in Chicago the status of the Natio'nal Retail Lumber Dealers' Association was discusse4 and a comrnittee of nine was determined on to plan a reorganizationprogram. The committee consists of three retailers, three metropolitan secretaries, and three secretaries of state arld regional associations. This committee now has a letter out asking for constructive suggestions. Paul S. Collier, Secretary of the Northeastern Retail Lumbermen's Asse ciation, signs the letter.

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The National Retail Lumber Dealers' Association is NOT and has never been exactly what the name implies. It was created years ago in Chicago. Its original purPoses were not exalted.. Its membership spread, but was and is made up of individuals and individual firms. City dealers in the North and East have always been the bulk of its strength. Some retail organizations of state and regional character have affiliated with it. But it has never represented the retail lumber industry in the manner and fashion that the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association does the manufacturing industrY.

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The National Lumber Manufacturers' Association has nothing individual about it. It is made up of the various regional and species manufacturing associations, and these associations furnish its funds for operation. When the delegates appoinjed by the regional manufacturing associations meet, they form the National. The general association is simpty the creature of, made up of, and operated for the regional associations. It is their co.ordinated agent, mouth. piece, and vehicle for handling national problems. This is an ideal and useful arrangement, and the personal ele' ment is missing.

The Natioqal Retail Lurnber Dealers'Association startefl wrong, and you can't build right on a wrong foundation. Lots of good men have put their shoulders to its wheel and tried to solve its problems, but from start to finish it has had a perfect genius for making mistakes that kept it continually in turmoil, terminating in the thoroughly impractical and unintelligent national advertising campaign, which finally blew up with a loud crash, and is now in the courts for settlement. Evidently something has got to be done with the National.

I am therefore responding tomy friend, Paul Collier's, request for suggestions. I suggest that the National Retail Lumber Dealers' Association drop out of existence, and that this committee discover whether or not the regional and state retail lumber associations are interested in creating a national retail lumber association after the manner in which the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association is formed, composed entirely of the district associations, and operated for and by them, without any individual or firm memberships or elements. Personally, I am not certain that there is either demand or need for even such an o'rganization as this. An organization enthusiast all my life, I fail to see great need for same, gxcepJ where some national emergency arises, such as we had during the war wheh all the regional associations met and created a board to work with the government

If there IS nped and demand for a national retail lumber organization, I believe it is of the character just described. Such an organization need not be at all expensive, no high powered forces, no big overhead, just enough investment to guarantee cohesion in time of need. A dollar a year from the associated district organizations would be ample forits needs. It should funption only regarding national and non-controversial matters. When you go farther than that you find trouble. If you don't believe it, review the history of the N.R.L.D.A.

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The head of one of the greatest chains of stores was asked to talk about his business. He replied something like this:"First, I had one store. I put everything of intelligence and energy I had into its operation. I licked the other stores in my town, including the chain stores. There came a demand, for more stores like mine, operating on my plan. So I added others, and now I have a chain. But a chain is just a lot of individual stores, like I used to have. The individual stores can learn from the chain examples." That's a good historical sketch, and there's lots of food for thought there'

The first big lesson the average merchant should learn from the chain stores, is the value of that often rnisunderstood and generally underrated thing called "turnover". The second is "cash discount". If you carry $5000 worth of stock, and sell $50,000 worth a year, your turnover has been ten times. You can beat the man with $10,000 stock and $50,000 annual business, and you can murder the man with $25,000 stocks and $50,000 annual business, even though you all three use the same mark-up. Against them both you save the interest on the difference in investment, you save insur-

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