Modern Merchandising From a Woman's Viewpoint

By Alberta Ruth Brey, Brey-Wright Lumber Co.

Slowly, gradually, with much effort, slips backward, standstiils, and agiin the movement forward, still slowly like a great long heavy freight train, with only- one e^ngine pulling] so hal the Modein Merchandising idea. finally started, with Jack Dionne as the engineer, doing the thinking, the pirlling, the puffing, the scolding, the p.reachine and- the coaxini until-like the heavy freight train, the M"odern MerchandGing of Lumber Movement is getting somewhere, and like the freight train gathering momentum as it moves along.

'This Modern Merchandising is really a "thing of beauty and a joy forever," and from a woman's view-point it really is a pleasure to shop for a home now.

In this day and age when woman has everything done for her, with-the leasl possible effort on her part, the washing, the ironing, the cleaning, cooling, refrigeration, all by putting in a plug or pressing a button, -when the store winiows ire fillad with so many lovely things to take the eye, and the mone)r, the lumberman must have something with which to compete, or he is "left out in the cold," and the house-wife passes him by.

And this is where the idea of selling the completed home, makes otit of lumbermen, Building Material Merchants; and out of the old lumber yard the Building Material Store. Since it is the woman who really wants the home why not beguile her, intrigue her, make her have the "just must have it" attitude by showing her the things you have to sell, rather than keeping them all hidden and out of sight where she can't see them and want them.

A few years ago, here in Porterville, we were so enthusiastic ovei the Modern Merchandising Idea of using a Display Room that we built one in back of our office, taking pari of our Door and Sash Room to do so. But that {is- play loom could only have one window in it that could be seen from the street. You see we had the "fever" then and we still have it. Right now, as I write this, we are doing some remodeling. In fact we are moving our disqlay room right out in froni on the corner, and moving our office back. We are putting in large display windows of plate gl5.s, lnd we will also hive large eleitric lights, so that this Display room can be a silent Jalesman, not only daytime but nights as well, and I'll wager there will not be a Mercllant i" line of business that will have more people admire the display in his show room than there will be people who will admire the Building Features in ours.

And from a manis view point, this may all seem just an artistic hobby of a wornan, but when the male members of the firm are perfectly willing and ready and really take as much interesl in it as do the non-male members, there surely must be something more to it than just a hobby. There's got to be a PROFIT.

Againlrom a woman's view point the methods. now used to attract a customer, the Advertising, the Display Room, the Plan Service for both the inside and the outside of a home, the interest, the enthusiasm and everything else is so far superior to the old time way that there really isn't any comparlson.

But anyway here is one of the "Female of the Species" that is just absolutely sold on the Modern Merchandising Idea, and she thanks Jack Dionne, from the bottom of her heart, for all his thinking, his pulling, his puffing like the old engine, his scolding, his preaching, and his coaxing, until we like that slow moving freight train, are gathering momentum and are finally getting somewhere.

To Jack Dionne, we give our thanks and our sincere best wishes for many more long years of successful Modern Merchandising Ideas, to be poured forth to all we Building Material Merchants from the pages of The California Lumber Merchant, and as the publication starts on the journey of its sixth year, we know we are not going to be disappointed.