The \(/.y Out

How One.Retail Dealer ls Meetins The Problem o[ Shiftins Markets

By Edwin P. Gerth Albert Frank Advertising'Agency, San Francisco

Someone has said that "the law of life is Struggle, Change, Development." That the lumber industry has had its share of "struggle" no one will deny. That "change" is upon us, besetting our plans with uncertainty and vanishing profits is apparent to everyone. How the "developments" which are bound to follow, will affect the lumber dealer depends on how he meets the situation now. If he watches trends and takes advantage of them, he is bound to profit.

The fact is that no business can escape change. All markets continually shift and individual businesses must move with the tide or be left behind.

The decreasing rate of growth of population, present over-built conditions and the rising tide of substitutes simply means that for the dealer to depend entirely upon raw lumber for profits is suicide. On the other hand, while smaller families mean fewer and smaller homes, there is apt to be a greater surplus for other things. This fact, together with the increasing danger ,connected with children playing in the street, and the general outdoor movement suggests the back-yard and week-end 'cabin as the market most available for development in the immediate future.

New products and new sales appeals must be worked out to meet these new conditions.

Here is the story of one man, who instead of waiting for the tide to come in, went out to meet it.

W. H. Besecker of the San Jose Lumber Company rvas clissatisfied. Thousands passed his yard every day, but few turned in. Apparently they all had houses and garages and there was little prospect of selling them lumber in the immediate future. What was he going to do about it? What was there that he could sell them?

To find out, he went out and asked them !

No, they were not interested in planks, 2x4's or rustic. They did not want shingles, except for a few cases of remodeling. They could however be interested in getting more use out of their own backyards and vacant cabin sites. Hard up? Sure! But they might spend a little for something they wanted "awfully'bad."

So Mr. Besecker decided to put in a complete line of cabins,'garden furniture and fixtures and outdoor play equipment and then make them want to buy it "awfully bad".

The first step was to convert his lumber yard into a sales yard. He moved his lumber stocks to the rear of the yard where they could be handled just as easily as before. He then turned his entire frontage into an attractive display. A modern log cabin was built on the corner along rvith picket fences, gates, trellis, etc. The front end was torn out of the old building and replaced with a plate glass display window. In it were displayed kitchen cabinets, corner cupboards, Redwood panels and other lumber prodrrcts. An additional display room was built facing the street, in rvhich Redwood boats, ping pong tables and garden furniture were displayed.

In the open yard space, fronting on the street a beautiful, A

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Customer Is Your Best Advertisement

outdoor park was laid out to display outdoor furniture and play equipment. Here garden seats, picnic tables and benches, play houses, pergolas, rose trellises, a green house, dog kennel and solarium, sandboxes, swings, slides, rings, bars and in fact everything to make the outdoor living room useful and attractive, was displayed. Nor is the farmer overlooked. One section of the yard is devoted to modern chicken houses, a rabbit hut,ch and other model farm stru,ctures.

Every article, including the log cabin, bears a price tag rvith two prices-"knocked-down" or "delivered and set up". At night the outdoor display is flood-lighted and has