Miss Brey. Building Merchant Extraordinary

By Jack Dionne

I wish I could take every enthusiastic exponent of th.e almost-bleSsed art of merchandising building materials in this whole-country, and let them sit for a while-as I recently'had the privilege of sitting-and just talking merchandising to Miss Alberta Ruth Brey, of the beautiful little city of Porterville, California.

Gentlemen of the merchandising school, whoever you be and wherever you live, I beg to announce that in my judgement there is not on the top side o.f this earth a more truly remarkable lumber merchant than Miss Brey. S,he is just a youngster in age and appearance, but she has gone into this merchandising game with a fervor and an enthusiasm that will surpris'e even the most enthusiastic of lumtber'merchants. She has gone at it from many new angles, with a ferspective that is genuinely original, and the success with which she has met has simply urged her on to greater efforts.

I have told' of Miss Brey and her work before in these columns. I will probably do so again, because it would be unwise to try and tell so big a story as the story of how she merchandises, within the compass of a single article of business length.

Two and a half years ago they built a service and, sales room into their brick office building, and invited the town in to look it over. The townspeop{e came and looked, particularly the ladies, and they have been keeping her busy from that day to this, just building shqpping in Miss Brey's sales room, looking over the plans,, the pictures, the tbuiltin features, the home improvements, etc., that Miss Brey has to show them.

Talk about plan books. Miss Brey has two full plan book systems, and uses them both continually. But she has built for herself an additional plan service that is a fn the first page-as 5|i6y111-was the name and address o{ the newly weds. In the center Wds a most attractively printed and worded little invitation to come to the BreyWright Lumber Company any time within a year, and exchange the note for $10 in trade. There were well worded and tactful congratulations on the last page on their wedding. The home picture in the center is beautiful, in four colors. It would make any new{yweds want a home.

As Miss Brey put it:"I not only ca.n show thern how to build their dining room, but I can show them what kind of furniture to put in it, where to put the furniture, how to set their tables, arrange their draperies, etc." Isn't that building merchandising? And the ladries of Porterville have kept that service room busy ever since it was completed.

Miss Brey put some fancy French and other doors on display along one wall of the service room. SHE SOLD I5O PLATE GLASS FULL LENGTH MIRROR DOORS TO LADIES OF THE TOWN BEFORE THE SERVICE ROOM WAS WELL STARTED. Sold them just by showing them to the visitors, and quoting them on the door, delivered on hinges in their homes.

Miss Brey tries many advertising schemes, and she says they all pay. Here is her latest one, which she uses for "selling" all the newly married couples in the town. She ha,d printed some very attractive literature for th,is pirpose. Herewith will be found illustrations to show Miss Brey's scheme. The envelope in which the folder was mailed, was an attractive one, without any printing on the outside. It looks like a formal note. Inside was a folded double sheet of attractive note paper.

One of these goes out to every couple that marries and wonder. She took some big, attractive loose-leaf binder books, filled them as fast as she got the materials, with still black pages on which she pasted attractively home and build,ing ideas that she encountered in her constant search. lives in Porterville. Many of them have called, and so far, not one has redeemed the pledge who did not ,buy a bill of m.aterials besides. Miss Brey is delighted with the little scheme.

From House & Garden, Ladies Home Journa{, and other magazines of ideas, she grabbed rbeautiful pictures of homes, home surroundings, home furnishings, home arrangements, etc. She has two of those books now, tremendously attractive, and she is still adding to her collection. The ladies of Porterville know those books well.

It is only one of the many clever things she does to create a desire for building things. There is not a grown person in Porterville who does not know about Miss Brey and her service room and her building service, and the nuusual opportunity she offers to builders at all times to come. Because IDEAS are her stock in trade.