192 THE MODEL STOCK PLAN
This whole method has effectively standardized and
simplified the Royal Worcester Corset Company’s produc-
tion and has aided in cutting out too slow-moving, little
needed, and, therefore, unprofitable items,
Case 6. Tre Esmoxp MiiLs, BLANKET MANUFACTURERS
The Esmond Mills, makers of Esmond Blankets, did not
undertake model stocks as a general practice, nor did this
company attempt to make the model stock universal among
Esmond dealers. In its efforts to improve sales by cooperat-
ing with jobbers, the Esmond sales promotion department
sent out missionary salesmen to work with jobbers and, in
particular, to hold Esmond displays and special sales in
stores that bought Esmond Blankets from the jobber. The
Esmond representative took charge of the special display
and helped behind the counter.
With the very first displays, the missionary salesmen
began complaining that the stock the retailer bought from
the jobber was not varied enough for purposes of display.
A more carefully built up assortment was accordingly made
up of items selected to produce a better impression of a
complete stock in the store and also to represent the different
price ranges, the various styles, and the different color com-
binations of the line. The selection was independent of
any particular jobber’s orders or his stock on hand.
This full-line assortment was so successful that jobbers,
who had sold it to their customers for the special Esmond
Week, immediately noted a strong demand for patterns
and colors which had been in the special assortment and
which the jobbers had not stocked. This demand made it
profitable for them to stock these blankets, many of them
in price ranges where the jobbers’ buyers had been sure
there could be no demand. Just as our carefully planned
retailer, of course, has no inherent right to demand such insurance of his
buying judgment; but the point is, manufacturers find that it is more profit-
able to work with their dealers, exactly as this book has already pointed out—
because it pays to have the dealer making a fast rate of turnover and satis-
factory total profits, and also because the manufacturer’s goodwill is increased
if the public connects his brand with only fresh, wanted goods.
