CHAPTER VI
BASEMENT STORES FOR THRIFTY CUSTOMERS
A basement store will really pay only if its business is large enough
to warrant separate buyers. Should do its trade in addition to upstairs
volume and at different price levels. Less elaborate service permits
lower expense. Cheap prices and good quality by sacrificing com-
pleteness of lines in basement store. Distress buys belong in basement,
not in full lines. Basement staff free from supervision by upstairs
executives. Scientific planning means basement store success; how the
Filene, basement doubled its men’s clothing volume. Advertising, “walk
through the basement daily.” The automatic bargain basement. Auto-
matic mark-downs contain a really scientific principle of adjusting selling
to the most-profit times to buy. No reserve stocks permissible. Some
specific instances from the automatic bargain basement. Fast rate of
turnover the kev.
THE basement store and the de luxe departments have been
mentioned together throughout this book. There is a reason
for this. They bear similar relationships to the Model Stock
Plan in that the basement store takes care of merchandise
to be profitably sold for the most part below the cheapest
full line, while the de luxe departments take care of cus-
tomers’ requirements above the highest-priced full line.
In order to yield the greatest total profits, both the base-
ment store and the de luxe departments should be staffed
by separate organizations. Neither should be under the
authority of the merchandise men or buyers for the full lines.
But here the similarity ceases.
De luxe departments are an essential part of the Model Stock
Plan in department stores and in other stores large enough
to make the de luxe department operations profitably possi-
ble. Without well-run de luxe departments such a store
cannot earn the greatest total profits on the three full lines.
A basement store is not essential, although it is helpful and
desirable as an aid to greatest total profits. A store had better
get along without a basement store if adequate space is
lacking, or if the store has not enough capital to stock it
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