£46 THE MODEL STOCK PLAN

a chance to buy these goods at low figures. We must bear in
mind continuously that the oftener we change our stocks the
better we can satisfy a majority of customers with relatively
small stocks. We must hold ourselves ready to take advantage
 of emergencies. I remember dozens of times when great
quantities of good merchandise were thrown on the market
at a decided sacrifice. Sometimes a mill failure brings
unexpected offerings. Once, I recall, a mill suddenly sacrificed
 $1,000,000 worth of goods on the market at about the
last minute of the season. The better we are prepared to
take advantage of such unexpected happenings the lower
will be the prices we can offer to customers.
Low prices—assuming, as we must, that the style and
quality of our merchandise are at least equal to those of
competitors’ goods—are, we have already seen, the determining
 factor in building goodwill. And goodwill, more than
any of the tangible assets, is what determines whether our
business will earn for us the greatest total profits. A careful
study and use of the buying-calendar principles will help us
greatly to make low prices profitable and increase our sales
and total profits.