76 THE MODEL STOCK PLAN
we are good judges, almost flawless judges, when it comes to
applying art and science to merchandise.
Almost every buyer feels the same way, even though his
whole training and his background fit him best for buying at
the bulk levels of demand. Moreover, the requirements
for the greatest total profits in his full-line buying job are
so exacting that he can make much more money if he does
not spend his time and energy in the very difficult, time-
consuming task of buying single pieces for the de luxe depart-
ment. It is inadvisable for an able full-line buyer to scatter
his energies over the de luxe field also, no matter how com-
petent he may be with de luxe goods.
Likewise, an outstanding characteristic of a de luxe mer-
chandising operation is that the buying and selling must, in
far greater degree, be handled on a more intimate, personal
basis than can be possible in even the best of mass selling
and mass buying. The de luxe customer wants to meet that
special man or woman “who bought the goods” and “who
knows all about the goods and the style trends,” and in
whose opinion and taste the customer feels she can place
confidence.
It is utterly impossible for the de luxe buyer to follow the
Model Stock Plan preferred policy of often sending some one
else to market to place the actual orders. And any full-line
buyer who tries to handle his own lines, supervise the selling
in the full lines, and then, on top of all this, operate a de
luxe department, buy for it, and spend a great proportion
of his time in dealing with individual customers will have his
hands so full that he cannot possibly handle any of his jobs
most profitably.
The Model Stock Plan makes it easy for us to draw a dis-
tinct boundary between the three full lines and the de luxe
goods above these full lines. And the buyer for the highest-
priced full line must be free to obtain to sell at his price level,
to the greatest extent that he can, any goods that might
normally fall in the de luxe classifications.
It may happen that at times the highest-priced full line
might have the same goods as the de luxe department. In
