Business at Olympia.
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lii orclur to focub the Trade View of tbe recent Olympia Show, we took the oppoetunity, during the last few days of the display, to invite the principal exhibitors to give US an expression of opinion on the following points. Other interesting replies will appear in our next issue,
(a) Their views as to the success of the present exhibition; (b) The class and amount of business done, so far as they cared to refer to it ; and (c) Any suggestions for the future.
Argyll Motors.
" Quite Satisfied."
Sir :—We are quite satisfied with the result of the first show of commercial vehicles held at Olympia. The orders actually booked exceeded our expectations and the amount of enquiry we received augurs well for the future.-Yours faithfully, ARGYLL MOTORS, LIMITED, ALEC GOVAN, Managing Director. Argyll Works, Alexandria, by Glasgow.
Darracq-Serpollet.
" P.specially Motorvans."
Sir :—We consider the exhibition has been most successful.
We cannot say at present as to actual results, but we are very sanguine as fo future business, especially as regards motorvans. We cannot offer any suggestions for future shows.—Yours faithfully, THE DARRACO-SEREOH.F,T OMNIBUS COMPANY, LIMITED.
F. A. BONSOR.
2, COienlail Street, London, F.C.
New Arrol,-Johnston.
"Has Exceeded our anticipations."
Sir :—We consider that, as an exhibition pure and simple, this present show has been a failure from the point of view of attendance of the public in comparison with the pleasure-vehicle show held in November. This, we do not regret or deplore as, taking the class of visitors to the show whom we have had the felicity of interviewing, in every case enquiries received have been genuine business ones and from business houses, and one has felt in talking to them that time has not been wasted as in pleasure-car shows.
As regards the actual amount of busi
ness transacted at the show, we are glad to say that this has exceeded our anticipations, and we have no regret at having shown at Olympia, and are quite prepared to show there next year. We are more than satisfied with the result.
With regard to your third query as to suggestions for the future, we venture to suggest that more advertising he done in connection with the show for next year and more especially amongst the class of hotel proprietors, hydropathics, and country houses, as we cannot trace having received the enquiries we anticipated for chars4t-bancs, wagonettes, shooting brakes, and utility vehicles of this description, and we think that the reason for this is that the users of thix class of vehicle have not been appealed to, and did not know that a show was being held. The show as a whole must be taken as being a success, and there is no doubt that, as an educational factor, it has done an immense amount of good to the commercial-motor movement. —Yours faithfully,
THE NEW ARROL-JOUNSTON CAR COMPANY, LIMITED. ERNEST A. ROSENHEIM.
Underwood, Paisley.
Dennis Bros., Limited.
Those who Came were Buyers-"
Sir :—We look on the show as a great success from a business point of view ; the attendance was poor, but those who came were buyers and not sightseers. The class of business we were most successful in was our new model 2oh.p. light delivery van. This chassis also sold well for 18 and -20seated chars-h-bancs, whilst singledecked and light vehicles generally seemed to be in greater demand than the heavier type. For the future, we think the show should be more extensively advertised, especially among the provincial Press, and the approaches to the galleries should either be illuminated or something should be done in the way of projecting signs to denote their whereabouts.--Yours faithfully, RAYMOND DENNIS.
Guildford.
Pullear Motor Co., Ltd.
"Fully Justifies our Showing Again."
Sir :--Tn reply to your queries, we consider dint, taking into consideration that this is the first venture confined to the commercial and industrial side of motoring, the present exhibition has been a great success, and we feel assured that future shows of the same
character will be still more successful year by year as the public gets to know more aoout them. The nature and amount of business which we have transacted, in motoreabs and vans, fully justifies our showing again. Regarding the last of your queries, we have no suggestions to make, everything being in our opinion very capably managed.— Yours faithfully, For THE PULTCAR MOTOR CO., LTD., J. R. SHERMAN.
138, High IIolborn, W.C.
Milnes-Daimler, Limited.
A Large Amount of Business will Result."
Sir :—I would briefly give you my views on the three questions which you ask—(a) I am of opinion that the success of the exhibition now concluded at Olympia was remarkable, and I venture to assert that it was the finest collection of commercial vehicles that has ever been exhibited in England or elsewhere ; (b) I have every reason to believe that all leading firms which were represented did good business, and were well satisfied with their efforts put out to secure a good exhibition, and that a large amount of business will result from the Commercial Vehicle Show of 1907; and (c) the suggestions for the future from me would be that we repeat the show next year, and give still further prominence to it by discreet advertising right through the year up to the opening of the show.--Yours faithfully, For MILNES-DAIMLER, TamiTED, 11. S. BURFORD, Manager. 221, Tottenham Court Road, W.C. [A postscript to Mr. Burford 's letter is reprinted on page 69.—Eo.1
Adams Manufacturing Co.
"Breath Saved : No Crowd of Curious and Idle Inquirers. A Reliability Trial Desirable before the Next Show."
Sir :—(a) Although to a casual observer visiting the show, the place may appear deserted and as though no business were being done, we find that such is not the actual fact. Whereas, at the pleasure-car exhibition, we may have had to answer 150 enquiries in the course of an hour, one of which is a genuine enquiry with a view of doing business, the other 149 are merely the enquiries of the curious. At the show under notice, we have still the one good enquiry of the hour, but we save breath on the 149 who do not turn up. In other words, the exhibition is a purely commercial one and not a social function or" gate " show in any sense of the word.
(b) It does not do to enter upon a venture of this description in the anticipation of booking an enormous number of definite orders. We have, however, no reason to be other than exceedingly gratified with the results of this present exhibition, both as regards actual orders booked and as regards definite and genuine enquiries which will probably result in exceedingly large business in the near future, this result resting solely in our own hands.
(c) As regards suggestions for the future, there is one point which we think is possibly worthy of consideration. You will remember that, at the Paris Automobile Exhibition last year, the long reliability contest was run just prior to the exhibition ; the cars which ran in this contest were exhibited after the run. Now it would occur to us that something on similar lines, and of an exceedingly exhaustive nature, should be organised immediately previous to the next commercial-vehicle exhibition, one of the rules being that each vehicle shall be loaded with dead weight, inclusive of driver and observer, to the full amount which the vehicle is advertised to carry. The run to be not less than 1,000 miles, and a record of the cost per mile to be very carefully kept, inclusive of any replacements or repairs that may be necessary during that period. It is just possible, also, that it would be a good thing if it were stipulated that no van should be allowed to enter the contest unless it had previously covered over 2,000 miles of road.—Yours faithfully, ADAMS MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. A. H. ADAMS, Managing Director. 147, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.
Sturmey Motors, Limited.
" Widespread Agency Negotiations."
Sir :—We consider the exhibition a success as a first venture of the kind and worth repeating. It has undoubtedly done much to awaken an interest in the problem of motor traction applied to business purposes, and the increased attendances towards the end of the show made it plain that the public was taking an interest in the subject too. So far as business is concerned, we have little to complain of, for the interest shown in our small " Parsons " kerosene fuel delivery vans and travellers' vehicles was very great, and we have opened up negotiations for our agency for Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, China, Ceylon, and South America, and in addition to such orders as were actually placed at the show, we were very much struck by the large number of promising enquiries, so that we fully anticipate there will be results following the show which may be of considerable importance. English agents, too, were fairly numerous in their enquiries for our agency, and we hope to satisfactorily complete negotiations with many of them. In another way, too, we found the show valuable, as we were able to very accurately gauge demand with the result that, finding quite as large a demand was expressed for a iscwt. to I-ton vehicle as for our 5 to 8cwt. vans, we have already commenced work upon 14-16h.p. model of this capacity. The only suggestion we would make for the future is that the committee should issue a circular letter advocating the claims of mechanical haulage to all users of horses for commercial work and inviting them to attend the show, giving some indication of the nature of the exhibits to be found there.— Yours faithfully, STURMEY MOTORS, LTD. Lotis Works, Coventry.
Berna Motors, Limited.
" Early Closing: No Raised Stands,"
Sir :—We consider the exhibition an undoubted success, for, although the attendance was meagre, we found the majority of visitors were either engineers to, or principals of, large trading concerns, who had already taken up mechanical transport, or were seriously considering its adoption. We seemed to be most favoured by brewers, cotton mills, and laundries ; the two former using vans or lorries of about 3?,, to 5 tons carrying capacity, whilst the laundries and general trading concerns preferred our van chassis with a maximum carrying capacity of 2 tons. Business actually transacted at the show was comparatively small, but quite satisfactory. In addition, we have arranged with a great number of wellknown firms and several bus companies for extended trials, a fair proportion of which will no doubt lead to definite business.
We consider that an exhibition of this character might with advantage be closed at about 7 or 8 p.m. at the latest, as there were few people about after the former hour with serious business intent. We also think no raised stands should be erected, as they proved a frightful nuisance in many ways to the heavy vehicles.—Yours faithfully, BERNA MOTORS, LIMITED.
A. GooDwiN, General Manager.
14, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.