NOT BEING SOUGHT, SO SEEKING.
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How Travelling Showrooms and Commercials' Vans Help to Foster and Develop Business Relations.
THE mountain will not go to Mehemet, Mahomet must, go to the mountain ! In other words, if the retailer will not devote the time or go to the trouble of inspecting the premises and stocks of the wholesaler and merchant, then the, merchant must take samples of his stock to the retailer.
During the past two years there has been a startling increase in the number of travellers' motorvans, which are now being turned out to suit the particular requirements of individual trades. For instance, a short time ago the writer viewed a particularly attractive travelling showroom, specially .built kr the display of hottleS and carton-packed sweetmeats. It was only a small van, but the doors, which were slotted for the holding of cards of scented cachous and boxes of chocolates, on being opened, presented the appearance of a miniature, sweets/lop containing well over a hundred varieties of sweetmeats. Round the sides of the van there were tiers of shelves covered with thick green baize, on which rested glass jars of sweetmeats, -kept firm by a bracket arrangement running from the van side round the neck a the bottle. In front of the shelves was an attractively setout display of boxed sweets and chocolates.
The owners of this vehicle have about half a dozen of a similar type art the road. Each of them is located conveniently to cover a big area, the sweet manufacturer's policy being that the travelling shewritoms should only visit those shops which do not already stock a certain well-known brand of .sweetmeats. As to customers already upon the • manufacturer's books, these are regularly visited by travellers who make use of a sedan-type of car, their business being mainly to book orders 'for lines already familiar to the buying recently made its debut, is fitted up for the display of crockery, and a few days ago the writer heard of the surprise of a few crockery dealers in a northern city when a traveller Caine into the shop and said, "Will you kindly step into my showroom, it is outside." This van, with a eatural mahogany finish, is construtted an a Crossley chassis, and is
fitted up with 70 it, of shelving, holding 1,000 samples of crockery; pottery, and fancy work, each article fitted into A niche.
Chatting with a representative of the owner, it: was discovered that a traveller's expenses in a big city, including living expenses, showrooms, package, and freightage, come to about 40 is week; but with the van visiting the shops the gross expenses were about .C.5 a week. In addition, of course, calls can be made on dealers who would never think of visiting the traveller's showrooms. This van, which was -built by the 111iy1 and Potteries Motors,. Ltd., visits, as a rule, two towns each day, and only recently it covered York and Hull in a single day, a journey which would be impossible to the ordinary traveller dependent upon the railways. The " stall " of the van comprises the driver and the traveller, and their personal comforts are assured without leaving them dependent upon local hestelries. The shelves containing the crockery are hinged on swivels and can be turned up and put out of the way. This gives room for the erection of two beds, which are part of the van's equipment. In addition, the stores include, an oil stove, oven, cooking utensils, chairs, etc.. As the roof is glazed, and there is plenty of ventilation, this is undoubtedly one of the most handsome self-contained vans an the road.
When one comes to the drapery trade, one encounters a multiplicity of types. Sometimes travellers visiting the big centres of population hire motors to. convey their samples, but the more up-todate firms now provide their oommereial men with vehicles, not only to save travelling expenses and to facilitate the movements of their outside staff, but also to enable them th cover a wider territory. A much-favoured design of vehicle has glass panel sides with a rear entrance. The samples are displayed on caela side of thobody, leaving a passage • in the centre to render them accessible. Another and rather older-fashioned design_is a body totally enclosed and accessible only from the driver's cab. It is not-so very long ago that representatives of tho drapery houses, when they had men working districts like Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham, etc., had their Cases of samples loaded up in-the morning on. a hand barrow, which was hauled about by a porter from place to place at the traveller's behest. When the day's work was over, the cases were taken td a. railway station and prepared for another similar round in the next town. Alternatively, the traveller hired what is popular known as the "growler': ---a horse-drawn fa-Ur-Wheeler—which was generally well loaded up with samples. Both these. methods have passed into the limbo of forgotten things. Nowa'days, drapery films, with ramificationsin all parts of the country, have travellers' vans located at. provincial depots., which are headquarters for. certain clearly defined area. From these the vans operate each day, and reports are daily sent to head office showing the work that has been done. The maintenance is either Centracted for with -a local engineer, or is supervised. by the firm's own staff. responsible. for the efficiency and uSefuL operation of their own motor delivery lorries and yang.
Despite, the big use that..ismade of ...travelling showrooms and the simpler types of travellers' vans, it 33. amazing to discover, in the course of chance interviews with commercial men,. hew muCh yet. remains to be done before the use of motorS by these people becomes universal.
A great number' of them are -paid on commission only, sometimes with exReuses, sometimes without, and the employment, of motors, in many instanceS, therefore, becomes a matter of personal enterprise. 'Not so long ago, one of our representatives WEIS chatting with a traveller whose expenses. (he confided)
were about. 30s. per day. was his duty to work" the North Wales terri
tory from Liverpool. He naïvely. confessed that his need was a convertible .two-seater which' could be bought sod operated at an -expense roughly .equivalent to that of a really good motorcycle and sidecar.
"Why not get a motorcycle with a . .
box carrier appropriately fitted up, and replaceable by', a passenger sidecar!" we suggested.
" Very nice in summer," he replied ; "lint commercial men must perforce travel all the year round. When a man has not to caxry samples, the motOrcycle is all right; hut with samples one wants comfort and protection from bad weather. The car' enables one to increase turnover and to do in a day what.normally would take three 'days.. But, then, not all of us are so opulent as to be able to put dawn Y...250 or £300 for a car which, when in useful service, will benefit us, it is true, but will benefit the firm more. My idea is that caul, panics having 'a large number' of travellers should train each man to drive, and then suSidize hint in 'the aCqUi-sition of a car of his own.The uarnberof corm-. " inercial -travellers' cars would then be