age you, but when you count the suits on
the table, don't forget to add about 50 dozen pair of knee pants and
odd trousers stored in case-goods boxes under the tables.
"Remember too, that when you take the tables out, you must find
another place for our last years sweaters, mufflers, caps, gloves and
underwear, as well as all our advance stock of shirts, hosiery and
ties which we keep under the tables because we have no room for them
on our side shelving. You can see it is piled to the ceiling now; and
all that on top is active stock."
"That reminds me, Mr. Stucker, of a joke your friend Jones, over at
Dennisville, played on Sakes, his partner.
"Before we remodelled their store, they had a lot of money tied up in
stock piled under the tables like you have. Most of it was odds and
ends--left overs of many seasons that Jones knew even a clearance sale
would not clean up.
"He inventoried the lot and shipped 72 dozen pair of knee pants to New
York, and wrote the auctioneer to send a check for whatever amount
they brought.
"The funny part of it, Sakes never discovered that the stock was gone
until about three weeks later, when he noticed a check in the mail and
asked Jones what it was for.
"You can do the same thing, Mr. Stucker, with your stock under the
tables, and the check you will get will help buy New Way sectional
shelving that will give you about three times the capacity your
furnishing department has now; so it will not be necessary to climb to
the ceiling for your active stock or dig under the tables for your out
of season goods.
"Before we discuss detail, Mr. Lambert," continued the salesman, "I
have something to say about the practical arrangement of the inside of
the store.
"The business of a store is to sell goods. A customer may come in for
one item. You want him to buy two or three or a half a dozen. The
easier you make it for him, the less he has to cross and recross the
store to complete his purchases--the more goods you will sell him.
"What you want--what every merchant wants--and what few have--is a
practical, natural selling arrangement of the goods.
"The invention of a practical wardrobe merely made the right plan
possible.
"Our business is to suggest the plan and fit the wardrobe arrangement
to the needs of a store.
"Every clothing store has its own individuality. Each problem must be
worked out on the ground with a full knowledge of the stock and the
business, the history
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