PACKING FOR THE RETAIL TRADE.—Every manufacturer and wholesaler pays attention to the packing of his goods, but it is question able whether the retailer has given the subject the same consideration. The problem of packing retail goods is quite different from the problem of packing goods for delivery from the manufacturer or the wholesaler to the retailer. In the latter case, the maker is only concerned with packing for safety and with a view to economical transit. The packing of goods by the retailer is a vastly different proposition. In no branch of business i3 the " penny wise and pound foolish " policy so highly deveicpcd as it is in connection with the packing and delivering of goods bought in retail establishments. It is quite a common thing to see first-class shops using old newspapers and brown paper retrieved from incoming parcels, the idea apparently being that anything will do so long as the shopkeeper avoids the necessity of paying for expensive stock to equip his packing depart ment. In the great London stores this weakness is not so apparent as in some of the retail establishments in the provinces, but there are not wanting examples, even in central London, of packing being done without care, taste, or thought.
The question of delivering goods is worth attention from a point of view which is very seldom brought to bear. Most wise traders are capable of seeing that the goods ordered are delivered but very few traders, relatively, seem to have considered how far every package sent out from an establishment may he made an advertisement for the establishment itself. The possibilities in this direction are only seen by examining perfect packages by firms which make a feature of the work. There are in London and the provinces leading traders whose goods are delivered in a way that serves as a model to more slipshod traders. Most of the leading stores pack well, avoiding no reasonable expense not only in securing safety, hut also in securing attractive presentation on delivery. Costumiers, for instance, go to the length of having beautiful boxes made with neat designs in colour, as do some tailors. Many milliners in London have also adopted individual methods of packing, so that if their goods are seen lying for a moment on a station, they can be recognised.
But more noticeable than these improvements in packing is the general tendency of the up-to-date trader to deliver small things, even when handed across the counter, in novel and attractive_ forms. For instance, no wise tobacconist will hand out five or ten cigars in the old thin paper bag: he will encase them in a stiff case of coloured paper which would give the cigars all the protection afibrded by an expensive cigar-case. Then
again, such firms as Fuller's, the retail sweet people, have revolutionised the art of packing even small purchases of sweetmeats. In their case the customer would not be provided with a Vb. of dainties carelessly thrown into a paper bag, but instead would be turned out of the shop with his purchase neatly made up in a cardboard box of the right size to take the quantity, the whole being made into a dainty package by being tied neatly with a silk cord.
One firm in London has made a speciality of packing tiny sundries, using a very high quality of paper made with an exclusive design which gives the surface something like the texture of grained wood. However trivial the purchase at this particular shop, the goods are neatly folded and made up in this paper, and carefully tied with string which matches the design of the paper. This may sound extremely obvious, but the effect produced is so good that the purchaser instinctively realises the extra touch of niceness in the packing, and goes away with increased respect for the selling methods of that particular shop.
Roughly speaking, every parcel sent out from a retail establishment should be an advertisement. It should appeal because of its neatness and also by the evidence of thought shown in the individual touch put into the method of making up the parcel. If the goods are of such a character that they can conveniently carry a label, that label should be made a vehicle for advertising too. It is quite easy nowadays to get a printer to make neat designs for all purposes, and there is no reason why a label should be a slovenly piece of tasteless printed matter. One firm we know carries a monogram through every piece of stationery in use in its office, and this monogram even appears on the packet delivered at the door. Instances of this kind of thoroughness might be multiplied, but the pur poses cf this article will be served if the one or two suggestions contained in it serve to concentrate the trader's interest on the subject. After all, good packing is really a matter of personal initiative on the part of the trader, and much depends on his appreciation of the nicer points in his business which make even the littlest of things worth while. If parcels are delivered in such a manner that they betray evidences of the trader's respect for the goods he handles, the public who buy will have an added touch of respect for the materials so delivered to them, and for the busi ness which shows so much thoroughness in the small and apparently unnecessary thing.