REST. See RESERVES AND RESERVE FUNDS.
RETAIL advertising is in a class by itself, and should be studied and administered by diffiirent methods than those of the national or wholesale advertiser or the mail order advertiser. The difference in retail advertising is not so much that the retail advertiser has anything different to sell than other advertisers, since the great majority, or at least a proportion, of his stock has already been advertised by the national advertiser. The difference lies in the fact that he obtains his results in a different way and by different methods.
We have shown that the national advertiser has to wait for his results, and that the mail order advertiser really gets his results from the follow-up system, the field being created by his advertising. The retail advertiser, on the contrary, sees results immediately. If the retail advertiser buys a large space in a daily paper say on Monday, by the following Wednesday or Thursday it should have paid for itself, or be a loss, one of the two. While there is, of course, a certain amount of cumulative effect to be looked for, the main result is immediate. The retail advertiser who is not getting imme diate results is losing money on his advertising, There is something wrong with his advertising, or his goods, and he should stop advertising until he puts it right.
The retail advertising problem, therefore, is very interesting indeed on this account. There is no mystery about it, there is no need for explanation ; either the one particular advertisement pays or does not pay, and there is an end of it. It is useless to look forward and think the advertising is going to pay in the future. It either pays immediately or is a loss. It is apparent, therefore, that there is no such thing as a settled formulated plan of adver tising for the retailer. Although the general plan of his publicity department might be laid down ahead, the actual press advertising itself is a matter which is arranged in accordance with events.
No retail advertiser can forecast what line of goods he will advertise in a month's time ; it depends on the state of his stock. A draper, for instance, who has bought very heavily in blouses at the commencement of the season finds that they are not moving to the extent that he anticipated, and towards the close of the season he finds that he has an immense quantity still on stock. It is therefore obvious that he must push blouses in this particular
instance. Then again, so far as the draper is concerned, there are the regular sales which happen from time to time during the year. Exactly what lines be has to shift when sale time comes round he cannot tell a month ahead ; it is a matter which is decided perhaps a few days only in advance.
It is apparent, therefore, that so far as large retail advertisers are con cerned, i.e. large drapers, large furniture warehouses and general stores, it is necessary to establish what might be termed an " Information Bureau " inside the house. It will be further apparent that it is very necessary indeed for the large retail advertiser to exclusively retain the services of a publicity expert. This expert will see to it that the heads of the various departments constantly feed him with information regarding the state of their stocks. A line of goods that happens to be going well, and the supply of which appears to be short, would not require advertising at all ; on the other hand, another line of goods showing a tendency to stick would require advertising in pro portion to the stock to be shifted.
In all advertising propositions it is absolutely necessary to have something of value and merit to advertise; and often when retail advertising—and we are now particularly speaking of large retailers advertising--does not appear to pay, it is frequently not the fault of the actual advertising itself. The fault lies deeper, and i5 generally found in faulty values which are offered to the public. Whilst, of course, it is not the duty, and cannot be the duty of the advertising department to absolutely control the value of the goods which are offered, it is certain that the advertising department can be so organised that it will check both from the buying and selling point of view the work which is carried on in the various departments.