EDITORIAL

Just gimme the facts, m'am

lN THIS issue, the distinguished group of lforecasters we've assembled to tell you what to expect in the future are dealing mostly in terms of 1984-1985. We would like to move beyond those times about five years, to 1990. At that time, it is foreseen, videotext will become commercially available on a wide basis.

If you're thinking "oh, no, not another (expletive deleted) computer system to cope with," then brace yourself. That's exactly what it is, or more rightly, an extension of the computer.

Videotext will allow a customer seeking information to type his questions on a computer keyboard and receive immediate answers. The devices could be used by retail operators on their showroom floors. Wholesalers could field questions by allowing customers and suppliers to tie in with their computer videotext operation via telephone links to receive the information they need right from the screen in front of them. Tied in with a word processing device, this system, either at retail or wholesale levels, could even be programmed to produce written responses to questions where appropriate. The computer at one place of business could instruct the computer at another place of business to have its word processor print out the answer, saving postage and the time involved in mailing.

These systems have been tested with mixed results. Time, Inc. has decided to shelve its proposed system until commercial prospects appear brighter. Yet today, certain statistical information is available from pioneering publishers, such as Random Lengths, via computer link ups. Braver forecasters see videotext in place and working on a mass basis within two to three years.

Whichever the case, videotext appears at this point to be yet another marvel emerged from the electronic labs to drastically change the way we do business. Like the computer itself, it will probably be another new product of the Age of Information that will be tough to do without. We may not like the change, but we'd better learn to cope with it.

Home Center Hall of Fame

Steering committee members for the establishment of a Home Center Hall of Fame and a Home Center Leadership Council have been selected in anticipation of inducting the first members at the National Home Center Show, March ll-14, in Chicago.

William W. Adams, group v.p., Armstrong World Industries, Inc.; Carl Bicking, v.p., sales, Ace Hardware Corp.; Ray H. Cooney, pres., Scotty's, Inc.; Blaine W. Evans, v.p.-marketing, Abitibi Corp.; S.E. Feinstein, pres., Eclipse Industries, Inc.; William Fishman, pres., Marketing Services, Inc. and a columnist for this magazine; William Gamble, v.p., sales and service, McCulloch Corp.; R.E. Lundgren, pres., Palmer G. Lewis Co.; E.L. Newkirk, pres., Chandler Lumber Co.; Dwight Pardue, executive v.p., Lowe's Companies, Inc., will review council membership and coordinate the Hall of Fame selection Drocess.

1984 Show 90% Sold Out

The 1984 National Home Center Show, scheduled for Chicago's McCormick Place, March ll-14, is already 9090 sold out, according to Vance Publishing Corp., the show's sponsor.

"Demand for exhibitor space has been extraordinary," reports John F. Berry, director of convention services.

"It appears that more than 1,300 exhibitors will occupy all of the 300,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space," he said.

Show & Tell Sells Cuslomers

Audio-visuals can increase product sales as much as2,795s/o according to recent tests conducted in hardware, housewares and automotive sections of home centers in Canada.

The six month test was conducted with filmstrip projectors on l3 products. Positioned with the merchandise on an endcap, the audio-visual unit advertised one product during each two-week promotion.

A sensor in the unit activated the projector when shoppers entered a 9 ft. sensing area. It was observed that this method attracted shoppers and avoided the annoyance of a message being broadcast without an audience. After a two week promotion, the product and audio-visual program were changed.

Sales of each product were monitored for the two weeks prior, during and after the promotion. Newspaper advertisements were run for two of the products two weeks prior to the audio-visual promotion. This advertising produced fewer sales than the audio-visual program for both products.

Retail Sales to Hit New High

Annual retail sales for the building materials industry are expected to surpass $159.2 billion by 1986, with $577.7 billion for the four-year period from 1983 to 1986.

This increase represents a sales gain of more than 2690 over the previous four-year period from 1979 to 1982, according to a study conducted by Dun & Bradstreet.

Dun & Bradstreet used its Dun's Financial Profiles database with spread-sheet information on more than I million American businesses for its comprehensive analysis.