Make Yo.rrself Fleard In Washington On Postal Increas€s

The United States Postal Service has started s s,sries of second class postage rate increases that over a five-year period will increase the postage bills of magazines by an average of I27Vo. Anticipated increased Postal Service labor costs and continued inflation could make the final increase much higher. Some magazines could have increases of over two hundred percent, and many may cease publishing. The inflationary efiect of these abrupt and enormous rate increases on readers, publications, and advertisers alike, are obvious' It is our feeling the only way to cushion its efrect would be through giving the magazine industry a reasonable period of time in which to adjust to these increases.

Certainly the speed of these increases should be remoyed from the sudden death cetegory which has naw put many of our worthiest publications in real jeopardy.

The rapid escalation of these rates is actually counter to the original intent of Congress in the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, which presaged a o'gradual" increase. These increases are about as gradual es a guillotine. Only you, the reader, can do anything to prevent this. You can only act through Congress. In the House of Representatives, Congressman James M. Hanley has introdueed a bill that will, in addition to some special relief for non'profit and small cirqulation publications, spread the secsnd class rate increases over a ten-year period instead of five to give the magazine industry as a whole time to adjust to this heavy new burden. Sen' ators Edward Kennedy and Barry Goldwater plan to introduce similar legislation, and Senator Gale W. McGee, Chairman of the Committee on Post Office & Civil Service, hao shown his interest by introducing legislation.

If you agree with them and with us-that this is a fair and reasonable request to make of Congress, fill in and sign the ballot below and mail it to me. I will send it on, in duplicate, to your Congressman and Senators so the force of your opiniou ryill be felt in both Houses, Oro of course, you can write them direct. But time is of the essence since both these bills will come up in this Congressional session. So we respectfully urge you to do one or the other now, since only you can do anything about this at all.

David Cutler, Editor-manager The Merchant Magazine 573 So. Lake Ave. Pasadena, Ca, 9ll0l

I agree!

I agree the postal bills of Senators Kennedy and Goldwater and Congressman Hanley are urgently needed to give relief to second class postage rates.

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Can the independent hack it?

T HE independent can effectively r compete with chain stores if he will use initiative and his natural, in-built, advantages.

What are his major advantages?

(1) He has the pulse of the local situation better than anyone else. If he properly uses his potential information sources, he has the edge on anyone.

A, As an independent he can react immediately to take advantage of local conditions, trends, etc.

(3) Employee relations, morale, training, and lines of communication can be much more eflective than those of a chain operation.

To better know your competition, study what a chain does before it goes into a new loeation. The chain makes a market survev which includes an evaluation of th" ittd"pendent's operation.

Most of these survevs show that the independent does not represent a competitive force as they have not taken the initiative to create a retail establishment which is (a) worthy of the location, (b) the ability of the management or (c) the potential of the customer.

Retailing is a dynamic in which the participants must be constantly alert and ready to change to meet the varying needs of today. $ure, your store did well in your father's time--

Sfory qI s Glqnce

By using his nqlurol odvontoges qnd initiotive, the independent con more lhon hold his own ogoinst o choin operolion . . . whot he cqn't (or won't) do, consultonts con, on investment often returned by greoter profits morkel flexibility is o greot plus for the independent.

but this is not your father's time, this is today.

Fortunately for the independent, each trading area is different. If this were not true the chains would have the superiority they seek. Trading areas differ drastically even within the same town. Independents with the ability to take immediate, independent action can respond to local conditions faster than the slower table-of-organization oriented chain.

An independent should not worry that his staff may not have the skill, ability or creativeness of the corresponding stafi of a chain operation. You can hire the same or better quality services through consultants and service organizations. Your costg in many instances, may even be less than the chain has to pay, as the store may be stuck with a general administrative overhead, plus the costs of services.

FI.EXIBITITY

The independent also has the flexibility to switch services for a new look with no additional costs.

The authors tl this article are Frank Denny (Ieft) and, Al Buckner (right), ol Stild,enTotal Concepts, e, consulting firm. Both are well oersed and haue on the spot experience in the hottest ma,rkets in the WesL-Editor.

In order for a chain to control its own operation it is saddled with a necessarily rigid table of organization, rules, regulations, etc. Many times ideas, initiatives and plans of action are smothered in red tape. Independents can make on-the-spot decisions as to the effectiveness of an idea so as best to cash in on a hot demand or similar situation that demands a quick market reaction. This method of operation strengthens the rapport of personnel. By and large, we think an employee likes best to work for an organization where he has ready access to the top man. So, independents, raise your sights. Put yourself in the position of using initiative to propel your business, knowledgeable advice from the best men in the various fields. Don't be afraid of spending some money using consultants and other available services. Your increase in the bottom line will more than compensate for the costs.

Be dynamic and live. The alternative is to do nothing and let the chain operations win the battle by default. If they win, it won't be that they are better, just that you never tried.

DiGiorgio Co.s Consolidqte

Nine Di Giorgio shelter products operating companies have merged their operations and products under one new common h6ds nams-DG Shelter Products Co.-according to James W. Leonard, vp. of shelter products operations for Di Giorgio Corp.

"By the end of 1973, we will have a {ull operational network of DG Shelter Products Company sales and service facilities, each handling a complete line of DG proprietary items, adjacent to the major population centers of the U.S.," Leonard added.

Di Giorgio shelter companies and the products produced by each will include Feather River and Klamath divisions, shop and dimension lumber; Nikkel division, lumber, moulding, millwork and fire logs; Las Plumas division, pre-cut, pre-assembled house frames, roof trusses and wall sections; Hearin division, wood grain and decorative wall panels; DG Mouldings, pre-finished wood and cellular mouldings; Guaranteed Products division, aluminum doors, windows and polyurethane panels; Service Centers division, warehousing and distribution; VitaBark division, soil amendments, garden bark and wood chips.

West's Construction Pqce

California continued to lead all states in new construction contract value during 1972, but Florida jumped from fifth to second place, replacing New York in the runner-up position, reports F. W. Dodge.

The rankings, based on a review of contract statistics compiled by Dodge, show California with just over g9 billion.

Western states rated nationally were Colorado in lBth place, Arizona in lgth and Washington in 21st place. Oregon was next in 29th place, Hawaii 34th, Nevada 36th, Utah 39th, New Mexico 40th, Alaska 4lst, Idaho 45th, Montana 47th and Wyoming 50th.