"The Responsibility of Dealers fo Their Distributors and Manufacturers"

Being an address bl V, H. Hunt, Vice President, Plyutood. and. Specialty Sales, Georgia-Pacifc Corporation, belore members and guests at tbe annual conuention of tbe Mountain States Lumber Dealers Associati.on, Las Vegas, Neaad.a, February 7-8, 1962,

F]THANK YOU, Nlr. Chairman, and I thank you members and guests of the Nlountain States Lumber Dealers Association for having me as a participant in what is certain to be a stimulating exchange of ideas. When Francis Brown first spoke to me about this idea, it was greeted rvith a great deal of enthusiasm. This \vas so for two reasons :

(1). By policy, our company is lumber-dealer oriented so far as the building trade is concerued and, consequently, we place a great deal of emphasis on maintaining a sound working relationship with the dealers.

(2). The maior portion of our rather substantial advertising and sales promotion budget is used to develop selling tools for use by our dealers and this type of forum is bound to develop nerv ideas on how that job can be done more effectively.

Let us, however, start by laying all of the cards on the table. You could say that this visit is on a gamble, and in this statement there is no implied reference to the one-armed bandits down the street (and probably across the street, too). At the risk of offenditrg some Las Vegas residents, it should be admitted right here that I believe it is often best to gamble on a sure thing-the aggressive, really merchandising-oriented retail dealer.

And the "gamble" to u'hich reference is made is one rvhich rvas taken in afirm belief that the retail dealer not only will survive encroaching not looking for new, business-getting ideas-tl-rere are many of them-and to the dealer whose showroom is a s14s5-21d 2 ms5s-sf literature, banners, displays and gimmicks from dozens of manufacturers who have sizeable investments in this materialor perhaps to the dealer who exercises no salesmanship or good merchandising at all.

The subject assigned to me deals with the "Resoonsibilities Of Dealers To Their Distributors And Manufacturers," competition, but will grow and prosper as and if he accepts new ideas and develops improved selling and merchandising techniques. Under these conditions the dealer will remain a link in the distribution system which surrounds the building industry. f am referring to the dealer who is

It is true that not all dealers fall into this category. That is a statement which can be made rvithout too much fear of offending anyone in this audience. because if -vou were not merchandising-minded, if you were not gearing for the highly competitive days ahead, you probably wouldn't be here.

That really is a ticklish subject. It is like putting the cart before the horse. Actually, however, what it really means, I would think, is the responiibility of the dealer to himself and his balance sheet, since the dealer, the manufacturer and the distributor are all integral parts of a team and the members of this team must function in a cooperative and coordinated manner or the whole team loses its punch and the results are poor for all.

One of the things which has haPpened-and this places a burden of iesponsibility upon the dealer who is at tl.re end of this distribution lineis that some manufacturers and some distributors have felt they can increase sales volume and profits by bypassing the dealer. I do not believe this is good business for any member of the marketing team-provided each mem-

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