ilrilou$c WINDOI[r

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Nuys department. It was started mainly, he said, to take care of the drop-in and contractor pickup trade. First they surveyed past sales to see what particular items to put into Self-Service, the racks that would be needed, etc. He said they had to build around the physical facilities they had and declared it took an "astounding amount of time."

As a result, the Chandler yard is now "two yards"-1[s one in front for Self Service and the regular yard in back. "We are still going to have to change many things before we reach any degree of efficiency," he pointed out.

No Parking in the Lumberyard

There is no parking in the yard. Customers park outside and walk through a turnstile ("mainly 'psychological'," he said). A "Department Guide" has been established, with a Store Directory (with color code guides to departments) and signs and lines telling where things are, what they are for, and how much articles cost. Here Mr. Brown praised the Beckstrom retail operation at Arcadia for its ideas.

He said they attempted to describe and piece-price every item of 6, 8, 10 and 12 lengths in racks with a description of the lumber under each tier, the moulding racks, cut plywood and racked Masonite. There is also a plywood paneling display. The S-S department also boasts carts for the customers to push around longer lengths of lumber. The checkout stand brings them back to the side door of the store (one color slide showed three women customers). He said there was only a small amount of downfall as a iesult of customers "picking" the merchandise.

"Manpower was our next problem," Mr. Brown said. "We have a parking boy, a cart boy, manager, and two yard men-one of whom is kept busy replenishing the stock. Self-Service doesn't save a great deal on personnel but it IS easier on the trade." He said they drew up a set of rules on "Procedure" before they opened the department.

"Price has never been questioned on markups," he declared, and said there were many less "leaks" than before Self-Service.

In concluding his strong presentation, Stanley Brown said the acceptance of the self-service department by the yard's retail trade has been universal and enthusiastic"the customers loved it !" He added that piece-pricing actually takes less time than talking with the customers formerly did. The contractor customers phone ahead and get a corresponding "Will-Call service."

Chairman Mullin praised Mr. Brown's illuminating talk as an outstanding example of the SCRLA's dealer coopera- tion with each other member. As the next speaker, he introduced young Robert K. Leishman, son and partner of Lathrop Leishman in the Crown City Lumber & Mill Co.

Although his father has been long known as one of the most entertaining talkers in the SCRLA ranks, young Bob not onlv Droved that he can stand on his own two feet before an iudience but also that he's a true "chip off the old block" (photo on Page 1).

Under the topic, "Our Training Program," Bob Leishman detailed the superb system the Crown City yard employs with its personnel and displayed a printed booklet which the yard distribrrtes amonglts-employes for better customer relations.

"Greater service to your customer and greater efficiency in your operation result in greater net profit to your yard," he stated, and said each clerk, each counter salesman and each truckdriver at the Leishman yard has his own "Procedures" manual. "Training is like shaving-you've got to keep it up !" was a typical Leishman line, and "we prefer our customers to have money" (on the subject of "Credit") was another.

"We expect our employes to know what's exoected of them," he said. "We wear shoes in Pasadena and think it's important. We don't like our salesmen to eat garlic," he mentioned in passing from point to good point. The yard gives away scrap for firewood among its customer relations program and has a pile of it on the parking lot with a sign.

Bob Leishman's presentation was highly humorous but profitably serious and his fellow dealers ate it up. The slides with which he illustrated it were inspired by the young retailer and professionally drawn, photographed and mounted.

Another Generation Heard From

Chairman Mullin praised young Bob as the latest in the generations of Leishman lumbermen before he introduced the next speaker, Carr E. McCauley, owner and manager of the Ontario Lumber & Hardware Co.

"Mac" made his usual forthright and serious appearance, dishing up solid nuggets of information on "Store and Yard Arrangement" and was plied with questions by the dealers after showing unusually beautiful color slides of his latest remodeling of the handsome Ontario store, in which the Southern California Edison Company planned the lighting.

Too much cannot be said for the eye-appeal of the store shown by these slides, which revealed the masterful use

(Continued on Page 74)

Add Your Voice fo Industty's Affoirs

What's Going On

During the month of October, the Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California was pleased to welcome into membership the following firms:

MINTON LUMBER COMPANY, Mountain View - Owens Minton, owner; SILVERA LUMBER COMPANY, Antioch-Lew Silvera, owner, and SUNNYVALE LUMBER SALES, Sunnyvale-R. B. Gilmore, owner.

*t<**

As one travels throughout the territory, he cannot help but sense the underlying optimism of dealers for the long range prospects of the industry; for, in terms of sales to investment ratio, certainly few industries are investing more in itself than the retail lumber industry. Minton Lumber of Mountain View have just completed a really handsome retail store, which marks a more pronounced policy of consumer merchandising. Irvington Lumber Company, of Irvington, is building a new store adjacent to the present store. Sunnyvale Lumber Sales is currently doing a very nice remodeling operation-one which will allow them greater merchandise display area as well as the introduction of new lines. J. P. Dolan is building a new store in Niles. Similar plans at Warm Springs Lumber Company. Santa Clara Lumber Company is engaged in extensive remodeling.

In all, at least 30 stores in Northern California have either been rebuilt completely or extensively remodeled during the past year . what better indicator can one have for the long term prospects of the industry than from its members ? As an addendum, judging by the business reports received by the Association, it is certainly a pleasure to report that those firms who are consumer-merchandising conscious are running contrary to the current trend-both VOLUME and PROFITS are up substantiallv from 1956.

HIGHER PROFITS through EMPLOYEE EDUCATION

Following is a schedule of the topics to be discussed during the forthcoming 1957 Management Training Program, in which all dealers who are aware of the value of employee education will be interested.

Hotel Whitcomb, San Francisco, Nov. 11-15:

MONDAY. Nov. 11--€:OO-8:30 a.m.: Association activities. B:30-9:30 a.m. : "Taxes." 9:30-i0:00 a.m. : Break. 10:0011:30 a.m.: "Insurance." Noon-9:30 p.m.: Lunch, followed by Field Trip sponsored by California Redwood Assn. to view and inspect wholesale level of lumber industry.

TUESDAY, Nov. 128:00-9:30 a.m.: "Records and Bookkeeping." 9:30-10:00 a.m.: Break. 10:00-11:30 a.m.: "fnternal Sales Analysis." 1I:30-12:30: Lunch. 12:30-1 :30 p.m.: "Operating Costs." 1:30-1 :45 p.m.: Break. l:45-2:45 p.m.: "Pricing." 2:45-3:00 p.m.: Break. 3:00-4:30 p.m.: "Purchasing." 4:30-5 :00 p.m. : Discussion. 7 :30-9:30 p.m. : Group Discussion and Movie.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 13-B:00-9:30 a.m.: "Mortgage Financing." 9:30-10:00 a.m.: Break. 10:00 a.m.: "Mortgage I.-inancing" (continued) . 11 :00-11 :30 a.m.: "FHA Financing." 11 :30-12:30 : Lunch. 12:30-1 :00 p.m. : "Store Layout." l:00-2:45 p.m. : "N{erchandising and Services." 2:15-3:15 p.m.: IJreak. 3:15-4:30 p.m.: "Nferchandising and

fits dny decor. . . gives economy, strength ond utility

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Services" (continued). 4:30-5 :00 p.m. : Discussiort. 7:30-9:30 p.m.: Group Discussion and Movle.

THURSDAY, Nov. l4-Field Trip (Bus departs.from hotel at 7 :30 a.m.): View and Inspect store and yard layout, records and bookkeeping systems, order handling and materials handling in: Emeryville, San Jose, Santa Clara, Palo Alto, Redwood City. Return to hotel about 9:15 p.m.

FRIDAY, Nov. 15-8:00-8:45 a.m.: "Grade-Stamping."

8:45-9:30 a.m.: "Business Law." 9:30-10:00 a.m.: Break. 10:00-11 :30 a.m. : "Credits and Collections." 11 :30-12:3O: Lunch. 12:30-l:3O p.m.: "Advertising." 1 :3O-1:45 p.m.: Break. I:45-2:45 p.ni.: "Public Relations." 2:45-3:00 p.m.: Break. 3 :00-4:30 p.m. : "Salesmanship and Marketing." 4:305:00 p.m.: Discussion. 7:30-9:30 p.m.: Banquet.

Instructors of all the classes will be key specialists from the retail lumber and building material industry and allied industries; all will give the management training school practical, immediately useful education. In addition to the classroom instruction, the field trips to many leading retail yards of various sizes will show first-hand: order processing, store and yard layout, store methods, bookkeeping procedures, materials handling, sales procedures, etc., through the students' own examination, discussion and analysis. Visits to wholesale lumber distribution offices will allow the students to witness processing of inquiries and orders among many other useful highlights.

The nominal registration fee will include all necessary texts, paper, the field trips, transportation and the final evening banquet.

The entire course has been oriented around practical, immediately useful material. With the increasing trend toward consumer merchandising, lve earnestly suggest as many members of the industrv as oossible avail themselves of the Association's 1957 Manigement Training Course. ****

The first of a continuing series of Association-spohsored Round Table Discussions was held at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley on October 25. These discussion groups have been so organized as to bring together dealers from different marketing areas to discuss industry problems and, through cooperation, to develop a common pool of knowledge to better solve problems facing each dealer . . . the answers to the industry's difficulties must come from within and certainly no group is better equipped to develop solutions than members of the industrv. Current business is down in serious proportions-this few will deny, but many dealers have found ways and means to overcome the general trend. Many of these means were discussed at the Round Table Discussion' {< * {< *

If vou are not a member of your industrv's associationthe ohly forum organized for the improvement of the retail lumber industry-why don't you drop a postcard to the Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California, 24 California Street, San Francisco? We will be pleased to send you an outline of the Association's objectives and activities or to arrange an appointment with you at your convenience.

Brown Sroin Lumber Srudies

Described by Western Pine Assn.

Brown stain in lumber-which discolors but does not change the physical character of wood-is getting a "new looksee" bv lumber industrv siientists. Dr. Robert Stutz. research bio-chemist of the Western Pine Association, told the American Institute of Biological Sciences at Stanford University.

The stained lumber suffers a "degrade" because of lowered appearance qualitJr, Dr. Stutz reported.

An especially prepared paper by Dr. Stutz and Dr. A. W. Stout, another Western Pine bio-chemist, pointed out that research had resulted in the isolation of two causes of brown staining, both of biological rather than chemical origin. One is a tannin-forming enzyme present in. green