Will Chain-Stores Make Factories Their Slaves?

Marc Lizer

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Jun 28, 1999
Posts
1,545
Loc
North Hollywood, CA
Whynot's latest thread about the Euro BB made me think of something.

I keep reading again and again the number of threads that have the "Chainstore" and all that implies, as a theme.

Well, it appears there is not much new under the sun.

Here is an article from Decor. Jan, 1930.

After reading, it seems, that at times, we really havn't progressed that far from the observations and fears of 1930.


"Will Chain-Stores Make Factories Their Slaves?"

If anyone wants to read about a strange merchandising phenomenon, now going on in certain places in the business world, let him read the article in "The Nations Business" for December, 1929, with the above title for its heading.

The cartoon shows the history of a can of corn: "The manufacturer sold it to the chain – which sold it to the retailer – who sold it to the wholesaler – who sold it to another retailer – who sold it to the consumer.”

"Whether or not the Manufacturers or the chainstore concern made any profits on the goods is of course known only to themselves; but the retailers of the first group declare that they made money in selling it to the wholesaler, and he says he made a profit in selling to the second group of retail grocers and they, in turn are said to have sold at their usual prices to housewives.”

It the Picture Moulding and Mirror business wisely keeping clear of this series of strange and illogical selling adventures – or isn’t it?

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[ 10-12-2005, 04:51 PM: Message edited by: Marc Lizer ]
 
wow, the more things change the more they stay the same......interesting reading. Thanks for sharing Marc.
 
The section this comes from is from and aimed at maufacturers. It is notes from the Moulding and Mirror Manufacturers Assc. The manufacturers, as a service to thier customers make up lists of "What's Hot, and What's Not." (for a modern day version).

Here is a pic of that part:
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Now, of course they might be biased, and pushing prints published by companies that are members of the assc.

Oh yes. Here is another gem that shows there is truly nothing new, or at least everything is just re-cycled.

This "Hot" image of the day looks a lot like a popular image that sells today from a well known painter guy.

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There are also great pix of shops of the day:

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And even a color centerfold:

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Just like the Wall Mldg fold out this month.

I guess thing don't change.

We still moan about the BB's. But if in 75 years, the nail hasn't been driven in the coffin: Is it founded worries?
 
Marc,

Allow me to disagree with you at this point. Business worries haven’t changed but everything else had during the last 75 years. Today custom framers are less independent and technically less knowledgeable than their predecessors. With rare exceptions they don’t know how a frame is made, how the wood is tamed, what a good joining is, how to put or change a finish or how to repair a frame. Those used to be framer’s business too.

Modern framers had lost their independency by restricting their activity to sales and volume fitting in principal. Where old framers were true artists and craftsmen belonging to a school or fathering themselves one (see pure style period frames), modern framer works the phone and the computer to see if LaMarche still has certain molding in stock and can UPS him a chop. Modern custom framer would have taken just a vendor or a fitting man job in that old, now vanished enterprise, say Newcomb-Macklin Co. from Glendale, CA. I don’t say it’s bad or good, but you can’t deny the differences.
The old framer had disappeared from site because he simply couldn’t put out the volume the other guys did. Quality was his undisputable edge but it did not count as much as LOOK, VOLUME and PRICE did.
By separating and specializing production (molding manufacturers) from selling (custom framers) the market answered the look-price-volume need and that was fatal to the yester framers who used to do and produce everything in house.
But times are fluid and today individual custom framers are loosing territory under new market’s pressure and, instead of understanding what is going on and adjust accordingly, many are rather lamenting or listing their arguably unique and decisive qualities in fighting (ignoring) shrinking market reality. One can already tell apart the survivors (fast on their feet, accurate, business oriented framers) from the losers (easy going, poetic, mainly art and fitting, bench type of framers) and history will prove me right. You’ll see, there is no need to wait for another 75 years to see emerging a different sort of framing business. The less productive, picturesque mom’n pop shops are already in big sufferance and meager by the day, for instance.
 
Cornel,
The one article is just a snippet of what the isdyastry was asking at the time.

However, a full perusal (of the mag, and other years) shows even more.

I find the interesting stuff to be the ads.

Copy can alwys be crappy and unrefelctive of actual happenings in the industry (just like todays mags).

The ads show who and what is being offered from year to year, season to season.

There is one difference from then to now.

First is vendors tended to be either Length (finished and unfinished), OR the joined finished ready-mades (closed corners and regular). About a 50/50 mix

Compared to now where vendors sell both chop/join AND length, AND there are still the ready-made closed corner and regular corner vendors.

Same products, just a different mix of who is selling it.

The second relates to closed corner and inhouse finished frames. Raw mlg was not a big seller (then), as now. Even then, it is not what a majority of framers were doing.

So, the lamention of lost the great lost art of picture frame craftsman?

A bit dramatic. The number of RM framers, to length framers, to timber t' finish/ framers has increased in each category, and population has increased. But the ratios are the same. Less framers did that then as a percentage of the industry.

Even then, the ads (and much of the articles) focus on marketing good products to your customers, and making a profit doing it (so that you stay in business, and keep buying from them).

The theme is the same from 1919 to 2005. Hand finishing has never been the (main) focus of the articles or ads.

A quick survey of some isssues I have confirms it, and that's a good spread (1919, 20, 21, 22, 30, 34, 35, 36, 43, 44, 49).

So the lamentaion for the lost framer is misplaced.

They are not lost. They know exactly where they are. And tey do it in the numbers comensurate with the numbers of the public that are willing to pay fo that product and service.

You must be talking about 1918 when EVERY framer was hand finishing, and pre-finished product was not avail. As the oldest mag I have goes to 1919, I can only assume that before that issue, and the ads and the articles, the industry was TOTALLY different.

But from 1919 to now, it is by and large the same.


I have the copy from the articles of 1919 and 1949 posted on my e-bay auctions. You should give it a read and see where the industry was then.

I'm working in getting the copy form the 1930 one done. However Decor in the 30's went really thick, so lots of articles.

Many of the names have changed, but you now the phrase: same merde different day?

Same framers, different year.
 
Cornel,

One other bit.

Newcomb-Macklin was NOT in Glenale, CA, they were in Chicago, with a satelite showroom in New York. They were not a snall Mom & Pop. They were big. Very big.

They did custom sizes and ready-made.

So the coveted hand crafstman you mention was also ready made-manufacturer that sold to other framers.

The custom stuff was high end, and designed to get the name out so they could sell more ready-mades (bread and butter).

Craft and business go hand in hand. If you don't sell then you can't do your craft. Right?

This link has a good bio on them: newcomb macklin

Here are some samples of thier frames:

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Marc,

In my Newcomb-Macklin 1934 catalog I can read two office addresses. One at 45 W 27th Street in New York and the other one at 1020 South Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA
Of course I know they were a very large company. I did not imagine otherwise. But they were still very much in touch with that tipe of framing that I was describing. They were still making every frame themselves, brick by brick, not only from one point up as it happens today. But, again, that business model was put in its right perspective by the market's pulls and is today so much out of sight that framers get nervous and irate, every now and then, over rumors of one or another manufacturer going into retailing, as if that was unheard of before and must be a capital sin.

I was recently surprised to discover that the old style business is still very much alive and kicking in Paris. It never completely vanished there as it happened over here 75-100-125 years ago (it does not realy matters when, since it was a long process anyhow). Incidentally, I entered this business as such a mixed bag old type framer. I too lost flesh (my retail op), in order to become more efficient and stretch beyond the limits of my community; and don't regret it. By so doing I am loosing knowledge and interess in fitting, glazing and marketing. Am I still a (complete) framer? Not the one I once used to be. I am a frame-maker. Same is valid for you too, but for some reason you had preserved the full name and weight of being "the framer". The only one the costumer knows and cares of anyway.
 
Originally posted by Whynot:
Same is valid for you too, but for some reason you had preserved the full name and weight of being "the framer".
Can you expain this sentence, or at least elabotate?

I preserved what? Where? How?

And what are you saying about my weight?

He's not heavy, he's my framer?
 
Yeap, sort of. Like in "Have you gained some framer lately? Be careful, you are too young to be that framer". ;

Never mind my lexical sense of fairness. That and one dollar fifty will get you in the bus.
 
Well this was a fine howdy-do, Marc! I'm adding you to my Favorite Seller search, which meant I had to log into eBay.

Of course, while I'm there, I had to check out My eBay page.

Of course, the 1904 map of South Carolina with a great inset of Charleston auction was ending in 6 hours.

Of course, I just had to buy it.

Of course, this was really all your fault to begin with.

Of course, you now owe me $10.70! (Paypal accepted!!) LOL.
 
Yo, Marc, thank you for teaching me that wonderful word, namely fremescence. It's a rare and powerful word. We have it in Romanian too, same meaning, close to that spelling/sound, which tells me that it must be an old Latin word that must have surfaced in more than two such different languages like Romanian and English are. You made my day! Thank you so much.
I wish I was able to dig up through a few more languages for that word. Unfortunately my books and dictionaries have been scattered out in so many places that I can't hope ever bring them back together again. It's almost a physical pain to see the book you need in front of your eyes and be not able to open it and read from its pages, if you know what I mean. If you don’t, I wish you'll never know it.
 
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