Automatic Food Shops will Come !sx By Geo .sx B. Mason .sx ABOUT two years ago it was remarked ( I believe by the Editor of The Automatic World ) that " engineers now possess all the knowledge and all the machinery , tools , etc. , necessary for transforming the existing multiple shops ( and , presumably , private grocery shops also ) into automatic distributive depots .sx " A true statement without doubt .sx The speed of scientific progress in these days is very marked and the acceleration daily becomes more striking .sx If engineers were ready two years ago to make such startling changes , what could they accomplish to-day ?sx Every few weeks news arrives of new transatlantic ventures in automatic retailing .sx During April a report came from the U.S.A. about a newly opened food store which requires only one attendant .sx His ( or her ) duties consist only in giving change and restocking the distributive mechanism with packed commodities .sx This latest American food " Auto-mat " retails a variety of 205 items .sx Thirty of these are perishables which need a cool temperature , so the section of the mechanism storing these thirty items is electrically refrigerated .sx In the British Isles , although of some moment , the question of refrigeration is not quite so pressing .sx Our climate , though somewhat awkward , is less extreme ; so in our own coming automats the refrigeration difficulty will only arise during hot spells , and the portable apparatus indicated in the sketches would well cover the needs .sx Possible Developments .sx In this country I seem to foresee the development of two distinct types of automats .sx One kind , like the American venture , will doubtless be favoured by the large multiple firms who possess central manufacturing and packing works .sx The other the kind I am depicting in some detail in this article will no doubt be established by the smaller multiple traders and by new companies formed to extend the enterprise , and may even be adopted by some single-shop owners , either individually or by collective ownership and control .sx Displaced Sales Staff .sx Proprietary lines are here to stay ; yet , because the cost of national press and poster advertising has run up the final purchase-price of many of these commodities till it is out of all proportion to the bulk value , there is almost certain to be , for a few years at least , a reaction in favour of locally packed , less-advertised or non-advertised articles of a good standard quality .sx Present economic conditions on this side of the Atlantic particularly favour this reaction , and herein lies the scope for packing above the automat ( as indicated in the illustrations) .sx This development should receive the support of shop assistants' organisations because many of the assistants displaced by the one-attendant automats would naturally find employment in the skilful preparing and packing of goods for automat sales .sx Without doubt many of the assistants of the future will become expert preparers and packers of commodities rather than salesmen .sx Packing for the automats will have to be expert work , for the packages will need to conform to standards of size , shape , and strength ( otherwise the automatic mechanism will be-come clogged with broken packets , and sales will cease) .sx In the type of store here shown , I foresee that long , interchangeable stock-carrying slips or lockers will be fitted to the mechanism and the contents signs will also be detach-able .sx This will mean that it will be possible to adapt the machines to several different sizes of packages , so that should , for instance , Friday be a busy day with butter or cheese or bacon , and Monday for canned goods , the machines could be loaded accordingly .sx Then , at the same time , the automat would be serving the goods in heavy demand , from two or more sections , thus saving even a moment's waiting .sx Containers for Liquids .sx It goes without saving that time and invention will abolish the present methods of selling liquids in unprotected glass containers .sx Already unbreakable holders of various kinds are being used .sx It will be noticed that nearly all the usual shop paraphernalia is absent .sx Automatic service means no counters , marble or other shelves , shop lockers , dust-laden display stands , trays , and so on .sx It means no windows to dress and no time wasted with useless interviews ; and , as customers can get what they want as soon as they like , no credit , and so no book-keeping .sx Money-making Summer .sx How to Turn Thirst into Action by Tempting Displays of Summer Beverages .sx HOWEVER wintry the summer may be , it is always possible to create business by means of cool-looking displays of summer beverages .sx In point of fact , if there is any truth in the law of average , or in the prophecies of the weather wizards , we are going to have a long dry summer , with plenty of sun , because we have already had much more than the usual proportion of rain for the first five months of the year .sx When did it Happen ?sx Of course , we sometimes experience weather so warm that perspiring pedestrians rush into the nearest restaurant or grocery store for immediate relief , display or no display .sx Generally speaking , however , the drinking of " summer drinks " is very largely a matter of habit ; and , were it not for the convention which assigns such drinks to the summer months , many of them would be drunk all the year round , just as it is now customary ( largely as the result of education and clever advertising ) to eat ices all the year round .sx A Summery Atmosphere .sx Another point to remember is that , even if the weather is unseasonable , the average human being likes to create a " summery atmosphere " in other ways if necessary one can almost imagine the sun is shining brightly , in spite of the grey clouds , if one is walking home in flannels , armed with a bottle of fizz !sx For the grocer , at least , summer is a time when good profits can be made , even by those whose shops are situated in towns not generally regarded as holiday resorts .sx Such articles as summer drinks usually give the grocer quite an attractive profit and are therefore worthy of the attention lavished upon them .sx This does not mean that the sale of fresh oranges and lemons , as fruit , should be discouraged on the contrary , they should be prominently displayed .sx But it is helpful to display them in conjunction with summer drink preparations , thus both illustrating the use of the fruit and at the same time reminding shoppers that the preparations contain real fruit , and are equally refreshing .sx On the whole , it is usually best .sx for summer drink displays to be light and open , although occasion-ally a massed effect of coolness may be achieved by a clever window dresser with the aid of suitable showcards .sx Summer drinks are articles which lend themselves to modernist display almost more than any other articles handled by the grocer modernist displays are always clean-cut in design , creating an impression of cleanliness and freshness .sx Provided the window is suitable , one excellent way of displaying summer drinks is to place them on a table in the window complete with glasses and perhaps a straw beside each glass glasses should either be full ready for drinking , or show signs of having been emptied to the last drop with delight .sx Special lighting is also a help .sx Cyder an Ideal Drink .sx Healthgiving Harmless Inexpensive .sx IN some parts of England , cyder is already the staple drink notably in Devonshire but , in spite of its growing popularity , its qualities are not as widely appreciated to-day as they ought to be .sx Everyone knows the old adage " an apple a day keeps the doctor away , " and obviously an increase in the consumption of cyder means decreased turnover for the medical profession .sx But grocers are in business for their own health , and the health of their customers ; it is therefore fitting that they should put before their customers more strongly than hitherto the health-giving properties of this delightful beverage , which is so rich in the health-giving potassium .sx Non-alcoholic Cyder .sx Unfortunately , in so far as ordinary cyder is an alcoholic drink , a licence is needed by anyone who wishes to stock it for sale ; but to-day there are excellent substitutes , prepared by the well-known cyder makers under similar names , and these can be sold by any grocer , no licence being necessary .sx Therefore , display cyder now .sx Simplified Stock Control .sx System Capable of Gradual Introduction .sx ADEQUATE stock control is a vital necessity to all grocers , whether their business be large or small .sx With the increasing variety of food products offered for sale these days , and with the endless multiplication of brands , packings , sizes , the problem of selection of stock is becoming increasingly important .sx Out of the hundreds of items of food , branded or unbranded , offered for sale to the public , the retailer has to select those on which he can rely for a sufficient volume of sales to support his organisation .sx How is the retailer to determine what items are in demand by his customers ?sx There is one acid test , and only one , for every shopkeeper actual sales .sx No other method is sure .sx Retailers must not take too much note of occasional demands by customers , or yield too easily to the persuasion of travellers .sx But it is , of course , equally foolish not to give new goods a fair trial , for they may be potentially " best sellers .sx " The retailer's problems would be immeasurably simplified if proper records were kept of the movement of each commodity stocked .sx A simple stock control card is illustrated it entails only the minimum of time and expense .sx Initial Inventory .sx Of course , before any stock control system can be introduced , a complete inventory must be taken of goods in stock .sx The work and time involved in this process is possibly the reason why so many retailers have refused to install some such system .sx To obviate this , and to make it applicable to small grocery shops , the cards illustrated are so designed that they can be installed just for a few lines at the beginning and gradually extended to cover the entire stock without seriously disturbing the everyday routine of the business .sx By doing this , not only does the shopkeeper install the system as and when he can , but he is able to use the control immediately on those lines which give him most difficulty when he is buying .sx The card illustrated is designed to carry the record of six months' operation when stocks are checked weekly .sx If it should be necessary to have a daily check , one card per month will be required , but no change in ruling is necessary .sx When cards have been put in operation for all goods carried , the taking of stock weekly can be simplified by dividing the cards into groups ( so many for each day except rush days) .sx The groupings can be quite arbitrary , or can be made to correspond roughly to the rate of turnover on commodities represented .sx Thus , staple commodities , such as bread , butter , flour , and eggs , which sour rapidly , may be filed together .sx Grouping as Required .sx The next group may be such items as tea , coffee , sugar , and so on .sx Groupings can be made by any retailer to suit his own convenience or his particular class of trade .sx These divisions having been made stock can be taken on one group each day .sx Thus , the inventory is made daily so that the whole of the cards have not to be entered up at once at the end of the week .sx The first group can be checked on Monday , the second on Tuesday , and so on .sx The information to be entered on the cards is clearly shown .sx The retailer will readily see the value of such a record as a guide to buying .sx After the system has been in operation for a period ( a short period for a quick-selling line , a period of say three months for a slow-moving line ) it will be possible to determine at what point you need to re-order any line .sx The cards indicate the sales of any particular commodity per week .sx A rapid glance over the sales for a period of weeks will enable you to determine the weekly average for that line , and you can then calculate at what period the stock requires to be replenished .sx