"THE ' BEE : OMAHA. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBEB J 15, 1919.
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$50,000,000 a Year Goes From This
Territory to Eastern Mail Order Houses !
OUR YEARS ago we concluded -to'
change our method of doing business
from the wholesale implement plan
to the general mail order business in
'Omahsi. At that time we were locat
ed at Council' Bluffs and had en
joyed a very profitable business, -
which we had spent yeais in building up. The de
cision to change such a well established business re
quired very strong reasons. Particularly so when it
is realized that the officers of Bradley, Merriam &
Smith . have always enjoyed a reputation as keen,
progressive and successful business menN s
" The first of two powerful reasons for our radical
decision was the fact that Eastern Jtail Orde?
Houses were actually able to sell direct to the farm-
ers the same implements we sold at about the same
prices we were compelled to ask of dealers. This
was hard competition to fight. You -remember the
old saying: "K you can't fight them, join them."
. The second reason was the discovery that at that ;
time more than $30,000,000.00" was being sent out
of the territory, of Omaha every vyear. this money ;
going to eastern mail order houses for the purchase !
,of, things we eat, wear and use.i The sum of $30,
000,000.00 was big enough then. It has increased
to $50,000,000.0.0 this last year, and is constantly ..,
growing. - C
That is a tremendous business. We are going
after the lion's share of it. ' '
Strong Advantages Over Competitors
' We are able to buy s cheaply as Eastern mail
order houses. We are able' to quote prices in our
catalogs which, on the whole, are the lame or even
less than "quoted in catalogs of Eastern mail order
houses.' - , v
, - "In addition, the people in this territory save a
large amount of freight charges by buying from us,
as it is customary in the mail order business for the
purchaser to pay the freight Cost of freight is con
siderably lower from Omaha to points in this terri-
' tory than from Chicago or New York." (
Thisthenis our opportunity $50,000000.00 a
year prospective business to capture with equal !
prices, equal quality and lower freight rates as our ,
weapons. ' : ;-:,:'..: "..-
,-. In order to get the lion's share of this $50,
000,000.00 of prospective business, we must .have a
, mucljf larger working capital. We need to get out
more catalogs, for catalogs are our salesmen and our
display counters. The business we can bring in is in
direct proportion to the number of catalogs we can
place in the hands of prospective buyers. ,
Another reason why we need more capital is to
enable us to buy in larger quantities and to carry a
larger stock of many new and varied lines of mer
chandise which are being demanded daily by our
customers.
To, give you an idea of how big the demand for
our merchandise has become, and how necessary it
is to have a larger working capital, our volume of, ,
sales for the week ending Saturday, October lis
1919,was 314 times as large as for the correspond
ing week in 1918. This is an increase of-232.
Over 30,000 Cash in Advance Customers
In four years' time, Bradley, Merriam & Smith
have built up a clientele of approximately 30,000
satisfied customers. They are boosters for us, be
cause we have always given them a square deal, and
. our policy, backed up with a definite guarantee, has
always been "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money
and the freight refunded." , ,
We have the added advantage in this business
' of no long credits or bad debt losses, as mostmer
chants have, as our business is conducted strictly on
a cash-with-order basis.
The general mail order business is based on the
fundamental needs of the public and does not fluctu
ate like a one line business. There are no "off years" 1
or slow seasons because we sell so manjr different
, lines of merchandise that there is always a good de
mand for many of the necessities that we sell at all
times.
Mail order buying eliminates the profits of the
middleman and saves the consumers of this country
millions of dollars annually. Nine out of every ten
farmers in this territory are mail order buyers.
Get Our Catalogs-Buy at Wholesale
If you are not one of our customers, send in the
coupon below. Our big catalog will save you money,
The location of Omaha, "The Gateway to the
Great West," is a wonderful advantage in doing a
mail order business in this territory. The freight.
rates in and out of Omaha are less than from other,
markets in the United States. We give quicker serv
ice and more prompt shipments, and carry just the
for
Wstrn Investors,
kind of goods that our, customers in this territory
want. For these reasons we, in Omaha; are in a
position to serve this territory, better than any other
mail order house.
We are very fortunate in having an organiza
tion already . perfecjea to handle this enormous
volume of-business which we are sure to jjet. The
heads of the various . departments are experienced
jnen who are specialists in their particular lines.
Many of them come from the largest mail order
houses in the country, and have the ability and
capacity to take care of their part in the expansion
of .Bradley, Merriam & Smith.
. Remember that this company has passed
through the experimental stage, and we are firmly
'established in the mail prderjbusiness. The past four
years have been devoted to putting the business on a
sound financial basis and creating the good will, not
only of the customers, but of hundreds of bankers
and business men throughout the whole western
territory.
The very existence of this investment opportu
nity is due to the wonderful progress we have made.
The demands for expansion are pressing on every
side and it is to take care of our customers both old
and new that we are offering this profit sharing plan A
in the form of participating preferred stock. ,
Profits Our Competitors Are Making
Sears, Roebuck & Co. built up the greatest
mail order house in the world by selling their stock
to customers and influential people in the central
west and allowing them to participate in their profits.
A thousand dollars invested in that company thirteen
years ago, today has a market Value of about $25,-
000, besides the cash dividends paid each year. The
dividends at the present time are more than 100 per
cent on the original investment. 1 "
Their business was $61,000,000 in 1910; $77,
000,000 in 1912; $96,000,000 in 1914; $137,000,000
in 1916; and $181,000,000 in 1918. In the first nine
months of 1919, the gross business was almost $200,
000,000. Montgomery Ward. & Co., the second largest
mail order house, did a net business in 1918 of $76,
16,6,848, after $2,000,000 had been paid in federal
taxes. In 1918 they earned 83.6 per cent on pre
ferred stock. For (the last six years this Company
has earned on the preferred stock an average of
58.13 per cent.
These figures from Waters' Manual formerly
Poor's, the best financial authority in the country
show the rapid growth of these mail order houses.
A number of younger and relatively smallef
houses have made as good a showing, comparatively,
as Sears, Roebuck & Co. Among them are Harris
Brothers Company, the Hartman Corporation, and
the National Cloak and Suit Company.
You Can Get in on the "Ground Floor"
t The opportunity to invest in the stock of any of
the above mentioned companies is past, but a similar
one is now presented by Bradley, Merriam: &. Smith.
The fully participating preferred stock of this com
pany should show an even greater value in lhe same
length of time when you consider our rapid progress
in the last four years. Our dividends havd averaged
21 per cent annually since we have been in business,
and with the increased business made possible by
this expansion the possibilities are even better for
the future. ' y
The Securities Commission at Des Moines and
the Bureau of Securities at Lincoln both approved
the sale of this security and commented favorably
on the financial statements which this company pre
sented. The book value of the stock (not including
aYiy good will) was shown as more than $125 a share
in that report. i'
The preferred stock is the first claim on all net
assets and earnings. The tangible assets are mate
rially in excess of the preferred stock issue thus
affording a large margain over and above the in,
vestment. ;
No Watered or Promotion Stock
fa,- .
There is no watered 'or promotion stock, nor
will there be any. , No stock will be gif en or sold .
to any officer, director or individual at less than
you pay. 1 - . . ..
Regular dividends are payable the first day of
January. April, July and October of each year. Ex
. tra dividends are payable in January of each year.
. The orders are ready and waiting for us in this
territory and the increased capital will enable us to
do, in two or three years, what would take fifteen or
twenty years to do through any normal growth.
If you want' to share with us the profits we are
making, with biyger profits yet to come, mail us to
day the coupon in the right hand corner below.
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The Mail Order Houses-and the People Were Mutually Benefited When the Government Passed the Parcel Post Law
' ' -' - ' 1 . ... .i . . ......
References: Any Bank ar Trust Company in Omaha or Council Bluffs. . '
1 uenoral Mercantile Co.;
The Great 'Mail rdter House
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