| Transcription | Seiberling Sets Up Model Store For Dealers
IN THE BUILDING that formerly housed a wartime glider plant, the Seiberling Rubber Co. has set up a model store as a research project for the firm's independent tire dealers.
L. M. Seiberling, sales manager, said the model was built to "help the independent set the pace for his competition."
Seiberling pointed out that while all tire manufacturers conduct research, few of them touch on what he called "sales and service research" in which all phases of retail merchandising are probed for improvements.
THE NEW laboratory, which houses a model store, dealer schools, recapping and repair shops utilizing latest known methods, and other dealer service departments, has been under development for nearly two years.
Manufacturers of many different types of recapping and repair equipment cooperated by supplying latest models of their machines and tools for a model "tire rebuilding" department.
In the store, part of the company's merchandising department, planners can set up a dealer's recommended layout either in miniature, on a planning board, or with full-size fixtures.
AT A DEALER school, which will teach key employes of Seiberling dealers, subjects to be covered include recapping and repair techniques, all phases of shop management, maintenance, and merchandising.
Research into new tire, repair, and recapping materials will be conducted at the laboratory, which will also serve as a base for roadtesting of the experimentally rebuilt tires.
Other departments in the laboratory include a store fixture development section, a "big tire" service section, specializing in agricultural and earth-mover tire repairs and a classroom area for an automotive correction service which the company's engineers are developing.
PHOTO CAPTION: Tire Company Shows Dealers 'How'
A store that won't sell anything has been set up as a merchandising laboratory by the Seiberling Rubber Co. for its independent tire dealers.
Top - Part of the "main floor" with a variety of merchandize is pictured.
Lower Photo - The "front entrance" to the store which was built after two years' research contains display windows that lead into the main section of the laboratory. |
