Hub of the Hub

No lantern was needed in the Old North Church to signal the news. This week, as the first of 50 trucks from Texas pulled into Boston, housewives were as eager as so many Paul Reveres to gallop down to the "Automatic Bargain Basement" of Wm. Filene's Sons Co.

Filene's, which could sniff a bargain halfway across the continent, had bought $1,400,000 worth of merchandise damaged in a fire at Dallas' Neiman-Marcus Co. three months ago. In beating out about six other bidders, Filene's had pulled off one of the biggest "fire sale" coups in U.S. merchandising history.

The goods, for which Filene's paid about $400,000, went on sale in the bargain basement this month at about 40% of Neiman-Marcus' price.

Little for Charity. By such deals Filene's basement has managed to operate profitably for 38 years, and has become something of a Boston institution. Its success is based on its automatic price-cutting policy. Any article not sold within twelve days is marked down 25%; at the end of 18 days, it is cut another 25%; after 24 days, another 25%. If the article is not sold in 30 days, Filene's gives it away--to a charitable organization. But charity gets little: the bargain basement sells 90% of its merchandise the first day. Only one-tenth of 1% lasts long enough to be given away. Instead of creating a "wait-for-a-lower-price" policy, the system fans a "get-it-before-it's-gone" fever.

Other store basements sell only low-priced items, which may or may not be bargains. Filene's basement sells only bargains, not all of them low-priced. It has sold $4,250 mink coats for $1,950. It once bought pipes with flanges on the stem, sold them to men without teeth. Its corset department does its fittings in the aisles, but it sells some 260,000 corsets a year.

The basement, where the fast & furious selling brings in upwards of $12,000,000 a year, scours the world's top stores for discontinued stock. Some 90% of its bargains are "seconds" of famous brands which it plugs by name in its ads.

Little for Service. Buying & selling on a vast quantity basis, as the basement does, keeps the overhead down to a minimum. Filene customers serve themselves, pay cash, carry their own packages (or pay a delivery charge). Frequently, the basement sells the same item as its upstairs store--but at half the price.

Other stores have tried the automatic system. But none has been as successful, chiefly because they have not been able to get enough merchandise at all times, nor at low enough prices. And it takes shrewd buying by Filene's to keep from getting stuck with "bargains." Said Vice President Harold D. Hodgkinson: "The customers really decide what are bargains. You just have to be right oftener than you're wrong."

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