Chains

Ships and shoes and sealing-wax, cabbages and kings -it may not be long before all of these have each a chain of stores to vend them.

The latest chainizer, calling itself Gillette Camera Stores, Inc., selling kodaks, recently opened in Manhattan with two stores and 100-odd agencies which it calls "Gillette Film Stations." At these, one buys his latent roll of film, deposits his potential pictures for developing and printing at a central laboratory with a capacity of 10,000 rolls per day, to and from which delivery trucks course.

Other wares now chainized: Nuts, groceries, shirts, confections, drugs, cigars, banking, books, orange-juice, optical goods, shoes, breakfast-lunch-and-dinner, radio, blouses, bed and board, knitted wear, hosiery, sporting goods, men's clothing, men's tailoring, automobile accessories, corsets, drygoods, hats, baked goods, enter- tainment.

The reason for "chains"? Large-volume sales, therefore large-volume purchases, therefore low-priced purchases, therefore good profits; united management, therefore efficiency, therefore more profits; an advertisement for one of a chain is an advertisement for all, therefore cheap advertising, therefore still more profits; much profit, therefore prolificacy.

One chain that died -nine Winchester stores (sporting goods and hardware). The cause? Doctors disagree.