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Suchard and the Emergence of Traveling Salesmen in Switzerland, 1860–1920
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 December 2011
Abstract
Based on theoretical findings of the new institutional economics, this examination of the history of the Swiss chocolate company Suchard (founded in 1826) and the Verband Reisender Kaufleute der Schweiz (Association of Swiss Commercial Travelers) describes the economic significance, social image, and everyday life of traveling salesmen between 1860 and 1920. By 1900, commercial travelers formed a critical link between the enterprise and the market, helping to drive the vertical integration of production and distribution. They enjoyed high standing within the company, and many were promoted to executive levels. Traveling salesmen were largely responsible for procuring information and expanding product sales in an era that preceded specialized market research and the domination of advertising companies.
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- Business History Review , Volume 82 , Issue 4: A Special Issue on Salesmanship , Winter 2008 , pp. 735 - 759
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- Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2008
References
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14 In 1914, Merkur defined an agent as “every self-employed member of the trading classes… who is permanently commissioned by businessmen, most of whom live elsewhere, to conduct business for them at his place of residence or for a larger, usually clearly defined area, and to acquire new customers and represent their interests.” Merkur, Offizielles zweisprachiges Organ des Verbandes reisender Kaufleute der Schweiz: Die Fachzeitung des reisenden Kaufmanns 23 (6 June 1914). On the significance of agents, see also Church, “Salesmen,” 700.
15 Circulaire aux Agents, 31 Dec. 1871, no. 2501, Archives Suchard-Tobler (AST). Suchard had asked its agents to answer the following questions: “1. What would you find useful to make my chocolate better known and to increase consumption in your area? 2. Do all of your customers appreciate the high quality of my products equally, or have you heard any requests to make changes, and if so, then which ones? 3. Can you share with me any remarks the customers have made about my products and the way my company operates? 4. What are the most well-known competitors in your region and how well do they sell in comparison to my products? If there are any important factories in your area, can you send me samples of their products and price lists?”
16 “Der Handelsagent und die Preisbildung,” Merkur 27 (4 July 1914).
17 Merkur 26 (27 June 1914).
18 Merkur 24 (13 June 1914).
19 See Berghoff, “Transaktionskosten,” 167.
20 Rossfeld, Schweizer Schokolade, 304–17 and 321–30.
21 Ibid., 325–28.
22 See two maps showing the different “rayons des voyageurs,” no. 2374 and no. 3070, AST, and the “Comptes de voyages” for the period 1880–88, no. 2516, AST.
23 In 1903 there were seven commercial travelers working for the main stock warehouse in London, increasing to eighteen by 1910. In France and Spain, there were also traveling salesmen for the warehouses in Paris and Madrid. In Paris, the director of the warehouse, A. Benit, founded his own agency in Nice in 1885 that was responsible for all sales in the “Département des Alpes-Maritimes.” A. Benit, “Rundschreiben an den Detailhandel,” 1 May 1885, no. 1819, AST.
24 See “Liste des employés de la fabrique Russ-Suchard & Cie. à Serrières du 1.11.1897,” nos. 2339 and 4647, AST. While this list does not include salesmen who had left the company before 1897, the fact that many blue- and white-collar employees had worked for the company for many years and the relatively small number of traveling salesmen in the 1880s gives a good (almost complete) overview of the company's development.
25 Fitzgerald, Robert, Rowntree and the Marketing Revolution, 1862–1969 (Cambridge, 1995), 220ff.Google Scholar; Goodall, Francis, “Marketing Consumer Products before 1914: Rowntree and Elect Cocoa,” in Markets and Bagmen: Studies in the History of Marketing and British Industrial Performance, 1830–1939, ed. Davenport-Hines, Richard P. T. (Aldershot, 1986), 16–56Google Scholar; and Kuske, Bruno, Ausführliche Firmengeschichte: Unveröffentlichtes Typoskript zur Geschichte der Schokoladefabrik Stollwerck (Cologne, 1939), 293.Google Scholar
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27 Traber-Hefti, Eugen, “Geschäftsreisende,” in Handwörterbuch der Schweizerischen Volkswirtschaft, Sozialpolitik und Verwaltung: Zweiter Band, ed. Reichesberg, Naum (Bern, 1905), 266–72.Google Scholar Before the Patent Tax Act was introduced, traveling salesmen were regulated under the various market and peddlers' laws of the twenty-five cantons.
28 Merkur 16 (16 Apr. 1898).
29 Merkur 12 (23 Mar. 1901) and 6 (10 Feb. 1906). Church documents similar growth rates for England and Wales, where the number of traveling salesmen rose from 49,868 (1891) to 74,964 (1901) and 98,428 (1911). See Church, “Salesmen,” 701. Around 1900, there was also a comparable increase in the number of traveling salesmen in the United States. Stanley C. Hollander estimates that the number of traveling salesmen in the United States rose from around 100,000 at the beginning of the 1880s to 300,000 around 1900. Hollander, Stanley C., “The Marketing Concept: A Déjà Vu,” in Marketing: Management Technology as a Social Process, ed. Fisk, George (New York, 1986), 3–28, 12.Google Scholar
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31 Advertisement from 1866, FWS 2, Archiv Suchard Lörrach.
32 Gutzwiller, Die schweizerische Schokoladenindustrie, 75. This method of organizing distribution with main warehouses, agents, traveling salesmen and depots is corroborated in Theodor Tobler, Kakao, Chocolade und Schweizerische Chocolade-Industrie: Auszugsweise Wiedergabe eines Vortrages, gehalten von Herrn Direktor Th. Tobler, den 27. März 1914 in Bern (Bern, n.d.), 43f. Cailler initially sold his chocolate in England through independent agents, and in 1910 he founded Cailler's British Agency in London with a branch office in Liverpool. Schiess, Eduard, L'Industrie Chocolatière Suisse: Etude économique précédée d'un aperçu général sur le cacao et le chocolat (Lausanne, 1913), 134.Google Scholar
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34 Entre nous: Journal intime du Personnel de la maison Russ-Suchard & Cie. Fabrique de Chocolat Ph. Suchard (Neuchâtel, 1898–1901), 6 (1 June 1900): 135f., no. 4042, AST. For an analysis of the development of the increasingly specialized commercial administration after the 1880s, see König, Warten und Aufrücken, 39–60.
35 Entre nous 10 (Oct. 1898): 291, no. 4043, AST.
36 Merkur 24 (13 June 1908). According to Merkur, large American companies were issuing their own monthly magazines or brochures that were exclusively for “the distribution amongst their legions of traveling salesmen and agents.” In addition to numerous suggestions and proposals for increasing sales, these publications also provided sales statistics and the names of the salesman or agents who had achieved the best and the worst sales results. Merkur 25 (20 June 1908).
37 “Rapport du Conseil d'Administration. Exercice 1925,” 5, no. 1395, AST. An internal report from 1920 called for “la nomination event, d'un ou 2 inspecteurs” and “une plus grande surveillance du travail des voyageurs.” As it became easier to make sales, the control procedures for salesmen had been reduced during the First World War, and now were being stepped up again. See “Quelques considerations sur les mesures à prendre pour l'augmentation de la vente en suisse,” 20 Mar. 1920, 4, no. 2183, AST.
38 Merkur 45 (11 Nov. 1899).
39 See various letters to Carl Russ in no. 509, AST, for 1860, and for 1861–1863, no. 1538, AST.
40 Letter from Philippe Suchard to Carl Russ, 6 Nov. 1862, no. 1538, AST.
41 Letter from Philippe Suchard to Carl Russ, 3 Dec. 1860, no. 509, AST.
42 Letter from Philippe Suchard to Carl Russ [dated 1860], no. 509, AST, and letters from Philippe Suchard to Carl Russ, 6 and 11 Aug. 1862, no. 1538, AST. As late as 1885, in an article about the “national economic significance of traveling salesmen,” which touched on payments and creditworthiness, the Merkur stated: “The imminent visit of the traveling salesman forces the lax payer to take a quick look in his books, reorganize his stocks and provide accounts of his product loans.” Merkur 29 (18 July 1885).
43 Letter from Philippe Suchard to Carl Russ, 25 Sept. 1862, no. 1538, AST. For more information about the use of samples to gain new customers see Letter from Philippe Suchard to Carl Russ, 26 Feb. 1861, no. 1538, AST.
44 Merkur 52 (28 Dec. 1901).
45 Enter nous 3 (Mar. 1898): 87, no. 4043. AST.
46 Ibid.
47 Entre nous 5 (May 1899): 148, no. 4044, AST. Circular letter to the salesmen, 25 Jan. 1905, no. 2519, AST. It is not known whether and when Suchard conducted direct customer surveys. The company's English competitor, Rowntree, conducted a survey in 1909, contacting 4,500 consumers by phone in eleven towns. Later, Rowntree started a major “house-to-house canvassing campaign” with more than 65,000 telephone calls in order to win new customers. See Goodall, “Marketing Consumer Products before 1914,” 16–56, 27–34.
48 Entre nous 4 (Apr. 1898): 102f.
49 In 1903, Merkur wrote about the remuneration of commission-based salesmen (who had no fixed salary) that these salesmen received a certain percentage of “the fully paid sales that he has generated.” In addition to his own orders, these sales would generally also include business “that came direct from the customer,” i.e., even if the customer later ordered direct from the company, and all follow-up orders, which were of particular importance for the salesman's commission. Merkur 51 (19 Dec. 1903). A few years later, in 1907, the magazine stated that many companies were now offering an introductory commission of 10 percent in order to encourage traveling salesmen to gain new customers. The commission on subsequent orders was only 2 percent. Merkur 31 (3 Aug. 1907).
50 “Resultat des ventes par voyageurs, 1901–1902,” no. 2493, AST. For more information about the higher income of some of the traveling salesmen based on examples from English companies, see Church, “Salesmen,” 705, and French, “Commercials,” 354–63. French comes to the conclusion “that Victorian commercial travellers were far more affluent than manual workers.”
51 Report by Willy Russ-Young on the “politique de vente,” 22 Feb. 1923, 12, no. 2182, AST.
52 Merkur 51 (19 Dec. 1903). An internal report from 1921 at Suchard recommended introducing “a sufficiently high salary,” “adequate traveling expenses for the rayon,” and “a small commission” as a suitable, triple-level remuneration model for the company's traveling salesmen. “Provision aux Voyageurs,” 24. Nov. 1921, no. 2183, AST, 3.
53 See Schulz, Die Angestellten, 13. According to König, Warten und Aufrücken, 141–151, during this entire period white-collar workers in Switzerland received twice the salary paid to blue-collar workers. Additionally, they enjoyed better working hours and employment conditions.
54 Entre nous 1 (Jan. 1898): 16, no. 4043, AST.
55 Entre nous 2 (Feb. 1898), 61, no. 4043, AST. See also “Instructions données aux voyageurs de l'agence de London,” Entre nous 7 (1 July 1900): 160, no. 4042, AST.
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60 See Gutzwiller, Die schweizerische Schokoladenindustrie, 67.
61 In addition to the national Swiss association, after 1905 Suchard's traveling salesmen and representatives were also members of the internal “Association for Mutual Support” called “La Fraternelle Suchard.” “Statuten des Vereins für gegenseitige Unterstützung La Fraternelle Suchard, gegründet den 1. Januar 1905,” Zurich 1913, no. 4226, AST.
62 Verband Reisender Kaufleute, Gedenkschrift, 41. For more information about the organizations for traveling salesmen in Switzerland see Friedrich, Karl, Der reisende Kaufmann: Kampf eines Berufsstandes, VRKS 1878–1978 (Wabern, 1978), 11–17Google Scholar, and Traber-Hefti, “Geschäftsreisende,” 266–72. Details of VRKS membership figures can be found in König, Warten und Aufrücken, 600f.
63 Verband Reisender Kaufleute, Gedenkschrift, 57.
64 Ibid., 21. See also Berghoff, Hartmut, “Markterschliessung und Risikomanagement: Die Rolle der Kreditauskunfteien und Rating-Agenturen im Industrialisierungs- und Globalisie-rungsprozess des 19. Jahrhunderts,” Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte 92, Heft 1 (2005): 141–62.Google Scholar
65 Verband Reisender Kaufleute, Gedenkschrift, 101.
66 “Geschäftsreisende contra Hausirer,” Schweizerische Blätter für Wirtschafts- und So-cialpolitik 6 (1898): 441–63, 441. In 1898, Merkur differentiated between peddlers and traveling salesmen as follows: “[T]he key difference between hawkers and retail salesmen is that the former must be viewed as a profession with no fixed abode, whereas the latter profession has a fixed abode.” Merkur 47 (19 Nov. 1898). This debate also revolved around the issue of liability for the products sold, a factor which the peddlers did not provide or at least not to the same extent.
67 This development also occurred in Germany, where the Verband reisender Kaufleute Deutschlands (Association of German Commercial Travelers), which was founded in 1884, also strictly distinguished itself from the peddlers and in 1893 demanded a “proper identification card” for traveling salesmen. See Spiekermann, Basis der Konsumgesellschaft, 398.
68 Merkur 14 (5 Apr. 1890) and 16 (19 Apr. 1890).
69 See “Wer darf reisen?” in Merkur 19 (13 May 1899).
70 Merkur 10 (6 Mar. 1909) and 50 (15 Dec. 1900).
71 Merkur 8 (20 Feb. 1909).
72 “51. Jahresbericht des Verbandes reisender Kaufleute Schweiz umfassend den Zeitraum vom 1. Januar bis 31. Dezember 1928,” 62, 68. “Jahresbericht des Verbandes reisender Kaufleute Schweiz umfassend den Zeitraum vom 1. Januar bis 31. Dezember 1945,” 67.
73 “Verband reisender Kaufleute der Schweiz,” 86. “Jahresbericht, umfassend den Zeitraum vom 1. Januar bis 31. Dezember 1963,” 7f.
74 Church, Roy, “New Perspectives on the History of Products, Firms, Marketing, and Consumers in Britain and the United States since the Mid-Nineteenth Century,” Economic History Review 52 (August 1999): 405–435, 430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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76 Merkur 2 (15 Jan. 1884) and 29 (18 July 1885).
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78 Merkur 50 (15 Dec. 1900); Verband Reisender Kaufleute, Gedenkschrift, 98.
79 Church, “Salesmen,” 714.
80 A similar development can also be seen for the American food manufacturer Heinz. For more details see Koehn, “Henry Heinz,” 383–88.
81 For more information about the early history of the traveling salesmen see Popp, “Building the Market,” 321–47, and Taylor, George V., “Notes on Commercial Travelers in Eighteenth-Century France,” Business History Review 38 (Autumn 1964): 346–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
82 The relative loss of significance due to the emergence of market research at Rowntree is discussed by Fitzgerald, Rowntree, 119, 143, and 150. For a more detailed study of the development of market surveys see Schröter, Harm G., “Zur Geschichte der Marktforschung in Europa im 20. Jahrhundert,” in Geschichte des Konsums: Erträge der 20. Arbeitstagung der Gesellschaft für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte, 23.-26. April 2003 in Greifswald, ed. Walter, Rolf (Stuttgart, 2004), 319–41, 321.Google Scholar
83 Statistisches Jahrbuch der Schweiz (Zurich, 1893.), and Jahrbuch des Verbandes reisender Kaufleute der Schweiz (Zurich, 1878).
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