BRITISH TRADE.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17121, 16 April 1921, Page 11

BRITISH TRADE.

BID FOR OVERSEAS MARKETS. GREAT INDUSTRIES PAIR. (reOil OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.} : LONDON. Februm-y 24. A visit to the British Industries Fair which opened this week at the hito City is convincing proof that the Government of this country is well able to take a lead in commercial matters, and so to' concentrate energies which for so long liave been loit to the guidanco of private ont'orprisc. "Whether it wits merely a natuial development or the result of the needs of the time, the Department of Overseas Trade has certainly become a very live factor in the commerce ot the country, and its ever-growing pities will materially help m brmguig vhe Datum |'(.i rough these trying, tunes, so that when better days arrno lts inf Jr chinery should bo such as to keep i>ntisli manufacturers up-to-dato in. . way, and so enable tliem to compete with those countries who even before the war had realised the necessity foi proper organisation and a reasonable amount of Government control and assistate. A Hrfited [amount of trade may come more or less automatically, but the business that expands is the one wheh seeks out its customers familiarises itself with» every chaiacteristic of the market concerned, s-tudies every detail of its. customers requirements), and organises itself to meet them. Manv firms, however have no means of securing all the information they want through ordinary business channels, and the cumulativo etiect or such lack of information must seriously impede the country in its efforts to regain and improve its former position in the world's markets. It has been firmly realised, therefore, that Goveinmcnt co-operation with British tradels is a national necessity, and the -Department of Overseas Trade was formed with the object of becoming the centre from which British traders should Do able to obtain reliable information ot ai (commercial nature concerning any overseas market. Government's Great Effort. In furthering the efforts to bring the manufacturers of Britain before foreign and colonial buyers, tlio Department has now organised this gigantic industries fair, Which as Mr F. G. Kellaway, Parliamentary Secretary to the Department, has affirmed, rivalled tho great German fair held annually at Leipzig before the war, and was probably the greatest trade exhibition in the world. In March of last year the first InJHaijr under the auspices of the Department was held in the Crystal Palace. Orders were taken to the amount of- £10,000,000, and then thfo demands were not in any way satisfied. It was a sellers' market, and the feeling prevailed that tliero ivas no need for overseas trade when the local demand was so great. Traders were not then aware that the end of their prosperity would come so soon. It is a wonderful clian ge this year. The wholo att'iltucW is xtransformed. Prices aro down, delivery is easy, and it is essentially a buyers' market. Though the tragedy of over-supply is in this country it spells the end of any carelessness on the part of the manufacturers in meeting the requirements of buyers from overseas once the serious difficulty of exchange is overcome. . r , * Effect of Publicity. The Fair is one form of publicity, and manufacturers who have the courage to look ahead realiso thfit effective publicity \yas never more necessary 'than at the present time. Depression cannot be removed by a policy of inaction and timidity. Tho wide recognition of this truth is responsible for the alacrity with which the industries of the country are taking advantage of the Fair. Manufacturers, in their bid for have tho .substantial backing of the Government, which will take the opportunity which-the Fair affords af giv'ing ibnyejrs l]rom many of the countries included in the export credit scheme facilities to make use of the scheme in order to increase their purchases of British products. Giving'some facts with regard to the exhibition, Mr Kellaway. said that sixty thousand invitations ha'd beep extended to buyers of good standing in 112 countries. Invitations had also been sent , to* 95,000 known home buyers. There Was no part of the world where a substantial market for goods existed that had not been made acquainted' . with facts relating to the Fair. Wireless messages had been sent to ocean steamera urging buyers on them to visit tho exhibition. ' ■ Invitations' to foreign commercial missions had been accepted by the following countries:—United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Nonvav, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Poland", Spain, Portugal, Roumania, and Czecho-Slovakia. These missions, which would include eight Ministers of Commerce, would be the guests of the Government while in this country, and occasion would be taken for their members to discuss matters with Government Departments and commercial bodies interested in trade with their I respective States. His Majesty would receive tho missions at > v Buckingham Palace, and the Lord Mayor would entertain thorn at dinner at the" Guildhall. , A xl It will thus bo seen that there is an element of thoroughness in the methods ■ beiiif 'adopted by the Government Department in reorganising tho trade of ■the country. Miles of Stalls. As for the Fair itself (whicli is only one of threo which aro in progress at the present time, the others being held at Birmingham, wlych will be visited by Sir James Allen, and Glasgow), it is the last word in British manufactures, for the exhibitors have brought none but the best. 1 The grounds of the White City, which was the Coney Island" of London before, the war, remind. one rather of the neglected and shell-shattered gardens of the chateaux in the battle areas of France, but . the great buildings still stand, and a wonderful transformation has taken place in the interiors of these dilapidated white palaces. ' ' Tho halls, which look like tho concentration of a dozen shopping centres, cover ten acres of ground, and one must walk four and a half miles m order tb pass the frontage of every stall. It is impossible, of course, during a brisk walk covering this distance to gam an intimate knowledge ot the bev» ildei nig assortment of British goods, but it certainlv looks as if the most attractive output of British factories had been gathered together in one spoi. The trades represented aru china, leather and fancv goods, brushware and baskets, books and printing, drugs, medical, scientific, and photography goods iewellerv, silver, cutler>. uatches and clocks, furniture, musical instruments, and toys. Lenses as Good as German. 'ln the optical glass section it 15 segu that British manufacturers have since the war made lenses and microscopic glass as good as the German article. The industry is said fo be m a critical condition now because of the importation of German glass, which, owin- to the low value of the mark, is cheaper. British druggists tire making synthetic perfumes before obtained from abroad. British eau de Cologne lias now ousted tho German article from the iJntish market. , In the fancy goods section there are thousands of things of interest to women. Handbags of amazing variety are again on show. A group of Dutchmen stood deeply interested in one of the

few pieces of machinery in the fair. It turns out pins and hairpins by the thousand. Wire coiled at ouo end travels throitgh the machine, -and drops out as neatly-finished pins at the other end. An interesting section is devoted to imitation jewellery. Those goods, suitable for all markets, represent tho peace-; time use to which munitions plant has been put. The genuine jewellery section is a blaze of gems and gold. British Toys. Perhaps the most delightful section of the Fair is the toy department—au avenue hundreds of yards long, with ali the latest inventions. One realises that the child of to-dav can more easily be spoiled than the child of twenty years ago. The war has evidently given great impetus to the manufacture of toy soldiers. Several new' London firms aro turning them out bv the army corps. Tile very latest things in this line are eraulinii Red Indians and galloping cowboys with coiled lassoes. In strong wooden toys, metal toys, and light wooden- tovs British manufacturers aro showing a welcome initiative. The furniture section is full ot' good tilings, and there is a vast hall devoted to British pianos. Hundreds of pianos are litre softlv played at once. The effect is curiously reminiscent of a waterfall. These are but a few of the impressions in n White City now full of col- | our and life. But the chief conviction one gains from a visit to this gigantic 1 fair is that the Government cannot be accused of obsolete methods, and that a very.real effort is being made to en-; courage the manufacturers to re-estab-lish tho commercial supremacy of this country. • • Earlv to arrive were visitors from 1 Holland, Switzerland, Sweden, and America—and the rate of exchangej favours them. j