22. Be sure your lease does not stop you from adding any service function which you may wish to add to your operations.

23. Be sure that the local building laws and regulations will make it possibly for you to make the desired improvements or changes necessary for the operation of your business.

One chain of manufacturers' outlets-with around 500 retail stores-has prepared a 23-page booklet to help the prospective operators of their stores choose the right location.15 Several of the more pertinent pages are reproduced below.

15 "Your Business Address," The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio.

BROAD EXAMPLES OF CHOICES

Because the factors, which might influence a decision as to type of operation, are variable
and can fall into several combinations, precise examples would avail you little.

However, a few general specimens of factors influencing selections of each of the three
types of merchandising units should be helpful:

1

STORE-FRONT UNIT WITH MINIMUM SERVICE FACILITIES

A store-front unit with minimum service facilities might be selected...
Such a store
would be primarily a merchandise unit with heavy emphasis on car and home mer-
chandise. Extensive service is not needed. This type of store could be established in 750
to 2500 car towns or in neighborhoods of medium sized cities. The car registration could
be as small as 750 if the town has a trading area like a county seat town.

STORE-FRONT UNIT WITH GOOD SERVICE FACILITIES

A store-front unit with good service facilities might be the choice... where potential
business was average, as in towns of 2000- to 20,000-car registration or in trading com-
munities of large cities where competition would be mainly by store-front units
operated by chains and independents... where the main class of trade might be wage
earners with a good percentage of salaried people... this type would require a moderate
investment.

3

SUPER-SERVICE UNIT WITH COMPLETE SERVICE FACILITIES, A
SELECTED RANGE OF MERCHANDISE, AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

A super-service unit might be advisable... in a main trading center with a good potential
business... to meet competition...or to dominate in a good town... to reach a good
class of salaried trade as well as skilled wage earners. Naturally, this unit would require
a sizeable investment and should receive careful consideration. Goodyear is prepared to
"tailor" a merchandising unit of this size to your individual needs. Call the Goodyear man.

Service Stations

People don't go shopping for gasoline they buy it en route. Therefore, market surveys of potential business in the immediate area surrounding a site, which are perfectly satisfactory for other lines of business, mean little to service stations.

Careful study of the operation of hundreds of outlets has demonstrated that the main factors governing the sales (gallonage) of a service station are traffic density, competition and population.

A 12-hour count is considered best, beginning at the hour when traffic usually starts. An 8-hour count is accepted by some companies. Saturdays and Sundays are never included in the count. Do not count taxicabs, busses and transport trucks which buy gasoline on contract from one certain outlet. Only traffic in the nearest lane is counted.

Another important factor affecting the gallonage of a station is competition. The problem here is to segregate the competition affecting the station or site under consideration and weigh it. Careful experiment has demonstrated that the effect of competition of nearby stations differs greatly in

towns or cities of varying size. However, it has been found that the effect of competition in cities of certain population ranges is about the same, and, therefore, the following groupings may be used effectively:

Group A.-Towns and cities of less than 35,000 population.

Group B.-Towns and cities of from 35,000 to 150,000 population.
Group C.-Towns and cities of above 150,000 population.

Group A

In cities and towns of less than 35,000 population it is necessary to locate and weigh every gasoline outlet within the limits of population of the town.