“You see, in the earlier days of the wardrobe, there was no such thing as a center wardrobe. Therefore the clothing had to be hung against the wall in pull-out cabinets. When the clothing went to the side walls the furnishings had to move to the center floor space.
“Such an arrangement is not practical for a double store and the effect is bad. It kills the first impression of a big store. The shelving will look bare if it is not trimmed, and if it is trimmed your big double room looks like two small stores divided by a wall.
“The center shelving will always have stock boxes piled on top and that will throw one side of the store always in shadow. Besides, this arrangement divides the trade and screens half of it from view.
“The stock is cut in two and looks small.
“One salesman can not wait on the furnishing goods trade without neglecting half of it all the time. If you have two clerks, a customer must be taken from one side to the other for his ties or underwear, and there you are again, both on one side at the same time.
“If another customer came along they’d have to stop in the middle of a sale and refer him to a clerk around in the other aisle.
“A furnishing goods department should be continuous. The sale of a shirt will lead to the purchase of a tie or a collar or hosiery. The goods should be in sight so that they automatically suggest themselves.
“You enter this store and the first impression you get is a big clothing store. That is what you want. Clothing dominates the store. Furnishing goods and hats are important and necessary side lines. No one would mistake it for a haberdasher’s. You have been known from the beginning as the leading clothier. That’s the reputation you want to keep.
“Mr. Lambert, one of the important problems of this store is to house your stock in new fixtures and at the same time widen your aisles.
“You can not see how that is possible. It is really the only problem I have to solve for you, and it is easy.”