Growth of a Wooden Indian

(Here is the essence of the award-winning customer brochure)

The Wooden Indian was chosen as a corporate symbol for Glaser Bros., a West Coast Distributor of candy and tobacco products. If that Indian could talk, what a story he would tell about the amazing rise to business prominence of the family owned store, wiped out once by fire and again by earthquake, it rose again to become one of the largest privately owned businesses in the U.S. And it’s still growing.

Where there’s smoke

Where there’s smoke, there’s Marcus Glaser, fiery president and CEO of the company. A cigar-smoker himself, he insists that each one of the cigars Glaser Bros. carries must be worthy of being smoked, or else he will not carry it … or smoke it.

Glaser has held control of this growing company ever since the early days when his father Michealis took his pushcart into the streets of San Francisco. Adding customers with a personal style of service and support, the Glaser family remains committed to building business one customer and one cigar at a time.

The computer: another “el primo”

To improve efficiency, Glaser brought in a Honeywell computer to handle daily processing and back-office support for the growing business. The effect was felt immediately as the company could handle much more volume with less cost.

Computer applications include daily branch cost, profit and sales reporting, general ledger and accounts receivable reporting, cash flow analysis, monthly inventory analysis, movement reports, commodity or product mix reports, and purchasing and procurement information.

Quality + Service: an aromatic blend

The search for quality produces costly problems, one being the return of dry cigars from retailers. “Cigars require tender loving care: they dry out rapidly and must be watched very carefully,” says Glaser, who believes quality is more important than price.

While quality is one objective, service is another.  Customer service is fundamental to all company policy. Offering all major brands of tobacco and candy to the western states, Glaser serves chains as well as independent retailers.

Handling data from all 22 branches on a daily basis is a big job. Glaser Bros. relies on Honeywell computers to help speed along data exchange.

Visions of sugar plums

Glaser Bros. is not content to look back at its accomplishments. It looks ahead, determined to have merchants sit up and take notice of the enormous profit potential in quality tobacco and candy, and join the ever-growing list of satisfied Glaser customers.

With the computer, the Glaser organization is discovering new ways to make a profit, economize and increase service. New applications include Payroll, marketing and sales reports, and improved inventory for company branches.

According to Edward N. Stanton, senior vice president of finance and administration, the computer capability will provide management with instant information required to operate successfully in today’s business world.

Like the proverbial "sugar 'n spice," Honeywell and Glaser Bros. appear to be a perfect blend.