COLUMN: Carillon Flashback April 15, 1955 – European trip reward for top salesman
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Steinbach’s pioneer electrician and the community’s top appliance salesman will have an opportunity to see where all those radios and television sets he has been selling to Steinbach customers are manufactured.
Joe Penner, proprietor of Penner Electric Ltd. is one of 42 Philips dealers from across Canada who will be flying to Amsterdam next week. The all-expense paid European holiday is the company’s reward for high sales in radios and television sets.
The trip, timed so winners will arrive in Holland at the height of tulip time, includes a tour of the ancient city of Amsterdam.
From Amsterdam, the visitors will tour the Philips plant in Eindhoven. This plant is one of the world’s largest, and is also world headquarters for Philips. From there, the trip will include a tour of large European cities, including Brussels, Versailles and Paris, with a full schedule of entertainment and tours at each port of call.
On the way home, the winners will be flown to London, England, where they will enjoy a tour of the city, taking in St Paul’s Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and nearby Windsor Castle.
While the sale of household appliances and radios and television sets is a fairly new venture, Penner is no stranger to the electrical field. It was the Penner family who built the Steinbach Light and Power Co. in 1937.
Joe Penner started his own business in 1943, and during the height of the Manitoba Power Commission’s electrification his was the biggest rural wiring firm in the province. Penner Electric crews have wired more than 3,000 farms.
When appliances again became available after the Second World War, Penner Electric extended the display area and now carries the largest stock of appliances in town. A few years ago, the size of the store was doubled to make room for an up-to-date furniture department.
Penner attributes his success to a persistent selling program combined with timely advertising, especially in The Carillon News.
– with files from Eugene Derksen