OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Company Histories VICTA - The Years 1951-1954

VICTA - 1952 - The 14" Reel
The most significant thing about 1952 advertising for me seems to be Merv's determination
to "make a go of it". He was, after all, an Aussie battler that had experienced the Great Depression.
This was his only chance in mid-life. The number of ads during the warmer months rose
considerably above the 1951 numbers (over 40 for 1952).

Merv's story is: Aussie battler to Aussie Millionaire.

Any Victa enthusiast will know that late 1952 gave birth to the iconic Victa rotary. It is for this
reason that I discuss the 14" reel and 18" rotary separately. Let's deal with the reel in this first part.

In 1952 Merv advertised pretty much weekly in the summer and then spring months.
The 14" price of £67 remained the same as late the previous year for the first two months
of 1952. Then, Merv increased the price to £75! In the second-half of 1952 he changed price again!

It is open to speculation why the significant increase and decrease - In early February of 1952
Merv adds a new marketing strategy ... "Easy Terms"! This was an inducement for lower income
buyers. I wonder whether that was the reason for the price increase? Who knows!

Another inducement was "Immediate Delivery" - but that had been offered from the earliest ads
of 1951. I guess Merv didn't like the idea of "made to order". It is a sign, I think, of ambition and
confidence in the product. Note that the 1951 prices varied widely - £57, £64, £67. You decide
what's going on. Was Merv testing 'value' amongst some limited success?

I do know that Merv seriously lowered the price of the 14" in the Spring of 1952. He drops the
price to £59, just £2 above the initial 1951 price. Why?

Let me speculate ... The iconic Victa rotary was born in the spring of 1952. It's pretty clear that
Merv was exiting reel mower making for a much better proposition ... the rotary.

For a short period - late 1952 to early 1953 - Merv would advertising the 14" reel alongside
his new invention, the Victa 18" Rotomo. I think Merv was committed to the rotary from mid-1952
and the lower price of his little reel mower was a sort of clearance sale. Again, you decide.

The first illustrated advert I have for the 14" comes from 23 March of 1952.
I remember it was an exciting find for me at that time. Nobody had written about the first Victa in
any detail. The second illustrated ad (identical to the first) came from 03 April of 1952. Merv placed
it just above the "DEATHS" section on page 19 of the Sun!

That's a pretty clever - and subtle - marketing idea ... (think about it).

Do you think that's a young Gary Richardson in the newsprint ad?: -




Here is my selection of ads ...