LARRY'S IS RINGING UP SALES WITH TELEPHONE PAGER LINE

JOEL ELSON

SEATTLE -- Larry's Markets here reports success selling an assortment of telephone pagers that retail at three price points.

The four-store chain is selling between four and nine pagers a week, primarily to parents and families with children, said Jon Flinchbaugh, director of sales for grocery, variety and video.

"After only three weeks, they're doing well. We're making money on them with a minimum amount of labor," he added.

The pagers carry 35% markups and retail for $49, $69 and $79 each. "Sales are about equally divided among the price points and the way they're selling has been surprising," said the retailer.

Larry's merchandises pagers at its video service centers. For security, a dummy pager is displayed at the service counter with the backup real pagers locked behind the counter.

Once the sale is complete, the pager customer "calls an 800 number to reach Telepage Northwest, Bellevue, Wash., to arrange for a pager number at an $8.95 monthly fee. "Once we sell the pager it's out of our hands and we're not involved in any monthly billings, and that's what has made it a really nice program. We spend only a little time explaining the details to the customer."