BAYKO Retail Cabinets

This page has been substantially rewritten following discovery of more information - this shouldn't cause any major confusion, but I thought I'd mention it!
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With BAYKO, just like MECCANO, model railways, MY LITTLE PONY or BARBIE, repeat buys created a major profit stream.
MECCANO era back card wrapped in a protective cellophane sheet
I lived the truth of this in my regular Saturday morning pilgrimages to 'The Pram Shop' in my native Blackburn in the late 1950's and early '60's!
Both the manufacturers and retailers needed a combination of functionality and marketing impact for their parts' storage to both support and encourage this market - the BAYKO Retail Cabinet was born.
The Cabinets had a bright display of BAYKO parts on the back, clearly visible to the public in it's intended spot, on the shop counter.
I'm certain that Retail Cabinets existed, in one form or another, before the war, but I'm afraid I don't know any details, however, I do know about the contents...
Rear of an early Plimpton era cardboard Cabinet - click here for a larger image
BAYKO's Retail Cabinets probably existed as early as 1935 when most parts, except roofs and floors, were pre-boxed for sale [or convenience?] in specific quantities.
However, perhaps these Cabinets were just storage units for these prepacked cartons, I'm afraid I don't know.
 
After the war, Cabinets were introduced [reintroduced?] in 1948, and the event was heralded by the circulation of the leaflet [below] to all BAYKO retailers.
The Rear and Front Covers of the Spare Parts Cabinet announcement leaflet
The Front page [left] says: -
"RETAIL VALUE OF CONTENTS £15 Plus Purchase Tax" - which is probably around £10 to the retailer.
The Rear page [left] says : -
"Replacements for the cabinets are available in standard quantities as those already contained in the cabinet, and can be ordered by simply asking for Spare Parts Cabinet Refill Pack - Red Bricks, Doors etc.
All goods value over £2 net are carriage paid."
The Centre page spread [right] says: -
The interior of the Spare Parts Cabinet announcement leaflet - click here for a larger image
"This is to introduce you to our Bayko Spare Part Service.
The Cabinet, which is supplied on loan, is strongly constructed, and designed to give ease of handling.
It is a perfect Sales Aid to the Dealer.
The various parts are clearly illustrated, and all the prices are shown.
The contents of the Cabinet cover the complete range of Bayko Spare Parts, including all the new parts which are in production, but not included in the standard sets.
We are confident that Dealers who take advantage of this service, will find a steady all-the-year-round demand for Bayko."
The above document is shown courtesy of Peter Crook.
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There are 3 basic types of cardboard - more correctly straw board - Retail Cabinets : -
Front view of a closed Plimpton era Type 2 cardboard Cabinet
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Type 1 : - A 4-tray unit, similar in appearance to the one shown in above leaflet with 4 trays and no interior construction.
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Type 2 : - A 4-drawer unit, like a mini 4-drawer cabinet, but with a shallow lid [hinged at the back] and a front panel [hinged at the bottom]. [Left]
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Type 3 : - A mini 4-drawer cabinet, to all intents and purposes like a small filing cabinet or bedside cabinet.
One clear lesson from the above leaflet is that the earliest Retail Cabinets were Type 1.
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► Type 1 : - The original type, which had a 4-tray and shell format.
Early hinged lid Retail Cabinet - rescued in 1953 from Cairo
Lack of internal cardboard obviously minimises cost and means the Cabinet takes up slightly less space, but at a cost...
...the individual trays had to be de-stacked and re-stacked each time a customer came along, not very convenient for the shopkeeper, though relatively stress free for the trays.
The purpose of this Type 1 style of Retail Cabinet is worthy of a little more consideration.
The earlier version [left] is similar to a Cabinet that I own which came to me via Cairo.
The other Retail Cabinet show [below, right] came direct from a shop in the city of Antwerp, Belgium.
Is it just a coincidence that 2 versions of 'tray and shell' format Retail Cabinets that I own were both returns from export markets?
If you consider the fact that this style is smaller and lighter than the other 2 types, the potential savings on export freight charges may well convince you that Type 1 continued in use for the export markets after the domestic market changed to Types 2 and 3.
Alternatively, larger retailers were offered full Cabinets as a stock replenishment option...
Four tray Cabinet with deep hinged lid - this Cabinet came from Antwerp
...did Type 1 continue to be used for that purpose...
...either way, the Type 1 Cabinets could be, and were, used as a fully operational Cabinet in their own right.
There are two further points of interest which can be gleaned by comparing the two images in this section : -
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The early style has drawers printed in blue on white paper...
 
...the later style is printed in black on cream.
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The early style has a price list for Rods inset in the bottom centre of both the pop-up lid and the back of the Cabinet.
 
...the later style does not, but displays a larger range of parts.
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Four drawer cardboard Cabinet with shallow hinged lid.
► Type 2 : - The next type also had the 4-drawer idea, but replaced the hollow shell format with a structure more reminiscent of a small filing cabinet, but with the top surface still produced as a hinged lid, this time much more shallow than above.
Access to the top tray was clearly still easy, but the other drawers had to slide in and out - more convenient for shopkeepers with space restrictions - but they would have been vulnerable to damage under the strain of continuously sliding in and out.
The individual drawers also had little cloth tabs, like the one you can see in the picture, to help slide the drawer out.
The shallow lid seems to have been a particular weakness and every one of this type of cabinet which I have seen has a damaged lid.
The hinged flap, which falls forward to the front of the Cabinet, should have a printed sheet with helpful information for the retailer similar to the Type 1 arrangement above.
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► Type 3 : - These are the easiest BAYKO cardboard Retail Cabinets to understand - simple, 4-drawer units, like a small bedside cabinet.
Cabinet style retail Cabinet - one of the two which started my collection - with printed contents information on each drawer
Inevitably cardboard's poor slip characteristics, the weight of the parts and the weakness of glued paper joints took their toll as drawers were moved in and out.
I can certainly remember this type of cabinet from the days of my youth in the 1950's - what a memory!
The first Retail Cabinets I acquired [in Blackburn, my home town] were of this type.
Cabinet style retail Cabinet - one of the two which started my collection with A, B, C, D labels on the drawers and the contents maps in front
I have a soft spot for these as they kicked off my adult(?) BAYKO addiction!
The cabinets pictured here are the reason for my reconversion to the one true religion - BAYKO!!!
Notice that one Cabinet [above, right] has the contents printed on the front of each drawer just as the earlier styles did.
The contrast with the second cabinet [left] here, is interesting...
...here the contents descriptions are absent from the trays which are simply labelled A, B, C & D.
Also of interest is the card which acts as a plan of where different parts are stored - two cards are shown in the photo to show both sides.
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I'm still not absolutely certain as to which of these designs is the earlier - please let me know if you can shed light on this...
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Contents of a full Retail Cabinet varied quite significantly over time - I assume they were modified to better reflect actual sales ratios.
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The Cairo Retail Display Cabinet in all its glory
► The Cairo Cabinet : -
Before we leave the subject, I can't resist adding a little more about one particular Retail Cabinet that I acquired a few years ago.
The Cairo cabinet was rescued from Cairo back in 1953 and is worthy of note for that reason alone.
As you can see from the photo [left] it has had a hard life and has been "customised", by the Egyptian shopkeeper, in an attempt to stop it falling to pieces...
...if nothing else, this is surely a clear indication that there was a thriving trade in BAYKO spare parts in Egypt in the post-war years.
Just like the Cabinet [Type 1, above, right], the Cairo Cabinet has the drawer contents printed on the trays in blue ink on white paper...
...whereas the later ones [all types] have black ink on cream paper.
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► Pricing : -
The leaflet near the top of the page shows a retail price of £15 [probably £10 wholesale], plus purchase tax, for a full Cabinet, in 1948. From April 8th, 1959, shortly before the MECCANO takeover, a retailer would have to pay £8/6/11 [£8.345] for a full one, or exactly half that for a half Cabinet - whatever that was!! I do not know if an actual cabinet was included for the money, though I strongly suspect it was. Peter Crook's leaflet states that the Cabinets were only "loaned" to the retailer, at least in 1948.
 
► Wooden Cabinets : -
At some stage during the Plimpton era, wooden BAYKO Cabinets [left, below] were made available.
Front of my Plimpton era wooden Retail Display Cabinet
Rear of my Plimpton era wooden Cabinet
Clearly these would have been appreciably more expensive to manufacture than their cardboard counterparts, so it is likely that their distribution around the trade was comparatively restricted, possibly limited to the busiest BAYKO outlets.
I'm afraid I've no data on the cost or supply arrangements for these wooded Cabinets.
I'm pleased to say that, after many years of trying, I now own one of these Cabinets.
In appearance, they bear a striking resemblance to their MECCANO equivalent, indeed, as both companies were Liverpool based, it's perfectly possible that they were actually made by the same supplier!
The Plimpton era wooden Retail cabinets had 4 drawers, as you can see, and the removable display card, to the rear, was held in place by a removable piece of framing, which was itself secured by three screws.
The drawer layout is, unsurprisingly, similar to those of the cardboard Retail Cabinets.
These wooden Cabinets obviously had no contents directory printed on the front, so retailers were provided with cards showing the Cabinet contents layout, amongst other information.

'Map' provided to retailers to help them find their BAYKO spares, and also to price them

'Map' provided to retailers to help them manage their stock of BAYKO Rods and Floors
These are basically the same as those shown above with some of the Type 2 Cabinets.
BAYKO retailers could replenish their spare part stocks by ordering either full or, at least late in the 1950's, half replacement Cabinets. I suspect all reference to Cabinets in this context would mean a cardboard one.
The alternative, and I suspect the more frequently used method, was to order the various required parts individually these being available in the quantities included with the original Cabinet.
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► Display Sheets : -

You've already seen these above, in various guises, but I thought I'd add a bit more information.
BAYKO Display Sheet dating from 1949 or 1950
The example shown here [left] dates from around 1949 or 1950 and shows all the common 1950's parts except the Gate and Matching Balustrade and the Small Chimney.
The range of Rod sizes quoted is limited to a maximum size of 8-Brick Rods, though contemporary contents sheets actually make provision for upto 12-Brick Rods.
The sheet includes space for the retailer to write in the BAYKO spare parts prices below each image, and the sheets were designed to be glued to the back of the Retail Cabinets, thus allowing for price updating as and when necessary.
The wooden BAYKO Retail Cabinets used cards rather than sheets, but the artwork concerned is essentially the same.
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► MECCANO : -
Following their 1959 take-over, though more likely from 1960, MECCANO seem to have dropped cardboard and settled on supplying BAYKO spare parts to the eager public in wooden Retail Cabinets, perhaps building on retailers' experiences with their own spare parts range.
Taking advantage of the storage efficiencies of their new range of roofing, BAYKO cabinets from the MECCANO era have a broader, 3-drawer format, labelled A - C.
A three-drawer wooden BAYKO cabinet from the MECCANO era
Product display is via a printed cardboard sheet which slots into the reverse of the cabinet...
...there is a photo of the card top left.
The 'headboard' on the Cabinet proclaims BAYKO but the camera flash has hidden it.
My own MECCANO era cabinet has seen better days, but it shows you how the cabinet looked.
MECCANO era Retail Display Cabinet card Map
Just like their Plimpton predecessors, MECCANA era Retail Cabinets were also provided with a printed card on which details of the layout of the drawers were set out to as an aid to the retailer.
The card [left] is shown courtesy of Robin Throp - click anywhere on the image if you would like to see a larger version.
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Below here are links to related info : -
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Click on any of the links below for related information.
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The 'Flaming BAYKOMAN' site logo
  
 
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Latest update - July 17, 2008