The Burgeoning Market In an article appearing in the June 29, 1938 issue, Mac Smith, a Detroit merchandising counselor, wrote on the growing opportunities for contractors to install air conditioning equipment in small retail stores and restaurants.
A survey of 1,366 recent air conditioning installations done in a variety of cities including Brooklyn, NY; Syracuse, NY; Indianapolis, IN; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; Houston, TX; and San Francisco, CA, revealed that small businesses were big buyers of air conditioning systems. “Stores and shops — predominantly one-room establishments like dress shops, shoe stores, haberdasheries, men’s wear shops, and drug and confectionery stores — represented only 10% of the tonnage in these communities prior to 1935. Two years ago, they jumped to 25%. Last year, they accounted for a third of all air conditioning business.