Fletcher v. Grinnell Brothers

MCALLISTER, C.J.: Grinnell Brothers, a Michigan corporation having its principal office in Detroit and engaging in the sale of pianos and other musical instruments, operates a number of retail stores in Michigan, as well as a store in Toledo, Ohio, and one in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.The company maintains a warehouse in Detroit, where merchandise it stored awaiting transfer to the stores or directly to customers, and, in addition, it also maintains a factory at Holly, Michigan, where it manufactures pianos and piano benches, which are in turn shipped to the warehouse, where they are available for distribution to Grinnells various stores. However, less than 8% of the merchandise marketed by the company is manufactured by it. Most of the merchandise sold by the Windsor and Toledo stores is shipped directly to them from the sources of supply, only a small amount being delivered from the Detroit warehouse to these stores. A large part of the merchandise received at the warehouse and the stores, and which is thereafter sold by Grinnell, is shipped by various other manufacturers from outside the State of Michigan.