New-York tribune., 1920-10-17
How Methods
OF Retailers
Have Changed
Selling Succeeds Buying as
Most Important Function
Of Large Stores; Stocks
Higher Than Last Year
Competition Is Keener
Consumers Purchases OF
Smaller Scale; Whole
salers' Charge Is Resented

Retailers. those listening posts of IN
dustry, are straining their ears 10 dis
Germ the latest trend displayed By the
general buying public Selling goods
is now their most importan. function.
whereas short year ago they wee
more concerned with buying. This sit
uation is likely TO continue for some
time if the recent experience OF promi-
nent retailers and stock and sales
figures offer any guide as 10 the future.
Recently manufacturers and whole
salers of goods have stated that the
chief hope for revival Of business IN
their particular field lies in The empty
shelves of the retailers throughout the
country. An impression has prevailed
that retailers stocks were lo and that
they soon would be compelled ~ sheer
necessity to enter the wholesale mar
kets for more goods. During tnc 0ast
week this theory has bon effectively
chai 'engod. Statistics r1-e bee COM
piled which indicate taaI the average
merchant IS carrying fully 20 ncr cent
more stock. valued in dollars and cents.
than he did las. ycar Added 10 This IS
me iact thar Dllces ut when steoYs
are Inquired to-day arc generally lower
What IS The reason for tho retail
ers' heavy stocks at utr rscrfe" vas
ASKED OF n@tionahr conspicuous re-
l-l.of. "Ihelr purchases nave been
ii2ht since early last spTinv and their
sales. according to reports, nave not
shown an alarming decre4se
Sales Ahead of Last Year
at is true he replied. that sales
in,N., -, =,
n some cases ahead of last year. bat
1t IS also fact that goods have not
oeen moving with the rap;dity this
year that they did last year Based on
the capital lnvestmcnt and the amount :
OF goods in stock. sales have shown a
decline. The plain truth is tha. re-
tallers arc overloaded with stocks COM
pared 10 the volume of bus ness they
are doing right now. This conci,ion
arose from the frantic buying during
1919 and the great de avs in delivery
The clearing up Of transportation last
August dumped huge quantities Of
goods into~ the retal establishments
OF the country. The fell in wholesale
prices speeaed I'D the efforts of manu-
facturers and jobbers to deliver goods
on back orders. For period Of two or
three months practically every store
~ the country was receiving more
GOODS than il was selling. These stock;
are being reduced now. Buying at
whoiesa IS on The sma Hest scale seen
~ wears and W.ll continue So un.il the
retailer has been enabled to reduce
his stocks still further"
During the war buyer; for DEPART
ment stores bought without stint or
limit. The diversion OF materials and
labor to war purposes brough, about a
shortage Of goods. 1t IS deba.able
whether the shortage was as great as
most people believed. HIGH waces
made reckless speaders Of the public.
tor the first time hundreds of thou
sands Of people were enabled to buy
woat they desired, rather than what
they needed. With the exception Of the
brief slump followinr the armistice,
this condition prevailed throughout
last year In the opinion Of the re-
taller quoted above the public loaded
no w tn more clothes than it
needed, and IS now wearing them. He
insisted that any observer could DEM
on rate this to himself BIZ watching
passing throng on Fifth Avenue, re-
garded as the one thoroughfare in this
country most frequentcd by we'll
dressed people.
Buying on Smaller Scale
'You don't see 80 many well shod
feet or the women as you did q ycar
ago You viii notice that men arc
wearing their old hats and old suits.
myself haven't bought pair Of new
shoes in more than year. Pm human,
too. You see.
Retailers resent the mputations OF
manufacturers and Wholesalers that
they have. not reflected the drops IN
prices that have taken place in whole
sale markets. They point out that
competition among themselves sets re-
tail prices, and that the margin OF
profit in some departments is neces-
sarily higher than in other departments,
some of which are carried at no prohs
at all. For instance. one department.
store head openly admits that his mems
hat department is maintained at no
profit.
The following authentic retail prices
for silk quoted by a Fifth Avenue store
show how much the public has benefited
by the Wholesale drop n that particu-
lar commodity. In January this store
sold certain quality OF georgctte
crepe at $3.50 yard The October
price is Sl25. A better quality of the
same material sold at So yard in Janu-
airy is now offered at $l65. Other
prices follow: