The Penn's Grove record., 1920-03-05
THE oBsElN
Observer Views Community Store

The opening of a Community Store
by the DUPONT Company sometime in
April is a subject of vast discussion at
this time in the community.
To the public at large it looks like
the solution TO the High Cost of Liv-
ing problem. viii it? That remains
TO be seen.
Here are the views of a prominent
Penns Grove merchant:
Unless the DUPONT interests can ac-
complish something that the great ma
jority of other corporations that have
tried this plan failed to do, it will not
solve the problem and will cause peo-
pie to feel more -antagonistic towards
them and create more confidence in
the merchants now established and do
ing business in Penns Grove and Car
neys Point.
Rumor has it that the store will sell
at 80 above cost and that a 100000
stock will be put in to start with. The
idea of 80 is somewhat misleading to
the average person. 1t means that an
article costing say $1.00 could be sold
anywhere from $1.08 to $1.50 and the
difference of 42c could be the cost of
handling. That includes first, freight,
and help, such as buyers, clerks, book
keepers, and so forth.
The fact that the company wants on
ly 80 return on its investment means
nothing as to what the public will have
to pay for the merchandise. That all
depends on the ability of the people
who it will employ to run this store.
1t stands to reason that a man run
ming his own business will give it far
more attention, be more courteous,
work more hours and be more careful
= buying than he would were he work
ing for a corporation,
In general the public wants nice
stores, good service and they are will
ing to pay a reasonable price for what
; they buy. Take our large department
stores all over the country. Do you
suppose they could exist if they did
not receive the patronage, of the peo-
pie ? 1t is a known fact that their
! prices are somewhat higher than a
small store on ONE off street, yet the
public prefer them for the reason of
assortment and service if for no other
reasons.
Now a word about our local mer-
chants. Like our town they grew
, with the boom. True they made some
money, but not at the cost of the peo-
!, pie. The fact must be borne in mind
, that volume will make more profit
than higher prices. The volume dur
ing the boom the merchants received.
! Now to cite a case of one merchant
, who worked up a reputation and built
!, up a good business. Yes, he made
+ money, been in town some 4 or 5
years, worked in his store from IA to
; Is hours a day, had his wife to help
: him, also perhaps friends and relatives
! on and off during the busy season.
!. Well now he is worth $4,000 or $1,000
and that is not in cash but in mer-
chandise that 3 years ago would not
inventory over $500. Now had this
E same mar worked in the plant and his
wife also worked, and worked the
hours that they worked for their own
business they would have on deposit
!, in the bank far more than they have
now in business, or in merchandise.
Prices are high. True, out that GER
tainly is no fault of the merchants
5 here. Competition is the life of trade
and it is a known fact that Company
( Stores in other sections of the coun-
l try after they killed competition and
: had the monopoly took advantage of it
:. and laws in various states were enact
. ed to prevent this kind of a monopoly.
t Another thing about it was that the
t assortment and variety was lost. If
r the Company Store" did not carry
2 the article or articles the public had to
/ go many miles or do without said ar
E ticle, or perhaps buy something that
/ they did not want,
Taking into consideration the fact
E that the stock is to be 100000, that
S certainly is far too small for any kind
of an assortment when you consider
! the number of merchants now in town
| and that their stocks together inven-
t tory possibly over S500,00.00. And
S still people say 81 must go to Phila-
e delphia as l cannot get what l want in
Penns Grove" How can a 100000
assortment supply their demands ?
e There is no question that the Com
: pany or Community Store will from
the beginning undersell local mer-
0 chants for the reason that it takes
time for the people in charge to find
out what it costs to sell merchandise
e and to carry on a store of this kind.
d Statistics have it, taken from all over
n the entire United States, that it costs
over ZU%o 10 90 business alone without
e any profits. How much the Dupont
people can cut down this percentage,
yet remains to be seen. 200 plus
: their SO would make a total of 1880
e added to the cost Of an article would
t be the selling price of an article 10 the
: people. There are very few, if any
d merchants, now doing business in
|, Penns Grove who make mere than 90
Q per cent.
d If the Community Store will work
out anything like the restaurant the
Company operated it certainly will not
r do much towards the solving of the
Y H. C. of L. problem. Charging al
most if not as high prices as the res
~taurants in town the Company had =
monthly loss of some $4,000. It Ger
t tainly stands to reason that it is far
more difficult to run a general store