New-York tribune., 1922-01-28
New York Reserve Bank,
Figures Show I Per
Cent Drop j" Sales. but
Increase in Unit Volume

Net sales BY fortvnlnc concerns
operating sixty-t~o department ana
anparcl stores in The Second Federal
Reserve District were per cent less
last year than IN 1870. but II per ccn'
Greater than in 1919. according TO hg
urcs presented to the Federal Reserve
i,ank Of New York.
The sales totals Of these stores last
December were 3.G per cent hcA''or
tban thc totals for December. 1920, the
average being brouGnt up by good IN
crease in Ncv YORK and .rr~~fn, ,
although sale by stor"s IN hnHA A'o,
Rochcs;e Syracuse. Bridgeport ana
other cities in the district sho"e" d
decline.
the 1921 figures submitted BY. the
storcs," says Ene banks reVie" OF re,
failing for The past year. 'comparen
o,ore "a .orablv with the figures Of pre-
vious wears than have the reports o.
nroduction or trade in practically any
other line.
Department Stores Decline
"Departmcnt atorc sales sho 20
losses in nine Of the Twelve "'ol'"S ~
1901 az compared with the correspond
;ny months Of 1920. but those decrease
were small. ranging from onc-hali 81
! nor cent in April to " per cent N
.Iuiy. In three months February. oc-
tobcr and December sales we're larger
than in the same months OF the pre-
vioUs year
"The decline in the dollar "a We Of
sales has been much less than the r.
cline in average prices. furnish,ng eV'
dcnce OF the increase IN the Voio'he u
merchandise sold over the counters.
Additional evidence Of such an incfea' &c
is found in the fact that the nu''oel
of individual transactions. as reported
nv etores that keep such records. were
onestently about 10 to 20 per cen,
Iargcr than in the spondins
mon ns Of 1920.
"Thc 1927 sales Of all chain store
that report to this bank were 4 per
cent less than in 1920. due largciy to
decline of Is per cent IN saies py
chain grocery stores. rejecting lc"ef
food prices The 1921 sales by cigar
stores and drug stores were about the
same as those Of 1920. Ten-cent stores
report an increase Of per cent ana
chain dry goods stores a gain o. y
por cent Sales by mail-order houses,
5he major part of whose trade comes
from agricultural communities, were 50
Der cent below those of 1920.
Transactions Larger
The number of individual transac-
:;ons during December last vas 10 per
cent greater than during Dccem Der, 1920
The average amount OF each transac-
December, 1920, to $3.50 in December,
1921.
"Stocks held by department stores,
reported at the retail price. were IS
per cent less on January !. 1922, than
OF December |, 1921. as result Of
large Christmas sales. The average
amount OF stock carried by department
stores during 1921 was from 10 to
20 per cent below the stocks carried
duling the preceding year. A sales
were almost a large as those OF .as.
year the turnover of stocks was more
rapid. The annual rate Of stock turn
over among all department stores in
this district in 1921 vas 81 times b
times in 1920 and 3.6 times in 1919.
Retail merchants placed few orders
during January. except for the purpose
Of filing in depleted stocks in prepara-
tion for tho annual clearance sales.
and these orders were for immediate
delivery Orders outstanding on De
ccmber 81 were 4 per cent of the total
purchases of the previous calendar
year
Seasonal Variations
"Ths bank has now collected sales
figures from department stores for
three years. The seasonal movement
which the figures show is so strongly
marked that the data for three years
are sufficient to give a closely accurate
indication of the normal variations
from month to month.
foll <ok !
age percentages which sales Of each
month were of total annual sales. De
cember sales have been about IA per
eS