Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-07-09
AVERAGE STORE Makes
4 PER CENT ON DOLLAR
Ninety.Six Cents for Original
Cost, Salaries and
Overhead.
SURVEY SHOWS nIa COSTS
Ncnt, Tux and Other Exprnsrs Cut
frohts To Low Averages, Reveal.
Bntrhcr Heaps 2.2D Per Cent,

FRONTS to Low Averages, Reveal,
Hatcher Heaps 2.2D Per Cent,
The average storo. no matter OF
what type. retains less than I cents
pf tho dollar, whlrh tho oonsu,ner
spends there. The other % cents 20
for the original cost Of tho goods
the salnrios Of nalcspeoplo and va
rious other forms OF overhead nor
vice"
This was tho keynote Of the ad-
dress recently delivered by william
Nelson Taft. editor Of tho Retail
Ledger. before the Forum moetlng."
called by tho Greenwich Chamber Of
Commerce to discuss tho question OF
nllcEediy high rtail pricch In Grcen-
witch. Conn.
For some limo past criticisms havs
been heard OF tho prices At which
local stores gold thoir goods nn com
pared to those In nearby communl-
Nes. An extensive survey conducted
by the Chamber OF Commerce. how
ever. has shown TINT these charges
are unfounded. when quality md OK
tent OF service arc ,akon into consld-
, GRAFTON. Being wealthy community
pcopled for tho most part by New
workers. who maintain their country
homes in this section OF Connecticut
greenwich merchants arc forced to
extend long term credits and are also
faced by an unusual delivery prob
I'm. both OF which Items add ma
t"r'a!!y TO the cost OF tho good sold
hut even after excluding these fac
tors the Chamber OF Commerce sur
Ney showed that there .s little APP
parent difference between prices In
greenwich and thos. in stamford
Port Chester or even tho neighbour
hood sections OF New York C!ty.
Determination of High Prices Hard.
I'm considering the question OF.
whether or not retail prices are high. p"
declared tho editor or ;hc Retail
Ledge there arc ,wo points which
must hc given primary consideration
Tho quality pf the goods gold and
tho service rendered h. tho store 1t
s s',lf. immediately. therefore. the
Investigation nnds himself up against
most difficult problem. .or {, is al
mosi Impossible. 10 tell. merely by
examining the finished products,
whether two pairs Of shoes. two suits
~ clothes or even two pieces OF beef
are OF precisely the same quality.
THE second factor which makes
amy compn rison Of store prices ex-
'r.meiy difficult IN that Of service.
which includes the location OF the
store. the question OF whether IL is
chargc-nnd- deliver or a cash-and-
carry Organization, the extent Of the
stock handled and a long !.st OF other
; Items which are not apparen, to the
y casual observer.
hut no matter wha; service a
store gives, Investigations have
proved that crohts are far from being
excessive. The law OF competition
. Ia
~ the Harvard bureau OF Business
Research and other organizations are
very Illuminating 90 the consumer
VINO thinks that because "a store pays
90 cents Tor an article. sold for a
nol!ar, the remaining 81 cents is clear
,ipront
Boston store mn Example.
Tahing The Gilchris; Department,
7. store. In boston. ~ an example OF the
typical store %: this nature We find
that ihcy pay on the average 67.25
cents for erchandis. sold at retail!
for 81 Salaries Ia IN" store eat up
1925 cents more Rent consumes 3
c"Sts OF every dollars worth OF sales
Advertising amounts 10 375 cents
deliveries cost them i.7j cents ont OF
every dollar taken la and taxes ac-
count ior - cents more Other
i;ems. such as light. heat deprecia
i'"h "i fNtur"S iu@u-sUc" aud the
:; i.c total Sents-lcaving as pront 20
the store, Only 2.Ij cents. ou. OF each
co!!ar iAhi passes across the counter
The harvard Bureaus report after
an investigation OF 2S3 grocery stores
SHOWS That the a"nrI-c net profit %
these is on.y . per cent. with % per
cent OF the stores showing a not loss
during the year and the University %!
NiSconsin's statement IN connection
with sior0q Tn.
Frocer who j. a1le 1" earn :, PROFIT 81
$500 It year is Ia :, class so RAJ.
that h should feel fortunate indeed
butcher GETS Hut 10 Per Cent.
Heats constitute another class OF
goods on which women frequently
f"cI 'hat they are he!ng overchargcd.
Rut the Department, Of Agriculture.
attcr an extensive investigation. al
IN" meat industry throughout the
n.tcd states. issued figures showing
that the averaC" butcher retains only
..2' cents out Of each dollar he takes
in-juSt fraction OF n cent more
than enough to pay for postag.
STAMP. The average drug stores
rroht rs 63 cents per dollar. the shoe
i dealer images only IL cents: the hard
ware store retains 81 cents: the
jewcler 30 and the average Of all
types or stores Jumped together H.
we'll under cents
IF this is proh,cerirg. there's
something wrong with the definition