Evening star., 1933-12-22
YU[E BUYERS GET
PRACTICAL GIFTS
Influx of Shoppers Sends
New York Retailers for
More Stocks.
BY JOHN A. CRONE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, December 22.-This
town started its last minute rush of
Christmas shopping today with addi-
tlonal emphasis on practical holiday
gifts. Earlier in the week such prosaic
articles as overcoats, suits. shoes and
hats were In demand. Today there was
demand also for practical presents. but
of a different type
Small retailers in many parts of
town, so the silk district reported, had
ordered holiday supplies cautiously. The
influx OF shoppers Tuesday and We'd
retailers to offices of numerous concerns
here that carry fair sized stocks.
This rush had the effect Of pretty
well cleaning up such items as silk
underwear, stockings. gloves and scarfs
To lesser extent it helped ties and
socks, handkerchiefs and sometimes
piece goods-for giving ones intimate
friends material for a dress Is not con-
sidered so unusual as it was a year
ago, when home sewing was less FASH
ionable
Wholesalers report lively demand,
In finished goods. for chiffons. Stores
report satins continue to lead in retail
piece goods sales. Hosiery and silk
mills are taking steps to curtail Spring
operations to point where they will
approximate what now looks like de-
mand at that season.
Silks Lead Fabrics.
Surveying the United States. the
Fashion Bureau Of the Silk Association
OF America. Inc, found that silks lead
all other fabrics during the past 10
months in counter sales of piece goods
In department stores. Silk sales totaled
So per cent of all sales, cotton fabrics
came next, with 26 per cent; wool. l3
per cent, and synthetic fabrics, 8 per
cent
Contrary to popular belief late
Spring or early Summer does not seem
to be the biggest season for silk, for
the bureau reported that February was
the largest silk month in New York
City department stores and July the
largest cotton month. October was the
largest wool month, and synthetic fab
RIGS reached their peak month in June
Out-of-town department stores report
January as the largest month in Yard
age sales Of silk, July for cotton. Oc-
tober for wool and May for synthetic
fabrics"
This interest in piece goods, when
home sewing is popular, develops at a
time when silk mills, like cotton and
some other textile mills. desire to cur
tail their operations by 25 per cent
Broad silk manufacturers feel rather
confident that the 25 per cent cut in
operations, as made to the National Re-
covery Administration. will quickly alb
sorb any surplus stocks that may have
IND
recently was hit by a strike Of dyers
and weavers. which upset planned oper-
ations.
Rayon Is Competitor.
The recent break in raw silk prices
failed to stimulate business. 1t is true
that resumed operations at Paterson
and other weaving centers, after months
of strikes, brought about better de-
mand for raw material. but that had
been accumulating during the period
Of labor troubles. AT the start Of this
month stocks in storage here amounted
to 91,122 bales of raw silk This was
2,503 bales less than on November 1,
but 1892 over october ], and $3.50
over December /. 1892. This gain In
stocks of course was result of smaller
deliveries to mills closed on account of
AdbOA VAOAbACos 4sASoAi w bAlC dlo-
may Of Japanese silk producers, our
imports of silk have been declining.
From a high level of 2,348 bales in
July, imports dropped until last month
they were 32.319 bales. Although these
raw material statistics largely reflect
labor troubles, they also mirror the in
creased competition OF rayon. The diff
f1culties of the raw silk producers are
not likely to be solved until they can
bring their production costs down to a
point where silk can compete with rayon
on price basis, textile trade observers
believe. And some of the leading
Japanese dealers have grasped this fact
Toru Matsunaga, local manager for
Asahi Silk Co., on a recent trip to
Japan said that raw silk output should
be increased not curtailed. until raw
silk drops to about dollar pound.
(Copyright, 1933D