Henderson daily dispatch., 1943-11-05
BY ROGER w. BABSON,
Copyright 1913. Publishers
Financial Bureau. Inc

New York City, Nov. New York
has taken on the festive cir charac-
teriStlc of the pre-ChriStmaS Shoppin.
rush. If conditions here are any in
dlcatIon-a"d they should be rcrlcc-
ted proportionately in other cities and
towns-rctailers are going 10 wind
up with big year-end business. |
eXpec; to see Christmas trade in dol
lars equal the gross of last year.
am, however. concerned over stocks
of merchandise. II shoppers do not
immediately get busy they will find
pretty nearly empty shelves. II is
more important than ever 10 shop
early.
Money vs.. Supplies.
Manufacturers of consumers goods
2rc now receiving some small i'll
crease i'll materials but this will not
relieve the prc-ChriStmas inventory
situation. Consumers durable goods
are way down. All kinds of mcrChan-
disc arc difficult 10 replace. Any osc,
Tor instance, trying 10 buy miSccl-
lancouS household furnishings know
this. For the last month of record
IN New York City, sales of furniture
were up nine per cent over Il year
ago. but inventories were down 33
per ccnt. Any increase in the manu-
iacturc OF consumers goods Will have
plenty of money 10 spend, but mcr-
chants will continue to have trouble
with inventories.
Wages. money in circulation. bank
deposits md national income have
reached such proportions that they
have little meaning 10 the average
man. | may say. however, that natiO-
nal income for the first seven months
of this year showed an increase of
POI per cent over the corresponding
period Of year ago. SeaSon3lly there
| is usually Il decline in November due
To Il decrease in the shipments of
farm products. This, however, will
have little effect upon the extent of
| this years Christmas trade. The
money from that is already n the
| pockets of customers.
Cutie FOR Shoppers
Customers must now buy what they
can find. not necessarily what they
| want. The average American family
has scarcely felt any wartime in
convcnicnccS comparable 10 those
existing in other countries al war.
This is because we have been living
upon inventories. These inventories
arc now running out. Labor shortages
| and military demands for replace
mcntS will prevent civilian supplies
| from being built up. Customers for
many lines Of consumers goods M y
be decidedly out of luck.
| The ouliooG for toys is tOugh-nu
! metal ,,nnd rhflIrn,,' ..
clothes are really scarce. This is due
partly to an increase in the birth rate
and partly 10 the fact th3t manuGac-
turcrS can get more money out OF
other lines. Shoes are being affected
by the leather shortage. CobblcrS arc
doing Il big business but have dill
ficulty finding workers. Furniture IN
vcntoricS arc certainly going down,
| Requirements are Of an inferior qua
| lily. The output of personal items
such as razor blades, needles, hair
| pins and similar small articles is
| rising.
More Tight Items.
Radio tubes are in almost uuiVcr-
! sal Use. More are being manuiac-
| turcd than ever before. but civilians
| will get few of them. Few nov radio
sets are being made and inventories
of prc-w.r models are about cXhaUS-
! ted. Housewives arc limited i'll their
| use of certain electric light bulbs. Is
J Scntial rcpl; ccmcntS can be filled bu;
| odd shapes and sizes arc disappear
| ing. Mechanical rclrigcratorS are
| practically off the market. The old
| fashioned ice box has come back fast.
! This is okay if il were not Tor the
| uncertainties in the delivery Of ice.