GENERAL MERCHANDISE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 17015, 11 December 1920, Page 7

GENERAL MERCHANDISE.

groceries, eto. During -the past week business has kept up to, and, in some respects exceeded, the provious week in volitrno. Merchants will b-3 delivering to retailers a week earlier this month for "25th account," this being ths tmsJe term when delivery is made on or after the 25th of the and charged as the first of the following month. The M-okoia is chie on Sunday with supplies of sugar, which are overdue, as far too long a period has elapsed sines the previous shipment. The total quantity reported. as aboard the steamer for Lyttelton is G2O tons, which includes all the sugar for manufacturers. The figures are very misleading, cs far as grocers and the public air> conoerncd. What would Tx> more informative is the quantity that will be available for the grocers who distribute to tho public. Of the 620 tons a very considerable quantity will go to tho factories. Ko figures are available as to the quantity for household users, ar.d tho Board of Trade would be well advised to state separately tho amounts each steamer carries for the grocery trade and manufacturers. .Failing this, & would bo better to state the quantity' of grocery sugar only. The present method causes retailers to expect more svtgor than they get. They are certainly misled by the figures which aro published, which lump manufacturing sugar witli grocers' supplies. The Board of Trade has promised that the December allotment ■vnll be one-third over the usual monthly allocation. If this is to be carried out, it will be neoessaary to have another shipment down this month, as the quantity aboard the Mokoia is not sufficient to give an ordinary month's supply, let elono the promised one-third extra. Ko advioa is available as to when the nest boat is to load, but retailers are arxious to get ail their December sugar before December 20th. The merchants dose from Deoeipber 24th until the first Tuesday in January. Moreover, grocers desire to deliver sugar to their customers a day or so before Christmas. Victory soap dropped this week.3s 6d a box in sympathy with the drop in soaps mentioned in these cohimna last week. [ There is a fair demand for Sicily and Jordan almonds for Christmas trade. A to-

called line of almonds ai'e on th.and ore being- quoted at a iow \ under the cost of Sicily a-imontU). Jiu;. are somewhat like Sicilies in ■halving apricot kernels. . . , A drop is expected in the price or uncor. following on recent v.oak marxets -or P.Bacon pigs were up to Is Id per ' week sales were made at lOd, m.d £ .uitn.-i fall in the price is expected, in which case an early decline in the pxico oi bacon fr.ou.v result. . . . A new pi-ice li=t is being _ issued for tobacco and cigarettee, and prk-ca Siioula .e available the coming week. It 1= mmoured that quite a number of will show an increase, whiTe there is not one lino thai will be reduced, although n, number o: items will remain as previously. During the pn«t few months large importations of nut milk and plain tabs, i-hocoiate have come in from Canada. undersold the British makes, being retailed at 01 and Is. Cadburys, Frys r . and Hountrrefi have reduced their prices, fo that tlieir tablets can now be sold at 6d and Is to meet the Canadian competition. These ore the only lines affected. Fancy hoxe3 remain before, with a brisk demand. A few days ago,it was reported that, quotations had been i&vned from Australia, for next season's new crop of sultanas and currants. Cable enquiries made in Melbourne state that no prioee are out for new Mildura fruit, and are not likely to corao out for some time. Last year prices were not named until about the first _cf February. Indications aTe that when prices are named thiey will be fairly high, a-s ire® importation is allowed into Great Britain, where dried fruit is commanding high prices, and it is the British price that controls the Australian price. The Board of Trade have ndvised merchants that icing can eold to grocers during the Christmas period only, provided that the weight of icing sugar supplied is deducted from the grocers' ordinary monthly Allotment. _ . New figs have arrived, and are being displayed in shor> windows. Theso should find a "ready sale during the fesltive Benson, as the old season's fruit is very much off condition. Glass paper is in short suopty, and enquiries have been made locally for wholeTho price of large tina of Glaxo has been reduced slightly, but as the the tin has -also been reduced the position is practically the 'came from the- user's point of view. There is a goad demand for preserved ginger. Prices run from 2s to 2b 3d. according to the size of the package. Stocks ato not heavy, and as far ae can be gathered there is no more sflonit for this market. Peanuts, -both shelled and unshelle.d, are reported in short supply, with no jrospect of .arrivals until after the New Year. A small quantity of citron peel is on the market, being the first for ssme years. Supplies of .ruska are very limited, nnd most wholesale houses are out of stock completely. Small pa.rcels of golden oyrup and treacie are landing- per Mokoia on a very "bare market. The Quantity being deliveries to grocers will bo in limited quantities only. AMERICAN RETAIL PRICES. Under date of October 30th, Montgomery, Ward and Co., the well-known Ohicaeo retailers, whose business is one of the lnrg-'flt in tho United States, writing to a. ChristolxuTch firm, state that newspaper announcements chronicle sweeping reductions _on various lines. This firm advises reductions of from 5 per cent, to 20 per cent, on the following list:—Shoes, waisits, white goods,, dresses, and dress goods, flannel, cottons, towels, eilk, crash, blankets, woollen yarns, hosiery, underwear, shirts, fur ooato, overalls, trousers, and kindred lines. It will be seen by the i&ov© that the lines which ehoifl reductions are all more' or lesß oonnected with /the decline in wool, cotton, and leather. "There has been no decline," continues the- letter, "on sporting eoodb, motor accessories, house!iold_ utensils, nirnitivre, electrical (roods, _ plumbing sundries, hardware, and metal lines, ana present indications show no. tendencies toward lower prices."* " There is no mention in the lettor about the prices of foodstuffs, but it is we'll known' that grocery lines in. the States are exceedingly high in price, and, speaking genecmlly, show a greater cost to_ the housewife than corresponding- lines do in New Zealand, consequently the hotel tariff in America today is about the highest in the world. HARDWARE, Etc. Business has been.good during the week inl most heavy lines, especially in ateel plates, enquiry coming chiefly from tha North Island, Shipments of boiler quality recently received show a further slight advance, and merchants have had to increase prices, quoting £60 a ton basis, f.o.b. Ships' plates are also in fair demand, more especially the smaller thicknesses. Tho level of previous prices is being maintained in tihe( quotations, and at this figure a fair volume! of business is being done. Rolled steel joists are being extensively enquired for, chiefly for building construction. Prioes remain aa before—£so a ton basis. Prices have declined elightly during tho week at Home, but this does not affect local stocks at present. Most holders, however, are fairly low in stocks. Galvanised steam and well pipe are extremely scarce some sizes in galvanised being unprocurable in tho Dominion. This is chiefly due to tho fact that large orderd for galvanised pipes were placed with Canadian manufacturers at a. fairly low 4igu.ro, but no guarantees were given- as to deliveries,, and no parcels have come to hand for many months. This has caused an acute shortage throughout the Dominion. Small shipments of both steam and well pipe have been reoeived from English .manufacturers, but at much higher Kites than tho Canadian figure. These shipments have assisted to relievo the position for tho time being, but in most cfteea the goods have been- eold ex ship, . quently there aTe no reserve stocks in the hands of merchants. . . , . . There has been a slight return to recent prices in both raw and boiled oil, which, in both cases, ore now quoted at 8d per gallon in advance of last week's quotations. No alteration has taken, place in the price ot iron, which is, as pr&viouely quoted^ as follows: — Oib brand, £67 10s per ton; other brands, £64 10s. Black sheet steel has considerably in price on the Home market. There is no direct evidence available to merchants cs to the cause of this, but it is i'eiwrally believed to be due to the forward ordering of motor-car manufacturers, who are understood to have covered their requirements lor two years ahead. Naturally the_ mills have no needi to look for outside business. The local stocks at present arc.very low, and no advice has been received as to impending shipments. However, it is that « local advance must take place when, newconsignments arrive. Bolts and nuts have again advanced on the Home market, and although this increase is not being felt locally at present, it is fairly oert-ain that future shipments will necessitate merchants" advancing their price*. Another line that has advanced at Home is cast iron hollow ware, the inorease being somewhat marked. The quotation now is just about four times the pre-war figure, and it is safe Jbo say that.no other line _ in the trade has advanced so strongly as this. The cause is difficult to ascribe at present. Home advice to merchants, notwithstanding the general talk to the contrary, has not during the week pointed to a decline in 'prices for general hardware lines, except in the lines mentioned last week. There is certeinly nothing to indicate a general decline, and in lines, were a decrease may, occur ther« | are others, such as are quoted above, where ! the reverse ia the case. I The position of the steel trade in America is apparently uncertain, as indicated by the November circular of John. Son, and Co., export merchants, of New York. That circular states:—"The iron and steel market remains in practically the same position as a month ago, except that the easier conditions aa to deliveries ami prices now cover the entire field of the industry, .except tubes. In general, prices are sagging ail along the line; the independent mills are anxious for new business and are willing to make concessions to-get it. In ppite-of this, however, the: independent mills have not' yet, as a rule, made prices as low as those which the Steel Corporation has maintained for nearly two years. Some domestic sales for bars have been reported at the Steel Corporation's level; namely, 2.35 dollars (13s sd) per 10C-lb Pittsburgh; but with ! the possible exception of plates and_ structural independent companies are etill maintaining higher prices than the Steel 'Corporation, oa account of the inability of the Steel Corporation »s yet to make prompt deliveries. While it is true that many of tha independent, companies are eager for business, it is not true that theio is any indication of a price v an ic or wil-S cutting to eecuro business, and- at this writing any such state of affairs seems very improbable. The whole iron and steel industry is in e very good position financially, owing to the large profits -which have been made during the last few years, and there are very strong forces at work to prevent anything like demoralisation, even though the demand should be still further restricted, as would seem lifeely from the present outlook. Domestic buyers are holding back orders- awaiting developments, and so long as this continues it is probable that prices Ijrill continue to elowly decline. There iras.

ok 1 !! eoEo talk of the Stce" Corporation ncivancing prices, but ihi« dncs r.ot s«cin vorx u <x.?pt possibly in t'v? of rails, where- they "nave ]c*;= competition the 11 in most other lir.es. Any chnnire in pries? c 4 rai!s will probr.'o'.y b-> ma-.'.0 ns of January Local merchants are in a.~rsere'nt •vi'li th<s ■rcforc-nro in tho> ;ore«oing to proSti which have l**?n mnde aiiTing- the p-:st K-w year--." Li:ic-i that were prnctk-iiiy unprocurable elsewhere' £fa~« I Araeriran manufacturers nr. exceptional <v>•portunitv of •'p'lttirs it on." v.hich they showed little diflidenco in goin?. Many Line« have ndvancod ''GO per cent., and wln's-t it nicy "be correct b v^ivvs to take a-lvrri- 0 f the position, one result ha? been certainly to restrict, orders as muc-h as possible wit'l the Knini-h tiircrs nre to an extent covered by this comment, but. it c-.n r.t Ica.-t Mrped that their exploitation of tie position h-.is r.ot been so ocnscioncelcss as that of the Americans.