Grocers Watching Price Rises

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31256, 31 December 1966, Page 1

Grocers Watching Price Rises

“We are acutely aware that we are going to be attacked on what the public consider to be unreasonable prices, but we are also going to look for explanations of them at manufacturer level,” said the secretary of the Canterbury Master Grocers’ Association (Mr J. Turner) yesterday.

He was commenting on a Press Association message from Auckland, printed yesterday, in which the activities of the Campaign Against Rising Prices movement were discussed.

Grocers, said Mr Turner, were concerned that they might be black-listed, when the trouble with what the public considered to be unjustified price increases really lay with the manufacturers. He instanced inquiries made by the association from the Union Carbide (N.Z.) Proprietary, Ltd., at Auckland about dry-cell battery prices. Mr Turner quoted a letter received by the association from the company which said that rising costs of materials and labour had made it necessary to increase some, but not all, battery prices. Since 1964 the firm said, the cost of zinc had risen by 27.7 per cent. Labour costs were up 8.5 per cent, electrodes by 49.6 per cent, labels by 98 per cent, and manganese by 18.9 per cent. Even now, the company claimed, the New Zealand prices were generally lower than the Australian prices for similar batteries.

The 703-type battery was in very small demand, and the New Zealand-made battery was underpriced in relation to its manufacturing costs. The Australian 703 battery cost the equivalent of 4s. Mr Turner interpolated that he could not find the 703 bat-

tery on the Ann’s price list, so he could not give the New Zealand price. The company’s letter said that the actual percentage increase in the prke of the main-volume batteries, the 950 (the standard torch cell) and the 915 (penlight cell) was 4} per cent at trade level, which was reasonable in the light of current material costs.

Mr Turner said that the grocers were not going to sit down and take what appeared to be unjustified price rises, and would look for explanations where they seemed to be needed.

The public, be continued, were probably not aware that the gross profits of grocery shops were lower now because of intensive competition.

A recent issue of the “Grocers’ Review” had analysed a set of accounts for a grocery employing the proprietor, a head assistant, a senior woman, and a delivery boy, as well as the proprietor’s wife on Thursdays and Fridays. The business had annual sales totalling £29,236, and showed an actual net profit of £864. The comment was made that the business showed results that were commendable, and reflected the efficiency of its operations.