CHRISTMAS TRADE

Evening Star, Issue 12381, 20 December 1904, Page 4

CHRISTMAS TRADE

IS IT FALLING OFF? Yesterday a special telegram from Wellington told of complaints as to the orr of Christmas tiade Dhere. "To-day a representative 01 this paper scorched about amongst local shopkeepers and business men to find if there was' a similar feeling in existence here. It is a truiun that two men of fairly equal knowledge can always be found who will answer the same question in different ways. So it was to-day. There is difference of opinion amon<* those most concerned on details of the matter in hand. This may reatonabiy be put down to individuality. One thing, however, seems certain- from the information gathered—viz., that the old sentimental excitement that used to characterise the Christmas season and become a sort of excuse for spending money more freely than was habitual is dying out. "You can't shake em up like you used to," said one. ''Tliey buy what they want, and leave the rest An',, bless you, in the old days they'd load themselves up with trumpery s'if tliey kept a museum. They'vfi got more sense now, an' a good thing too. Trade's steady, and we can't pomplaln." The drapers spoken to seemed equally satisfied with the state of trade. In Wellington, no doubt, the'lateness of the summer seasqn affects sales, but here, according to one informant, it is not usual for the run on summer goods to start till after th,e New Year season. " Well,' ■ 'said another, "I don't know anytiiing input my neighbors; that's not what I work for. But my business is keeping up, and that's enough fpr me'." A wholesale 'merchant/ made a suggestion which seemed reasonable. He said, increased facilities added lb the number of people who spei(t Christmas week out of ttiwn. This, of course, averted the retail purveyors of daily necessaries. /But, on |:he other hand, it greatly increased the orders received by the wholesale' Rouses from their country customers. Anothermerchant said there was little doubt that in some directions the vtunrne of trade was decreasing, and would continue to decrease owing to the opening up of new direct ports! Now "that Timaru was,sq 'situated j 'arge wholesale, establishrnesjts would spring rp there, and this would ha,ve its effect on Dunedin as a distributing centre. But these things do not so particularly affect the central question qi Christmas trade, and it may be sajd finally that even with iraifeased cpiqpetition—another factor—trade 'continues steady enopgH to satisfy too majorifer L-af tradens. . ' "..-'■ •■•;■"•"".■?■ . : ■■-■s-—?^