Page 2 Advertisements Column 1

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13501, 27 July 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

RTJTNED BY TRAMP.

SHOPKEEPERS' COMPLAINT. Shopkeepers 011 the outer edae of Manchester continue to complain loudly of the loss of custom which they say they have suffered since the introduction of locomotion by electricity. In :ui interview with one of the oldest boot retailers in Manchester the other day some interesting facts were elicited. His observations apply equally to Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, and other cities. Trade, he said, since the introduction of the electric tramcars, has undergone a complete change. For a penny or threehalfpence people are conveyed from near their homes in the suburbs past the shops where many of them formerly did business, and are taken into the heart of the city. There, of course, the shops are finer; there are mora of them, there is greater variety of goods, and all the latest styles and fashions are displayed in the windows. Asked why shopkeepers "on tho fringe" did not make their shops equally attractive, the tradesman said: It was of no use trying. There seemed to be a prejudice in favour of the establishments in the centre of the city. There could be no doubt that the shops there offered advantages to customers that were not in the possession of the shopkeepers 011 the outskirts of the city. The boot and shoe trade had gone down at least 50 per cent, in the suburbs or outskirts of great cities since the advent of the electric cars. Not only were people tempted to go to the city to make their purchases, but owing to the cheapness of transit they walked much less than formerly to and from the mills, warehouses, and offices at which they were employed, so that' less shoe-leather was worn out by fai than in years gone by. No fewer than 2C or 50 boot and shoe shops lia'd been closed during the past 12 months 011 the fringe of the municipal area of Manchester. Thousands of pounds had been lost to local shopkeepers' annually since the electric cars began running. Other, shops -would, nc doubt, be closed each succeeding year until there were just sufficient lclt to, 'meet, the absolute requirements of the district. ' I