REVIEW OF TRADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15496, 1 January 1914, Page 8

REVIEW OF TRADE.

PERIOD OF PROSPERITY. EFFECT OF STRIKE. A HAPPY RECOVERY. EXCELLENT PROSPECTS FOR FUTURE. BUSINESS MEN SATISFIED. Industiu.uxy, the year that half closed will be a memorable one; and because business activity is wholly dependent upon normal conditions and industrial peace the commercial year will be remembered as one of stress and anxiety, but with a happy termination. Business with the importing houses has been good throughout the period, but it has , been subject to more remarkable fluctuations than have ever before been experienced. From January to May, unusual activity prevailed. As winter came on, there was at once a falling off—not by any means a real slackness in the volume of trade, , but a cessation from the exceptional activity' of the preceding months, and it was more apparent on account of the contrast. During September and October the spring demand set in, and the steady increaso of trade gave every promise that the end of the year would witness ft record turnover. * *■. But in the last week of October business came almost to & complete standstill through the strike, and the best part of a month elapsed before there was a recovery. December was a remarkably active month, more than the average amount of business behig transacted, which in a measure made up for the slackness of November, but most of the f houses experienced . thu : greatest difficulty in coping with "the rush. It is safe to say, however/ that some thousands of pounds were lost in consequence of the -strike., •;"? : ■' This loss, however, does not cove? the business which went by tl-a board. . Some of the effects' have still to be met. , For instance, the dislocation of tjs shipping was ; responsible for ii , vast. quantify /: of goods ■> intended for tho ( Christmas trade being held iip in Sydney and, consequently, these good*, • which are now arriving,» will cause a congestion which must ; cost • the importers a good deal. v Large reductions in prices will have to be. made to get quit of them immediately, or, if they hold them until next Christmas) tho merchants will be faced with the loss through the-mosey represented lying idle. Perhaps the gravest concern of tome importers over , the' late arrival of these goods, will be the necessity of ; their meeting, at one, time, bills which ordinarily would , have extended over a period of two or. three months. Doubtless; this upsetting - of.' financial arrangements will be rectified in time, especially as the oufook is buoyant, but a temporary inconvenience must he expected,:

. The' epidemic was not without its effect upon trade. During 'the " scare" period, now, happily, past, the" number' of visiter* to Auckland was reduced, and for a time trade to the affected areas fell away in a very serious maims*. ' t' The Financial Outlw*;": % Turning to finance;" it cannot: be said j that money has been other thin "tight"' during Ae 12 months under review.; Money rates are still fairly high, b'afe. .on. the whole a much better financial ton* prevails, and the existing conditions ami svii improvement upon those of 12 months ago. Not the same difficulty is experienced in financing; 'and aj general pervades the business world.- ' _ ~' > . -'.' - :• On" account 'or the" financial irtrmgency the wholesale houses exercised great caution in giving credit., so that tradesmen have been compelled to keep .tltijir obligations' well: within : their 'capacity to . meet them, and it can be stated that, these obligationii havn bean wdl met—a circumstEinco that is undoubtedly duo to the tendency to insist on shorter terms. Long fvinns of credit only eiii in trouble to'all parties concerned, and business has been conducted during the" past year on much sounder lines than htrefofcre. In spite of the disturbing factors referred tootle year,' on the whole, has been ' a good one for; trade. . The' high values which have ruled 'for; almostv all of the primaiy products, and the extension of settlement in the Auckland Province, have insured for the city a prosperity which has exceeded expectations, and for the same reasons the outlook is extremely promising. Wholesale Merchant's; Opinion. ■ "It been a unique year in the history of the wholesale grocery business,! said a* gentleman' engaged in the trade. " |ri the first place we had difficulty in rfopect to sugar, for reasonij that are well known. For nine months we have been selling this commodity at cost price. We had almost the '"same j experience in connection with kerosene. In addition to these disadvantage the epidemic and . strike interfered with our prorate; but, in. spite of it all. we have enjoyed quite;; an : average- year's .'trade!":' ■"-' ' . -.''•' • : ~ ,! Discussing the money market generally, he referred the need of caution, which merchant* would be called upon to exercise in not overstocking >' in view of tba general trend „ downwards .of prices #at Home. He expressed }.he opinion that importers generally had not exercised sufficient caution in this respect during the year, looking rather to future requirements than towards ?limiting their purchases by the amount of produce sent Home. Bright Prospects. A large retailer in the same business expressed the opinion that there had been little overloading, though importation had increased. 1 The•. Into arrival of strikedelayed goods might cause a congestion for part of the coming year, but he: thought that this trouble would be rectified by- the middle of 3.914. ' Retailers were looking to January, February, &nd March, as "big " months, and if their expectations were realised the year's prospects would bo bright indeed. " While trade has increased," remarked another retailer, " it must not be forgotten that expenditure has been forced up, through the strike, particularly ifi the lower end of Queen Street, where many shops were practically closed for Dome time, and thus record profits were militated against." He went on to say that in his opinion the strike was advantageous in one respect, namely, it allowed some merchants who had overstocked to adjust their stocks. , Retard Year for Drapery. . It has been a particularly profitable year for those engaged! in the drapery business, most of the large businesses reporting a record year. "We have had not only a record turnover for the period," said One draper, "but each month, with the exception of the strike month, was better than the corresponding month of last year." A great deal of valuable stock was held by drapers, but he thought, that buying had not exceeded the .bounds of caution. A feature of the year in the drapery trade has been the general trend upwards in the quality of goods purchased, an ujrrnistakaWe* sign of the prosperity of the individual. „ >