SEASIDE SHOPS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22619, 6 January 1937, Page 11

SEASIDE SHOPS

DECLIKE IN TRADE RESULT OF WET WEATHER HOLIDAY SEASON EXPERIENCES Shopkeepers ;it holiday and beach resorts it) the vicinity of Auckland have suffered fairly considerable financial loss as a result of the unseasonable weather over the Christinas and .New Year period. This has been the case more particularly at some of the more distant beaches where accommodation is more of the camping type and from which many holiday-makers were forced to beat a sudden retreat as a result of last week's heavy and incessant rain. Wholesalers in the city stated yesterday that they expected that many shopkeepers at beaches would have a carry-over of stocks purchased in anticipation of brisk holiday business. This would probably apply in the main to lines such as groceries, confectionery and aerated waters. However, the holiday season was not yet over and it was unlikely that there would be any cases of serious loss. On the other hand, the fact that takings on some of the busiest days of the year were below normal would place many shopkeepers in the position of having to revise their estimates for the summer.

"1 think the general experience is that trade has not suffered to any marked extent in the more populous beach resorts, such as Milford and Takapuna," one wholesale merchant said yesterday. "Our orders from shops in those districts lune kept up remarkably well. The reason probably is that houses have been taken for ternjs of some weeks and the occupants accordingly have had to make the best of the weather. In places patronised by campers or where city families own week-end cottages, the weather certainly has had a marked effect on trade." A representative of another firm said that beach shopkeepers had not experienced an unbroken run of bad lick. Fine weather on Boxing Day and again last week-end enabled large crowds to visit the beaches, with the result that the shops enjoyed at least three days of really brisk business. Nevertheless, the weather had prevented steady trade at a season of the year when seaside shopkeepers expected to make their largest profits and as a result some of them would be hard hit.