FOOTWEAR TRADE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22845, 28 September 1937, Page 10

FOOTWEAR TRADE

RETAILERS' POSITION A TEMPORARY LULL PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT Statements that the retail footwear trade, as well a* manufacturers, had been experiencing rather a lull in the past two months were made by retailers yesterday. They pointed out that, while heavy importations had undoubtedly contributed to tho slackness in manufacturing, another factor was that tho public from several causes was not buying as heavily as formerly. The consensus of opinion was that the public had purchased footwear heavily several months ago in anticipation of rises in prices, and a good deal of the requirements for some months ahead wero then filled. Retail trade at present appeared to vary greatly according to locality; indeed, one man was able to show increased figures. One retailer voiced another reason for a slight falling off in his business compared with some months ago. "As tho cost of living gogs up," ho said, "buying naturally steadies down. With the rise in tho cost of living, people have discovered that there is no more freedom to buy than there was prior to the advance in wages. When one gets a rise of, say, 5s a week in wages, there is a natural inclination for a time to spend 10s. That period is over and what is going on is just a natural adjustment to the new conditions. What was generally emphasised was that in no sense could the slight lull be compared with a period of depression. For a time tho public had overpurchased —often for the very sound reason that prices were due to advance and there was an advantage in early buying—but with a now season comiiig on purchasing would soon become normal again, and, as the manufacturing trade was dependent on the condition of tho retail trade, manufacturers would correspondingly benefit.