COST OF A SUIT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27058, 18 April 1949, Page 4

COST OF A SUIT

DISPARITY IN PRICES “SHORT CIRCUIT” SOUGHT IN MANUFACTURING “I have no doubt in my mind that some day science will discover and develop a short circuit in the manufacture of woollen material whereby the long and laborious processes that are now employed can be considerably cut down and the time factor betweer the period of investment in the woo. and the sale of the cloth could be considerably reduced,” remarked Mr J. H. Moolman, chairman of the South African Wool Board, in a brpad- ’ cast address last night. . Cost of distribution was a predominating factor when the manufactured article reached the home and, even at to-day’s prices, which by the consumer were considered as prohibitive, the cost of wool in the best worsted men’s suits could be no more than 30s, excepting that 71b of greasy wool went into the manufacture of the cloth required. Mr Moolman said. “Somebody will naturally ask me how it is that I claim that the price of wool in the suit of a man can be only 30s. and they are called upon to pay anything from £2O to £3O for the suit.” Mr Moolman continued. Wool, being an animal fibre, had a natural crimp, and when manufactured had to go through scouring, carding, combing and weaving processes, and in that process was so badly bashed about that it would lose some of its crimp. Wool therefore had a resting period. To manufacture a good wool, that resting period was often from four to six weeks, and the manufacturers of good worsteds claimed that there should be two resting periods. In’ other words, it todk a long time getting the wool in and out of the mill, and naturally buyers were sensitive in connection with this long-term investment. - “ Wool has always been a vbry sensitive economic barometer, and this long-term investment of three to four months from the time wool enters the mill to the time when it comes out as a finished product has to a degree accounted for the super sensitivene_ss of the wool market,” he added, “in this respect also, producers are proving their far-sightedness by contributing funds for industrial research, hoping thereby to bring producer, manufacturer and consumer much closer together. “ If my remarks about manufacturers have conveyed the impression that the high price of the commodity in the shop window is the result of the manu- • factoring process only, I would like to state very emphatically that I do not think the manufacturer is taking more than his fair share of the profit. After examining many mills in practically any part of the world. I have come to the conclusion that their prices are truly competitive.”