"DRAPERS' APOLOGIA

Otago Witness, Issue 3455, 1 June 1920, Page 41

"DRAPERS' APOLOGIA

THE RISE OF WHOLESALE PRICES

The latest issue of the Drapers' Organiser received by Dunedin firms contains a statement made by the manager of a large English wholesale house to the Manchester Guardian which shows that English drapers have to • pay from three to four times as much for their supplies as they did before the- war. That, of course, is not peculiar to th=* drapery trade, nor does it bear the burden of the increased prices. They are passed on to the public in the ordinary course of business, with the allowance made for whatever profit the traders may think fair. It would be hard to find -a buyer of any commodity who had not to pay more for it now than ho had before the war.

Of hous3hold drapery the authority quoted says: "We do .not know to what precise qualities the prices relate, or whether the qualities are precisely identical, but a rough correspondence may, perhaps, be assumed." He then proceeds to compare the 1914- and 1920 wholesale prices of several common lines of household drapery, from which the

f olio win <x have been selected as being of interest to the housewife :

Household drapery prices average four times as much as before the war, according to these figures In furnishing drapery the average advance in a few specimen lines is stated to be three and two-third times as much as the pre-war average. Under the heading of "general drapery." navy blue serge (Bradford) is shown as having' advanced from Is lid per yard to Bs. Umbrellas that were listed at 18s lid. per dozen in 1911- now cost the draper £3, and felt hats (fur) that cost 30s are not quoted at all in 1920. Men's ties have advanced from 4s 6d to ISs lid per dozen; and all cotton collars to Bs, linen-faced collars not being quoted. Women's apparel has advanced in the same way, if one may take as a fair sample the only specimens quoted—corsets, which have advanced from 17s lid per dozen to 51s. The details for hosiery and tmderwear show an average increase of three and a-halT times the pre-war figure. Plain cashmere hose for women has advanced from 9s ner dozer, pairs to 55a, and the one-piece l.mderGrnrment from £3 5s per dozen to £lO 12s. Worsted half-hose for men is now 30s per dozen, as comnared with 9s. Woollen shirts have advancer! from £3 Is per dozen to £9 9s. and flannelette shirts from 25s to £4 I*. The article concludes: Drapers will welcome the publication of these figures, and may he interested to check them in the light of iheir own exner ; ence. The idea that retailers :uo responsible for the higher prices is not yet dead and the fact that they have done what in them lies to temper the rate of increase is imperfectly appreciated by the public at large.

1914. IS )20. s. d. 8. d. Turkish towels (dozen) 4 6 21 6 Brown line.n towels (dozen) 12 6 42 6 Bleached linen tablecloths 4 6 26 1 Crash roller towelling (yard) 0 53 0 IK Plain pillow cases (dozen) ... 3 3 11 8" White calico (yard) 0 4 1 8 White sheets (pair) 4 0 20 0 Cotton blankets (pair) 4 4 17 4 Woollen blankets (pair) ... 15 6 55 4 Flannelette (yard) 0 51 2 u