PRICE OF BOOTS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14236, 2 March 1917, Page 4

PRICE OF BOOTS.

The way,,. in which the .price of . eather is advancing m the Old Coun- • bry seems likely to place good boots on - ( the list, of luxuries. A letter, under • elate of December 30, 1916, warned local Importers that the rise m shipping freigbts, tho scarcity of. space, ahd greatincrease m the cost" of raw materials, a.nd l iiighea. cost of labor, must ere long remit m prices for boots advancing to "igures not previously dreamed of. At that date the price of leather had alnost doubled m England m the last Pour months, and waa then costing three times as much as it did prior to the ivar. Added to this there were further, ncreasing and sistent demands on the - part of tne War Office for footwear for the British Armies and those pf the Allies. Orders m hand were at that time received not to be delivered before October, 1917, and the later lots could not be offered before March, 1918. This t fncans that any orders sent now caniot be delivered, under 12 months' time.^ Under date of Febraury 17th hascomp notice of an advance dn the , price of t>oots. Women's light footwear has gone up another 15 per cent, and 3d; men's light 20 per cent, and 3d. This make^ the total rise since the outbreak [if war : Women's light 40 per cent, and 3d, do. heavier 50 per cent, and 9d ; men's light 'so per cent, and' Is, do. heavy 60 per cent, and ls. This pra"- ' .it-ally means that boots which prior to .Uo war could be sold at 265, would be nearer 40s per pair, when high freights, . insurance, aud other costs arc added to Lhe., importers' profit. Iv .locally manu-. i FacLurcd boots there has also been a rise l>- about 50 per cent, since the war. started, as many lii\cs have to be made from imported leather. Glace kid, for* instance, cannot profitably be made here, , for the simple reason that goat skins require to be imported for mating Ibat class of leather. New Zealand tanucrg can, of course, make 1-ght Lhiorties and heavy sole leather, but the price of hides has gone up considerably, added to which the State has commandeered supplies. Glace kid, which used to be about- 9d per foot m Australia, is now quoted at 2s 9d. Heavy sole leather m New Zealand has just advanced another 6d per pound,mnd when the shortage of mpn is taken into consideration thero is little chance of tlio boots required being made. m. N .w Zealand, even if the material were available. Sonio local importers are not ordering any more . high-class goods, as they fear being caught at the end of the war with a stock of articles at a b'g price. On the other hand, there is general feeling that hides will be dear fnv some time after the war, owing to tho large number of cattle that • had to bo slaußhtered to keep the armies supplied with meat. " Then, too, every v«ssel that is torpedoed with two or three thousand hides on board means at i<??.st three vcars before that shortage can bo made* up by cattlo being raised. Taken altogether, the out,look is for h'gh prices for footwear for some time to come.