Show LITTLE FAT IN RETAILING Just how much fat is there in the retail ro mer- mer merchandising r- r business that business that is the difference between what merchants must pay for the supplies on their shelves and the price they charge their Unless youre you're an unusually well-informed well con con- consumer sumer you II ll be astonished to learn how small the fat fat is For example one of the country's principal food chain systems recently reported that when consumers spend in its stores they actually got 86 cents worth of food figured on the wholesale cost The remainder remainder- fourteen cents cents in in all the system retains to pay wages taxes rent and find findall andall all the hundreds of other expenses in in- in inti incidental ti to running its business including an extremely small profit profi t on each sale It H is obvious that all kinds of stores store cannot oper oper- operate oper- oper operate ate on an equally equally- small margin Volume of business special services rendered the kind of goods sold and many other factors regulate re the amount of fat a store must have But it is a fact that ninety-nine ninety stores out of a hundred are operating on as small a margin as pos pos- possible pos pos- possible sible The hundredth store whose management is out to gouge the consumer and charge all the traffic will bear isn't long for this world world consumer consumer resistance and competition will see to that l f Bear this in mind next time you are ar are tempted to I blame the shopkeeper for high prices He dislikes them themas i as much muchas as you do he do-he he is well aware that the system of mass production and mass distribution which distin distin- distinguishes distinguishes America from other nations is based upon keep keep- ing keeping prices within the reach of all He has voluntarily ab ab- ab absorbed many higher costs and reduced his profits in an attempt to alleviate the inflationary p r he be cant can't do the impossible impossible which means that he cant can't operate at a loss lOBS t |