PRICE NOT ONLY FACTOR IN UNITED STATES

Chronicle (Levin), 20 September 1949, Page 5

PRICE NOT ONLY FACTOR IN UNITED STATES

NEW YORK, Sept. 19. Government offieials and merchandising experts warned that although the British were well able. to price their goods here at a reduetion of 30 per j cent over present priees, this in itself | v ill not mean a great iinmediate boost in the sale of these goods, reports the Kew York Times' Washington corr»s-! pondent. Better merehandising, better selling, better advertising and a better , knowledge of what the Ameriean con- 1 sumer wants — particularly the Ameriean housewife — will be necessarv bebore Britain will increase to a great extent her saies here. The correspondent adds that one prominent Ameriean fmancial official mentioned a reeent survey at a Chicago departniet store on the buving of British goods displayed by the store. Of all refusals to buy, according to the snrvey, only 8 per cent were beeause of priee. The ehief reasons were the preferenee of the buyer for the Ameriean artiele — not beeause it was Ameriean — but beeause it was the tvpe she was used to. Most Cnited States offieials believe thore is ruum enough in United States business to sell a greater amount o.f British goods without seriously affeeting saies of Ameriean goods. Reductions in priees in Canada of British goods, is widelv predieted among importing firms. states a report from Toronto. There is hesitaney, however, to make predietions about the amounts of the cuts until tho full pieture of the British pound devaluation is more clearlv seen. I.oss whieh in some cases may be serious, were seen for firms with stocks on hand bonght at the former pound valuo. British ears attraeted most interest as an itera whieh eould possibly show most speetaeular slashes.