PRICE OF BOOTS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 905, 26 August 1910, Page 3

PRICE OF BOOTS

STEADILY INCREASING. WHAT WILL THE UPSHOT BE? (By Telegraph— Special.Correspondent.) Christchurch, August 24. . The announcement is made that the price of footwear is steadily increasing, and that there is :overy prosr»ect of it •continuing to do so. ' " In response to inquiries made by a "Press" representative. of ono large business firm, he was told that ther<> had been an increase of about 5 per cent, during the last twelve months. It was further stated that an attempted "corner" in raw hides by American firms had a good deal to do with the enhanced price, owning •to the English 'firms which bought a considerable amount of/their material in tho States having to pay' an increased amount. This increase was reflected in the colonies, and the consequence was that'the public was gradually paying more and more. One English firm was now charging 2s. a' pair more for a line of boots than it did twelve months ago, and other lines Had increased in price to a greater or lesser degree. Another cause was the gradual westernising of the East boots now being largely worn by the Japanese people. _.. "If the teeming millions in China adopt leather footgear," said the informant, "goodness only knows what the upshot will be."/ . The head of the boot department m another large establishment stated that only that morning ho had received the invoice for a line of men's boots manufactured by a leading English firm showing that 12s. 6d. was now being charged, as against 12s. for the samu boots previously.. This meant that on that particular line another ljd. duty would have to ho paid, and after the retailer's margin had been allowed it would mean altogether','about 'a shilling additional cost. A shilling extra on a 12s. 6d. line of boots represented an increase of between 8 and 9 per cent. He attributed . tbo steady, increase to the fact that much lighter leather was being used than formerly, and whereas <;ho average life of a pair of boots used to he something like two years it was now only nine months. There was a growing tendency to use goatskin instead of calfskin, and it naturally followed that the supply of the former was more limited than that of tho latter. English hoots were the most popular of the assorted boots, and in the better qualities far superior to the better class of American. Another factor that has sounded the death knoll of the latter as far as New Zealand was concerned was the 7-J per cent, preferential tariff imposed some timo ago.