THE TRADE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 71, 18 December 1918, Page 6

THE TRADE

A REVIEW OF PRICES

NO IMMEDIATE RELIEF

EXPECTED

The retail prices of softgoods, including linens, cuttons, woollens, and silks, are not expected to fall during the next twelve months. ,The tendency, in fact, is still to rise, and somo important increases, to tako effect next year, are already announced. , The cost of clothing of all kinds is likely to remain nt the war level for some time to come. Such, at any rate, is the opinion of importers, who have before them the price-lists issued by the manufacturing firms.

The actual extent of (he increase in the price of softgoods during the war period is not easily ascertained. Pricra vary rapidly, and some firms aro able to quote lower prices for special lines than thoir competitors, owing to a fortunate contract or an advantage gained in But an examination of certain standard lines shows that the incriiiwe is scarcely evor less than 50 per cent... and it goes as high as 300 per cont. it : probably would be no exaggeration to say that a mixed parcel, such as mijht lie bought by a typical housewife, would cost twice, as much now as it would have done this time five years ago, when (lie gooda of the pro-war Christinas season were being bought. , The position may bb illustrated by qiioting a. few standard articles. A line of calico that used to be sold retail nt 6Jd. per yard is sold at Is. Gd. a yard now, and there is no present prospect of a decline. Prints that were sold at 7ld. before tho war are retailed at Is. lOd. per yard now, and they aro going to reach 2s. 9d. a yard next year, owing to mi increase announced by the manufacturers. Linen damask has trebled in price, and is almost unprocurable- Tarantulle. costing Is. a yard before the war, is sold at Is. lOcl. now. and there is to be an increase to something "TTTce 2s. 6d. a. yard. , Tobrnlco (\osts Is. 10j<l. a yard, asagainst Is. a yard before the war.and it is to go up again. A quality of Japanese silk that was eold wholesale at Is4d. a yard in 1914 .coats about 3s. a yard now, and is to advance to 3s. sd. a yard next season, according to manufacturers' advices. Another quality of Japanese silk, formerly costing Is. Bd. a yard, is quoted at 4s. id. a yard whol»snle. Illustrations might be multiplied without throwing much new lidht on the situation. The causes of the increases are many. Raw materials have advanced greatly in price, and havo been in short supply owing to war demands and decreased production; manufacturing costs have rison owing to scarcity of labour, war taxation, increased charges of all kinds, and other factors; shipping and insurance charges have risen •enormously. Some of those factors are going to disappear with the closing of the war; they are being modified already. _ But _ other factors are going to remain in existence for, a long time to come, and in' the case of New Zealand a reduction in manufacturers' charges does not hare an immediate effect on retail prices, since joods are bought far ahead of requirements. Tt is true that an increase in manufacturers' charges very often is felt at once by the consumers, owing to retailers taking an extra nrofit on the goods they bought at the old prices, but that is a feature of the retail trade that the ipublic has to endure. • War waste is one of the factors that will keep prices up next year. The world in a normal year uses its annual production of-raw materials to manufacture the things the people of the world need. The war during the last four years has upset all the regular routine. Stupendous quantities of cotton have heen used in the manufacture of explosives, of wool in the production of soldiers' uniforms and gear, of linen and silk in the building of balloons and aeroplanes. Steel, leather, copper, wood, and a Injn'clred other articles of common use hav been consumed in the fiery furnace of war, and the world has little or nothing to show for them. The natural result is a world-wide shortage of raw materials, and this shortage was to be wiped out before normal conditions can be resumed. Wool, cotton, linen, and 6ilk are all in short supply to-day. There are eager markets in almost every country of the world. ' .' (

A local factor in pushing up prices is worth mentioning. The women of New Zealand, like their sieters in many other countries, are showing an increasing tendency to use the more expensive materials for underwear and night attire. Silks and crepe de chines are worn very much more freely than they used to be, and the retailers have learned by experience that they, can charge what misht fairly be 'termpfl fancy prices for made-up articles of lingerie and for special lines of material. The paying of these prices has a hardening' effect on prices generally. The prices charged for'made-up goods, of course, ought not to be taken as a guide to the real cost of dressing. The woman who buys dainty and beautiful garments made by skilled hands is bound to pay high 'prices.

No early reduction in the nrice of woollen iroods is expected in New Zealand. The whole world is anxious (o buy wool just now, and the Imperial Government has bought the New Zealand and Australian clips for this reason and next season at war prices. The local manufacturers will have to pay those prices as long as the Imperial contract runs, and it is predicted that the demand for wool Jn the world markets will be keen and unsatisfied for some years to come. The cessation of the demand for soldiers' clothing in this country, might, enable manufacturers to make small reductions in prices, hut a return to pTe-war • prices during the next two years is considered to bo out of the question.