LONDON STREET TRADERS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4578, 22 June 1923, Page 1

LONDON STREET TRADERS

An ex-soldier who sells chocolates at a street corner stated,, at Marylebone County Court,, that he earned three pounds a week, buif, added that considerable part of this came from “tips” given by passers-by. Three pounds is a large income to be earned by a street trader, and is much in excess of the Average profits of these men. Take the boot-black, for instance. Even on a good pitch, such as one of those in the enclosure at Charing Cross Station, a man earns on an average no more than thirty-five shillings a week, and tp do .that he is on duty twelve hours a day for six days a week. Boot-blacks are fewer in number than formerly, yet there are still a good many in London.

The profits on flowers are large, and there are to-day more flower sellers in London than ever before. But the stock is, of course, very perishable, and sales depend largely on weather. Thirty shillings to t,wo pounds a week is about the average earnings of the flower ,seller. The same remarks apply to the fruit hawker, whose business doubles on a fine, bright day. The fruit hawkers complain of the high railway charges from ports like Bristol ,to London. They have, however,, one big advantage over the shops—that they have no rent to pay,, but only the shilling license.

A man who does quite well is the one who sells plants in pots. As a rule he has his regular rounds, and has more or less regular customers. His goods are generally reliable, and especially in springy when flowering bulbs are in demand, he can make from two to three pounds a week. These men as a rule grow their own plants, and, considering that few of them have any heat, they manage very cleverly.