SELF-HELP MEAT SHOPS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 862, 4 January 1930, Page 23

SELF-HELP MEAT SHOPS

CANADIAN EXPERIMENTS A POPULAR MOVEMENT Signal success in the retailing of meat in the self-service method is claimed by the Hudson's Bay Company, Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is also reported that one big chain store organisation in the United States is already installing self-service meat stores.

According to a statement made to “The National Provisioner” by J. C. Donaldson, retail manager for the Hudson’s Bay Company in Winnipeg, the volume oi meats sold since the “meateteria” units were installed has more than trebled.

One of the Winnipeg stores has made over 4,000 sales of meat in one day from SO feet of refrigerated display counter. The temperature in the selling space is maintained at 50deg., while t temperature of the lower compartments is held at 40deg. One of the most progressive meat merchandisers in Canada, the Hu * son’s Bay Company, packages its meat wherever possible. Thus all products sold in the “meateterias* are wrapped in celophane, with small tags inserted bearing the price of each article. All kinds and cuts of meats are sold in this manner at the present time, with the exception of pickled meats. Within a very short time the company expects to market pickled meats, and fish also, in packaged form. We are told that, from the standpoint of the retailer, the self-service plan has the following advantages: (1) Delivery costs are eliminated. (-) Labour expense is reduced 50 per cent. (3) Profits are greater. (4) Volume is as great as by the present system. (5) The percentage of dissatisfied customers is practically zero. The customer can inspect the goods at leisure, gees that they are absolutely first-class before slie buys, and, therefore, makes no complaints.