Dime Store Profits

The net 1925 profits of the four great dime store chains were collated last week. F. W. Woolworth Co., S. S. Kresge Co., McCrory Stores Corp. and S. H. Kress & Co. all together had available for dividends $43,352,240, a gain of $7,435,759--20.7%--over the $35,916,481 which their net earnings were in 1924. (1924 earnings were only $580,372--1.5%--greater than those of 1923.) Comparison:

1925 1924. Woolworth $24,601,764 $20,669,397 Kresge 11,809,260 10,114,163 Kress 4,158,521 3,143,934 McCrory 2,782,695 1,988,987

Dime store business (not to be confused with many other types of chain stores) is increasing much more than is the business of department stores. Thus the latter's sales are only one-third greater than they were in 1919, whereas those of their unpretentious competitors have doubled in the past 17 years (Department of Commerce Index).

Last year Woolworth's opened 67 new stores (total 1,423), Kresge's 48 (total 304), McCrory's 7 (total 183) and Kress' 5 (total 166).