Bargain Days

U.S. merchants always expect a big letdown after the big Christmas rush. But last week they reported that the New Year's business had started off much bigger than they had dared expect. In some places (e.g., Detroit, Houston), stores reported sales running 15% to 23% higher than a year ago; for the U.S. as a whole, retail dollar volume was up 5%.

In actual goods sold, the rise was still bigger, for prices had been slashed right & left to clean out inventories for spring merchandise. For the first time in years, January white sales had the look of genuine bargains.

Nor were the bargains confined to soft goods. With Kentucky warehouses jammed with straight bourbons, National Distillers cut its prices of Old Grand-Dad and Old Taylor $6.25 a case (probable retail cut: 76-c- a fifth). Retail meat prices finally reflected some of the drops in livestock prices which had fallen 20% since August. In big ads in Chicago and New York, A & P compared last year's retail prices with 1953's (e.g., $1.08 for sirloin steak in New York v. 89-c- now, $1.15 for rib lamb chops v. 75-c- now and 90-c- for boneless chuck v. 65-c- now). All farm commodities had dropped an average of 12% under a year ago, the lowest price levels since Korea. With most commodities close to their support levels, farm economists doubted if wholesale prices would go much lower.

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