TRADE IN FRESH AND FROZEN FISHERY PRODUCTS 53 



Wrapping paper. — Standard white or brown paper was used by 

 five retail fish stores for wrapping all packages of fish. Seven used 

 first a wrapper of white or brown paper and then an outside wrapper 

 of newspaper. Newspaper tends to impart an inky flavor or odor 

 to fish, thus the prevalence of using standard paper for the first 

 wrapper. In wrapping retail purchases, some retailers place a few 

 lumps of ice in the package for refrigeration en route to the home. 



Payment j or retail sales, delivery, and advertising. — Retail sales were 

 made for cash only in four stores; the other eight stores, in addition to 

 selling for cash, mtimated that credit was extended to regular cus- 

 tomers. Delivery of retail purchases was made by four stores. 

 Advertising was done by three stores, of which one used the daily papers 

 about three times weekly and two used circulars distributed in the 

 neighborhood. 



Class of trade and location of retail fish stores. — Nine retailers stated 

 that their trade was about equally divided between the white and 

 colored races, and three stated that 75 per cent or more was with the 

 white population. Eight of the retail stores were located in the down- 

 town business section and four in outlying areas. 



Sanitary conditions. — Sanitary conditions of the stores were noted 

 as follows: First, excellent; second, good; third, fair; fourth, poor; 

 fifth, very poor. According to the rating, the sanitary condition 

 of four was excellent,- three were good, four were fair, and one was 

 poor. 



Trade during the iveelc. — Inquiry was made as to trade during the 

 week, and the retailer was asked to state the percentage of each week's 

 business done on each of the six working days of the week. From 

 the study it was found that on the average the sales on Monday 

 were 7 per cent; Tuesday, 7 per cent; Wednesday, 8 per cent; Thurs- 

 day, 9 per cent; Friday, 30 per cent; and Saturday, 39 per cent of 

 the total week's trade. As in most cities surveyed, the bulk of the 

 trade in the retail fish stores in Atlanta is done on Friday and Saturday. 

 Sales on Saturday are greater in Atlanta for the reason that the 

 majority of the negro population is paid on that day. 



GROCERY STORES 



One of the most striking features revealed by the survey of the fish 

 trade in Atlanta was that a large number of retail grocery stores make 

 a practice of marketing fish. While no extended survey was made of 

 these outlets for fishery products, it is believed that fully 50 per cent 

 of the grocery stores carry fish on one or more days each week. Tliis 

 may account for the small number of retail fish stores that sell fish 

 daily. 



Fishery products marketed in grocery stores usually are displayed 

 in a metal tub or raised-edge metal pan. These are filled with crushed 

 ice. Other receptacles are provided for catching the water from the 

 melting ice. 



Usually a sufficient quantity of fish is obtained for only one day's 

 sales and generally amounts to only about 75 pounds. It is the 

 opinion that most grocery stores carry fish only as a convenience to 

 customers, which is corroborated somewhat by the fact that the 

 average margin of profit to the grocer is only about 3 cents per pound. 

 In a large measure this may be due to the types of products handled 

 and the method of display. Few grocers appear to be acquainted 



