MARKETING 



315 



More careful attention should be given to organized selling. A 

 properly centralized apple organization patterned after the Orange 

 Growers' Association in California and other similiar ones, to help 

 regulate shipments of apples to meet the demands of the markets, 

 is the paramount need. 



Proper advertising and education are also vitally important. Can- 

 not the business principles utilized by some of our most successful 

 manufacturing houses be applied ? Various breakfast foods and 

 brands of canned goods have attained great success by their exten- 

 sive advertising. In many cases educational receipts for cooking 

 the product have been included in the package. Why not receipts 

 for cooking the apple ? 



Some legislation is needed to adjust the charges of commission 

 man, jobber, retailer, railroads, and all others handling the apple 

 between the grower and the consumer — perhaps regulations fixing 

 the percentage each may charge. It now costs too much to get the 

 apple from the grower to the consumer, thereby making the price 

 to the consumer much greater than it should be. The consumer 

 often pays $3.00 per box for first-grade apples for which the grower 

 has received only from 80 to 90 cents. Where medium or second- 

 grade apples are sold for $2.25 the grower often receives only 

 between 60 and 65 cents. 



The following table will serve to illustrate where the difference 

 goes between what the consumer pays and what the grower receives. 



First-grade Apples 



Second-grade Appi.i 



Retailer sells for .... 



Grower gets 



Association or agent gets 

 Railroad gets .... 

 Commission man gets . 

 Retailer gets 



.80, or 27 percent 

 .ro, or 3 per cent 

 .50, or 17 per cent 

 .25, or 8 per cent 

 1.35, or 45 per cent 



.60, or 27 per cent 

 .07, or 3 per cent 

 .43, or 19 per cent 

 .25, or 1 1 per cent 

 .90, or 40 per cent 



In both cases the consumer pays 275 per cent more than the 

 grower gets, this condition being caused by the demands of the 

 retailer for large, unreasonable profits. Public sentiment created 

 by proper advertisement and education could be so aroused that the 

 retail prices of apples would be brought down to a reasonable rate 

 which would still give a fair profit to all. 



