SELr-SEEVI]SrG IN RETAILING FOOD PRODUCTS. 47 



of advertising can be left to the judgment of the operator. Knowing 

 the cost, not the final disposition of it, is the matter of real impor- 

 tance. 



Another factor in the shrinkage of merchandise is spoilage. This 

 can, and should, be segregated, as it is an important factor and one 

 of which very little is known. It can be segregated by the use of 

 Form 4, page 51, "Stock control adjustment — C." The merchandise 

 handled may be divided into four classes, as follows : Fresh fruits 

 and vegetables, cured meats, dairy products, and other groceries. 

 A separate sheet of Form 4 should be used for each class. The name 

 of the class should be entered in the upper left-hand corner of the 

 form in the space provided. It is evident that in order to have the 

 merchandise account at retail comparable to the sales that account 

 should be credited with the loss of sales owing to spoilage, whether 

 this spoilage is complete or only partial, the latter necessitating only 

 a slight reduction in the selling price. The method of using this 

 form is similar to that of using the forms just described, except that 

 it is filled out by the man in charge of the merchandise which has 

 spoiled. Under partial spoilage is also included any mark downs 

 necessary because of " picked-over " perishables. While these may 

 not be decayed, the size and quality might be such that the original 

 price would have to be reduced in order to move them. This is a 

 common circumstance and one which is usually taken into consider- 

 ation in the original selling price. In order that entries on this 

 form may be made clear two examples will be giyen, one in which 

 the spoilage was complete and one in which it w as partial : 



ExaTnple 1. — Fifty 2-pound baskets of tomatoes (a total of 100 

 pounds of tomatoes) were put up for sale at 15 cents per basket. 

 The merchandise account was charged $7.50, as that would be the 

 total selling price. After 30 of these baskets had been sold at 15 

 cents each, it was necessary to sell the remaining 20 at 10 cents each, 

 either because partial spoilage made them of inferior quality or 

 because it was seen that they were selling too slowly at 15 cents 

 and might spoil before they could be sold the next day. The follow- 

 ing entries would be made on Form 4: Date; tomatoes; 2-pound 

 baskets ; old price, 15 cents ; new price, 10 cents ; inventory, 20 ; mark 

 downs, 5 cents ; credit stock control, $1. 



Example 2. — If, at the end of the day, 5 baskets were left which 

 were so badly spoiled that they had to be thrown out, the entries 

 would be : Date ; tomatoes ; 2-pound baskets ; old price, 10 cents ; 

 new price, cents; inventory, 5; mark down, 10 cents;" credit mer- 

 chandise account, 50 cents. The money received for these 50 baskets 

 of tomatoes would be 30 at 15 cents, or $4.50; and 15 at 10 cents, or 

 $1.50; the total being $6. The merchandise account was originally 



