86 HARVESTING, STORING, AND MARKETING 



Table 12 shows that more than half the retail agencies re- 

 ported margins of less than 30 percent and 6 out of 10 push- 

 cart and wagon hucksters had margins of less than 20 percent. 



TABLE 12 



Variations in Gross Retail Margins on Apples, 



BY Type of Retail Outlet, as Reported by 

 Independent Retailers, New York City, 1937-38 



Range in 

 Average 

 Gross Alargin 

 (percent)* 



Total 

 Outlets 

 Report- 

 ing 



Proportion of Retail Outlets Reporting 



Total 



for 



All 

 Outlets 



Fruit and 

 Vegetable 

 Stands 



Independent 

 Grocery 

 Stores 



Pushcart 

 or Wagon 

 Hucksters 



Delica- 

 tessen 

 Stores 



Meat 

 Markets 





Number 



Percent 



Percent 



Percent 



Percent 



Percent 



Percent 



Less than 15 



109 



3 



5 



41 



7 





7 



15- 19 



147 



8 



8 



20 





11 



9 



20 - 24 



255 



16 



14 



20 



14 



22 



16 



25-29 



389 



25 



27 



11 



36 



11 



24 



30-34 



156 



11 



9 



3 



14 





10 



35-39 



183 



12 



13 



1 



22 



34 



12 



40-49 



119 



9 



7 



1 



7 





7 



50-74 



212 



.14 



15 



3 





22 



13 



75-99 



13 



1 



1 









1 



100 — or more 



10 



1 



1 









1 



* Gross margin — difference between price paid for commodity and the retail 

 eelHng price; for example, if a bushel of apples were bought for $1.00 and sold for $1.35, 

 the gross margin was 35 cents, or 35 percent. 



As to the size or unit of sale the report makes the follow- 

 ing statement: 



Practically all the leading fruits were purchased by consumers in 

 extremely small quantities. In 1790 independent retail outlets in New 

 York City, sales of 38 percent of the Eastern apples were in quantities 

 of 3-pound lots, 33 percent in 2-pound lots, and 12 percent in 1-pound 

 lots, making a total of 83 percent in lots of 3 pounds or less. Sales of an 

 additional 7 percent were in 4-pound lots, and 3 percent in 5-pound lots. 

 Sales of Western apples were mostly by number or by the pound. That 

 is, sales of 35 percent were in 3-pound lots or less, and 31 percent in 

 units of 4 apples or less. Similar variations were observed among sales 



