MARKETING 



87 



of all the leading fruits. The variations in size and type of retail sales 

 units seriously restrict the field for consumer-size packages. 



The spoilage factor influences both the retailer^s margin 

 and the size of individual sales. The larger the volume of 

 apples handled, the lower the percentage of spoilage, presum- 

 ably because the retailer feels that the matter is of sufficient 

 importance to engage his attention, insuring better care, and 

 because of a more rapid turnover. The grower should keep 

 in mind that no one can make the fruit any better than it was 

 when it left his hands. Spoilage, or the certainty of it, often 

 begins, not in the city, but in the orchard, on the truck and in 

 the packing house. 



TABLE 13 



Spoilage as Related to Volume of Apples Handled 

 , AS Reported by Various Types of Independent 



Retailers in New York City, 1937-38 



Quantity handled annually 





Percentage 



of Spoilage 





Eastern Apples 



Western Apples 



Summer 



Winter 



Summer 



Winter 



Less than 50 bushels . . . . 



13 



8.1 



10.9 



9.1 



More than 500 bushels .... 



6 





6.4 





More than 2500 bushels 





5.8 





4.3 



One reason why apples and other deciduous fruits have 

 had hard going in competition with citrus fruit and bananas 

 lies perhaps in the disclosure of the study that, of the fruit 

 and vegetable stands, 96 percent had oranges, 71 percent had 

 grapefruit, and 84 percent had bananas on sale every week in 

 the year against 13 percent for Western apples and about 

 6 percent for Eastern apples. Of the grocery stores, 28 per- 



