55 
Almost 27 per cent of the 142 individual retail meat markets of 
all types of stores and volumes of business were operated at a loss 
when wages for proprietors were included in total expense. 
In 10 of 13 stores where annual sales were less than $14,000, losses 
were incurred. It was apparent that in such small-sized stores the 
total amounts returned to the proprietors from the operation of their 
businesses generally were not equal to the wages usually paid meat 
cutters. 
Of 129 individual retail meat markets where the annual volumes 
of sales were over $14,000, 21.7 per cent of the stores were operated 
at a loss when proprietor wages were included in expenses. An 
additional 30.2 per cent of this group of stores returned to their 
proprietors a profit of less than 3 per cent of sales. In 27.1 per 
cent of the stores profits were between 3 per cent and 6 per cent, 
and in 14.7 per cent of the group profits were between 6 per cent 
I and 9 per cent. In the remaining 6.3 per cent of the group, profits 
were 9 per cent or more. 
Gross margins in percentage of sales averaged lowest in the north- 
east section of the country and highest in the Pacific coast section. 
Total-expense percentages in carry stores averaged lowest in the 
northeast section and highest in the Pacific coast section. In un- 
limited-service stores, total expense percentages were lowest in the 
northeast section and highest in the southern and Pacific coast 
sections. 
In 5 of 11 chain retail meat stores owned and operated by meat 
packers in the State of Washington, the percentage cost of operation 
was similar to the cost of operation in retail meat markets of similar 
size and type owned by agencies other than meat packers. In 
6 of these 11 stores either actual losses were incurred or profits 
were less than 1 per cent of sales. In '3 of the 11 stores gross 
margins approximated in percentage of sales those of markets owned 
by other agencies, and in the remaining 8 stores the margins tended 
to be lower than in retail markets owned by other agencies. 
Accounting records in the small and medium-sized retail meat 
markets were for the most part inadequate for a determination of 
profit. In some cases, charges relating to the personal affairs of 
the proprietor were found to be combined with figures presumably 
related to the business only. 
Proprietors of combination meat and grocery businesses did not 
generally recognize the necessity for determining the profit or loss 
derived from each department. 
