MARGINS, EXPENSES, AND PROFITS IN RETAILING MEAT 13 
Kent averaged 10.60 per cent of total expense for stores of all 
classes. Wrapping expense averaged 4.72 per cent of total expense 
for all stores but was noticeably more important in relation to total 
expense in carry and limited- delivery stores. 
Kefrigeration approximated wrappings in relative importance. 
Light and power (exclusive of power used for refrigeration) varied 
but little between the groups of stores from the 1.61 per cent average 
of all stores. Depreciation on equipment, other than that used for 
delivery or refrigeration, averaged 2.04 per cent for all stores. 
Other expense averaged 12.12 per cent of the total expense for all 
stores, 8.16 per cent for carry stores, 10.67 per cent for limited-de- 
livery, and 15.28 per cent for unlimited-delivery stores. These in- 
creases in other expense in the limited and unlimited-delivery stores 
were occasioned by the including of delivery expense exclusive of 
wages. Further analysis of other expense is not shown either because 
each item of this expense was not incurred by all stores or because 
the records would not permit of its being segregated, so that averages 
for each minor item entering into other expense can not be shown. 
GROSS MARGINS 
The average gross margin for individual retail meat stores of 
all sizes and types for 1923 was 23.56 per cent of net sales. In Table 
4 are presented the gross margins for stores classified by character 
of services rendered, profit and loss, and volumes of sales groupings. 
The average gross margin for carry stores was 22.98 per cent, and the 
corresponding figure for the limited-delivery group was slightly 
larger, being 23.09 per cent. The unlimited- delivery group average 
gross margin was 24.18 per cent, an increase of 1.2 per cent over that 
of the carry group. 
