Excerpt from Operating Expenses in Department Stores in 1921 The cost of doing business, according to the reports received by the Bureau, was higher in department stores in percentage of net sales in 1921 than in 1920. The chief items which were higher in ratio to sales in 1921 were salaries and wages, rentals, and advertising. Many of the smaller items were almost the same in percentage of sales in both years. The gross margin between the cost Of the merchandise and the sales was Slightly higher in 1921 than in the preceding year, but the difference was less than the increase in total expense consequently the average net profit was lower in 1921. It is to be noted, how ever, that the department stores Showed an average net profit for 1921 despite the depression, whereas the retail Shoe trade, the retail jewelry trade, and the wholesale grocery business, for which the Bureau also has collected figures, each Showed an average net loss for that year. The department stores from which reports were received for both 1920 and 1921 Showed an increase Of 4. 3 in net sales. This also was in contrast to the other three trades just referred to the retail Shoe trade having shown a decrease Of 9 in net sales In 1921, the retail jewelry trade a decrease Of 15 and the wholesale grocery business a decrease of 30 in net sales as compared with the preceding year. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.