FOOTWEAR FACTORIES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 210, 5 August 1937, Page 16

FOOTWEAR FACTORIES

NO SHORT TIME WORKED. MINISTER’S STATEMENT. WELLINGTON, Aug. 4. The report from Auckland that a number of footwear factories are now working short time was replied to today by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Hon. D. G. Sullivan). He said that such a statement did not correctly state the position. Inquiries by his department showed that the reverse of that position was true, and that in one particular case men were being put on and not put off, as was alleged. “My attention was drawn only a day or two ago to an advertisement in Christchurch newspapers by a Christchurch manufacturer calling for additional operatives,” said the Minister, “and this firm, by reorganisation and increased efficiency, has been able satisfactorily to . meet competition. Moreover, it actually lias been able to reduce the price of one of its main lines as a result. “The inquiries that have been made bv ihe officers in my department show clearly and beyond all doubt that manufacturers generally have not been affected to an abnormal extent by importations, and, furthermore, are facing the future with confidence. Figures which have been obtained from manufacturers show definitely that sales have not yet fallen off, but there is evidence that certain manufacturers fear a falling off of orders in the future. “The statement is made that importations are increasing because higher costs have adversely affected the competitive position of the New Zealand manufacturer. The main reason for increased imports, however, seems to be a fear that overseas prices will rise shortly, and dealers in New Zealand are making haste to stock up before the rise occurs. This is the real reason for the present outcry on the part of some manufacturers and not the Government’s legislation. “Our investigations have shown that where manufacturers are efficient they are successfully meeting competition from overseas and are. as already indicated, facing the future with confidence.

“It "is a significant fact that little or no publicity is given in the daily Press to the improvements in the business of manufacturers, or to the methods many of them have adopted to meet competition,” continued the Minister. “For instance, an Auckland firm, the M.K. Millinery. Ltd., declared an interim dividend of 10 Tier cent, to be payable on August 12. The directors emphasised their opinion that they were more than justified in fixing this rate in view of the considerable advancement in the first six months of the 1937 trading period. To ensure that result the directors confirmed the policy of increasing wages over and above the rate determined by leg-slation. The sales thereafter increased bv 39.4 per cent., and profits by a much larger percentage.