§ Sir W. Darlingasked the President of the Board of Trade what estimate has been made of the total loss falling upon retail traders in soft goods and footwear caused by the announcement of 5 per cent. reduction in maximum prices on Thursday, 28th July, 1949.
§ Mr. H. WilsonIn my statement of 28th July I said that there was room for a reduction in costs, particularly in the distributive trades, which would lead46W to a reduction in prices. Without knowing the extent to which retailers succeed in reducing their costs, it is impracticable to make an estimate of the effect of the reductions in retailers' margins on retailers' net profits.