Local Chain Stores

A local Iowa chain of 35 grocery stores (Red Ball Corp., headquarters at Des Moines) last week bought 15 stores at Des Moines and Valley Junction, Iowa, from a National chain of grocery stores (Piggly Wiggly, Delaware corporation, headquarters at Memphis, Tenn.)

The incident had this significance: a local chain can be so ef- fective that it can resist hysterical battering of the independent re- tailer and the methodical ramming of the national chain. National chain stores have often absorbed local chains; it is possible that national chains may break down into local "lengths" such as the Red Ball Corp.

During the first half of this year the mail order and chain store companies (except Montgomery, Ward) did more business than during the prosperous first half of 1926. The comparative sales of 21 important ones in thousands of dollars (three zeros are to be added after each figure):

1926 PERCENTAGE INCREASE

Sears, Roebuck .... $129,826 $126,621 2.5

Montgomery, Ward 92,236 95,216 3.1*

F. W. Woolworth 116,766 107,201 8.9

S. S. Kresge 55,901 49,837 12.1

S. H. Kress 23,359 21,688 7.7

W. T. Grant 17,066 14,395 18.5

McCrory Stores 16,972 14,183 19.6

F. & W. Grand 5,388 4,409 22.2

J. J. Newberry 5,381 3,502 53.6

Metro. Stores 4,006 4,305 13.9

McLelan Stores 4,248 3,183 33.3

G. C. Murphy 4,188 3,261 28.4

Neisner Bros. 2,593 1,470 76.3

Issac Silver.. 2,285 1,788 27.7

L. K. Liggett 28,475 24,711 15.2

Peoples Drug 3,743 2,829 32.2

Piggly Wiggly West 6,502 3,560 82.6

J. C. Penney 59,712 46,074 29.6

Leonard, Fitzpatrick & Mueller 2,583 2,486 3.8

Kinnear Stores 1,129 980 15.2

Fanny Farmer 1,712 1,514 13.0

* Decrease.