Thursday, July 21, 197/ THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Nine
Blue jean prices plummeting
1 I N N E A P 0 L I S,
Ninn. 'T) - Blue jeans, the
work panfs of gold miners and
cowboys that have become a
worldwide fashion, a're coming
down in price this summer as
stores across the nation mark
them down to spur sales.
It all started at County
Sent, a 175-store specialty chain
headquartered near Minnea-
polis. They started the price-
cutting trend last month by
selling men's renim and cordu-
roy Levi's, the nation's top
selling jeans, for $12.50 a pair,
marked down from about $15.50.
OTHER RETAILERS includ-
ing The Gap, the country's
leading jeans seller, Macy's de-
partment store in New York
and Rich's in Atlanta, followed.
Wrangler brand jeans, an-
other big seller, also have
been marked down in some
stores to meet the Levi's price.
Jack Crocker, president of
County Seat's parent firm,
Super Valu Stores, Inc., says
the chain lowered prices in a
"basic fundamental marketing
approach" to get a larger share
of the leisure-wear market. le
would pot disclose sales fig-
ures.-
NEITHER LEVI Strauss &
Co, the manufacturer of Levi's,
nor Wrangler, part of Blue
Ball, Inc., has lowered whole-
sale prices. A pair of $12.50
Levi's jeans sells at wholesale
for $8.25.
And Levi's, whose sales this
year of an estimated 150 mil-
lion pairs of jeans is an esti-
mated 40 per cent of the U. S.
jeans market, says it isn't
worried.
"Retail prices are the pro-
vince of the retailer," said one
spokesman. Another said the
price cutting actually "has
stimulated our business rather
significantly. Stores are order-
ing, and they're ordering ag-
gressively."
Levi Strauss ended last year
with sales up 20 per cent to $1.2
billion and profits up 62 per
cent to $105 million. It has di-
versified into a wide range of
leisure apparel. But not all ob-
servers think the fut6re is to-
tally bright.
"Jeans - demand growth is
slowing," says the Wall Street
brokerage house of Leob,
Rhoades & Co., adding it ex-
-pects Levi- Strauss profit
growth to slow to 17 per cent
this year. Its estimated jeans
sales this year will amount to
a / per cent gain over last
year's sales of 140 million pair;
in 1976, sales of jeans were up
by 12 per cent.
But while the brokers, re-
tailers, manufacturers and fi-
nancial wizards are dressed in
three piece suits and discuss
the situation, the nation's jean
fanciers are getting a break.
Riots iPeru kill six
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SPCIALIST'S SINC, ,93
LIMA, Peru (MA) - Scores of
labor leaders were reported ar-
rested yesterday in the wake
of a 24-hour general strike and
rioting that authorities said
killed at least six persons in the
Peruvian capital.
The strike was called Tues-
day by the unions to protest
government price increases. It
ended yesterday as thousands
of torkers returned to their
jobs in factories and stores
arottd Lima. Buses and trains
restisird service.
1,I 1t A NEWSPAPERS re-
ported the arrests of labor
leaders.
The stoppage had closed an
estimated 80 per cent of Lima's
stores and virtually halted pub-
lic transportation. Buses were
set ablaze, youths hurled rocks
an blocked off intersections
and police counterattacked with
teir ,as and shots while army
heliciipters hovered overhead.
i f the victims died when
a attacked a navy bus
ci rryin troops who opened
firs it the crowd, authoriteis
saimi They said another per-
So is killed in a separate
distrbiance.
SIX T N E S S E S ELSE-
WiERE in Lima said they
s several people wounded or
ed by police gunfire.
ne -itness said he saw a
i- h hirn down a city building
m1a-'s wealthy district of,
1 i de Miraflores. At
e person was reported
1 , but there was no
ioirmation.
f-si , two men were
ondcd by gunfire from a
vs t vehicle as they waited
ns bus stop while some,
} tronsportation was still
running. .
THE NATIONWIDE IMPACT
of the strike couuld not be de-
termined because long-distance
telephone service was dis-
rupted. .
Strikers were protesting aus-
terity measures imposed by the
military regime June 10 in
what _it described as an effort
to halt the financial collapse of
this South American nation of
four million people.
Gen. Francisco Morales Mer-
mudaz' government hiked pric-
es of fuel, food and public
transport as much as 40 per
cent, in a country where 45
per cent of the Tabor force is,
unemployed or has no full-time
work.
THE PRICE increases had
touched off disorders in major
Peruvian cities when they were
announced. The government
said it recognized the economic
program would be unpopular,
but said it was necessary to re-
duce imports and enable Peru
to keep foreign investor confi-
dence.
However, the government did
act last week to ease the bur-
den on the poor when it low-
Styling and
Regular Cuts
U-M Stylists
at
Ihe Union
8:30 A.M -5,15 P.M
Mon. thru Sat
ered prices of bread, flour and
noodles.
In calling the strike, the un-
ions - including Communist
and other leftist groups - de-
manded further concessions:
wage increases for workers
and a freeze on general retail
prices.
HAVE ACHECKUP
IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.
A NIGHT OF
LOCAL WOMEN'SMUSIC
FRIDAY, JULY 22
8:30 p.m.
CANTERBURY HOUSE
Local women musicians will be perform-
ing. Time will be provided for informal
playing and jamming, so bring your in-
struments. Admission is free.
SPONSORED BY
WOMEN'S PROGRAM COORDINATOR OFFICE
Johnny Bench
Ouring one of my checkups, the doctors found a spot ormy
lungs. I thought it might be cancer. So did they.
Luckily, it wasn't. Most people are lucky. Most people
never have cancer.
But those who find they do have cancer are far.better off
if their cancer is discovered early. Because we know how to
cure many cancers when we dsscoer them early.
That's why I want you to have a checkup. And keep
having checkups. The rest of your life.
It'll be a lot longer if you do.
American Cancer Society
5-VACACON1Q$~UIU 8' tt5 Pi,) s tus rE ;^PK r 58 (F