Grocery Retailers

Socio-economic and economic policy views of independent retailers in
the Cologne retail grocery trade.

Topics: number of employees and trainees; family members employed;
hours worked each week; start of self-employment; previous employment
and educational history; advantages of not being self-employed;
provision for old age; membership in a cooperative society and the
retail association; reasons for memberships; judgement on regulations
for admission as a grocer; attitude to rationalization in trade; use of
special offers to promote sales; managing the rate of turnover;
interest in expansion of business; policy on product variety and
specialization; costing procedure; support for price fixing; renovation
of business premises; reading trade papers and books; general life
satisfaction; perceived social classes; self-evaluation of social
class; social origins; characterization of the middle classes; party
preference; turnover and turnover development; reasons for increase or
decrease in turnover; profit situation and profit tendency;
relationship of personal capital to outside capital; other property;
business in one´s home; taking of goods for personal use; attitude to
government measures to support the retail grocery trade; future plans
for one´s own children; class assessment of selected occupations.

Indices: prosperity; reading standard; housing and social class.

Demography: age (classified); sex; marital status; number of children;
ages of children (classified); school education; vocational training;
income; household income; size of household; housing situation;
self-assessment of social class; possession of durable economic goods;
possession of assets; membership.

Interviewer rating: location of business; position relative to
transport system; display windows; access to business; front of
business; window decoration; size and condition of shop premises,
general impression of business and respondent; sincerity and
willingness of respondent to cooperate; length of interview; interview
surroundings.