In Reply to: An analyst's point of view. A new Issue. posted by The Analyst on June 17, 2009 at 23:37:48:

My wife owns a retails store (flowers and hawaiian gifts) If she were to mark up her inventory only 12% to 18% she would be underwater (no pun intended) in no time! 50% to even 150% mark-up is the "norm in a retail environment, and it is very hard to make a profit at those rates, especially in this economic climate. The next time your driving down any major street notice how much retail space is for lease, it's a scary percentage. I'm sure the Dive shop owners are not getting rich, they're just trying to survive like the rest of the businesses out there.