It says "the picture is bleak'' for the retail industry, which employs 4,000 Bermudians.

And it concludes: "The long term picture is equally disturbing.'' There are more shops chasing fewer dollars, says the Chamber of Commerce study, which focuses on nine major stores.

It was released as Smith's department store president Mr. Roger Davidson made a dramatic speech on the plight of Front Street (see story above).

It reveals the nine stores lost $4 million dollars in the last four years, $3 million of that in the last two years.

The retail industry has been rocked by the recession, changing customer habits, increased competition from abroad and an average 17 percent customs duty, it says.

The nine stores, which are not named, employed 684 people in 1989. In 1992 that figure was 600.

And 1993 was the third year of a wage freeze for many employees in the industry.

This means their real income has gone down 15 percent, the report says. It also reveals: Sales in the nine stores in 1992 were down 12 percent on 1989. As sales decreased, taxes increased.

Net losses rose from $13,000 in 1989 to $1,615,000 in 1992.

Spending on repairs and maintenance went down 26 percent.

Average mark-up on goods is 47.7 percent, compared with 50.9 percent in the US.

The real amount of overseas purchases by locals is five times the declared figure.

The report says Government should simplify and reduce customs duties, scrapping them altogether on clothes and manufactured goods like electronics, and then promote the Island as a duty-free shopping centre. Government would get the lost income back through a healthier economy.

It says the Chamber should provide industry standards for shops to follow, find out what customers want, help train staff and promote the Island more.

Merchants should introduce flexi-time for staff so stores can open at night, the report says.

They should train workers more and offer more incentives to sales staff.

More efficient technology should be introduced and the public should be told how valuable the industry is to the community.