[Revolting cat!]

The actual retail margin is, I read today in the WSJ, 1-2%.

[Alberta's Child]

There's a lot of confusion between "markup" and "profit margin" these days.

You'll notice quite a few things missing from that graphic between the $5.67 "cost" and the $14.00 retail price. I'll list just a few of them here:

1. Retail labor (sales employees, management, etc.)
2. Facility costs (rent for retail space, maintenance, etc.)
3. Security personnel
3. Employee benefits
4. Taxes
5. "Shrink" due to loss of product, theft, etc.
6. IT and other administrative costs

That barely scratches the surface, but you get the idea.