Several large-volume retailers in Boston buy a very high pro-

 portion of their whole-stalk celery pre-sleeved (open, standard

 length). However, virtually all of the medium and small-volume firms

 buy naked celery exclusively. Yet, on an overall volume basis for

 the retail firms included in the study, approximately two-thirds was

 bought naked and one-third in open sleeves (Table 15).


 Table 15.--Retailers' purchases of whole-stalk celery by market area
 and type of packaging

 Type of Packaging
 Market Area Naked Open Closed All Totals
 Sleeve Sleeve Sleeved
 --------------------Percent-------------------
 Philadelphia 79 21 0 21 100

 Boston 66 34 0 34 100

 Detroit 35 XXXa XXXa 65 100

 percentages are not reported in order to prevent disclosure of
 confidential information.


 A marked dichotomy in preferences for packaging was found in

Detroit. Some major firms buy pre-sleeved celery exclusively, but

others buy naked exclusively. One large-volume and one medium-volume

firm buy only standard length, open-sleeved celery, and one large-

volume firm buys the short, closed-sleeve. Together, these three

firms account for 65 percent of the whole-stalk celery volume of the

retail firms interviewed. The remaining three firms that buy naked

celery exclusively account for 35 percent (Table 15).

 The reasons given by retailers for buying naked or pre-sleeved

were similar in all three cities. Obviously, firms that typically

retail banded celery for reasons discussed in a later section (Retail