The summary table from the first Bulletin of the Bureau of Business Research revealed that the operating expenses of retail shoe stores ranged from 18 percent to 35 percent of net sales—a variation of nearly 100 percent in operating efficiency.

Immediately after the publication of this bulleting, five HBS "field agents" again fanned out across the business landscape, soliciting data from additional shoe retailers. This time out, they reported a palpable difference in how they were received. Formerly, they had been greeted with suspicion; now, the first bulletin had been well received in trade publications, and retailers were much more willing to cooperate. The Bureau's efforts also were commended in newspapers and other general-interest publications, bringing HBS to the attention of a much broader audience.