Answer:
a. Calculate current sales and ROI for Charlie’s Furniture Store.
asset turnover formula = net sales / average assets
0.4 = net sales / $800,000
net sales = $320,000
ROI = net income / investment
net income = $320,000 x 34% = $108,800
ROI = $108,800 / $800,000 = 13.6%
b. Assuming that the new strategy would reduce margin to 20%, and assuming that average total assets would stay the same, calculate the sales that would be required to have the same ROI as Charlie’s currently earns.
net income = net sales x 20% (new margin)
net sales = $108,800 / 20% = $544,000
c. Suppose you presented the results of your analysis in parts a and b of this problem to Charlie, and he replied, "What are you telling me? If I reduce my prices as planned, then I have to practically double my sales volume to earn the same return?" Given the results of your analysis, what is the actual amount of increase in sales required?
sales increase = ($544,000 - $320,000) / $320,000 = 70% increase
d. Now suppose Charlie says, "You know, I'm not convinced that lowering prices is my only option in staying competitive. What if I were to increase my marketing effort? I'm thinking about kicking off a new advertising campaign after conducting more extensive market research to better identify who my target customer groups are." In general, explain to Charlie what the likely impact of a successful strategy of this nature would be on margin, turnover, and ROI.
An extensive market research and a "successful" marketing campaign are generally expensive. Even if the marketing campaign is really successful in increasing sales, costs would also increase. So the equation may or may not change, depending if the contribution margin of the additional units sold will be able to cover the expenses of a complex marketing campaign. If you spend $100 to earn $100 more, your situation hasn't changed at all. Which means that net income may or may not increase, therefore, the profit margin, ROI and asset turnover may not change.
