Refer to the Canadian Tire financial statements in Appendix A at the end of the book. Suppose you are an investor considering buying Canadian Tire's shares. The following questions are important:

1. Explain which of Canadian Tire's credit sales or collections from customers was the largest amount during the year ended January 3, 2015. Analyze trade receivables to answer this question.

2. A major concern of lenders, such as banks, is the amount of long-term debt a company owes. How much long-term debt does Canadian Tire owe at January 3, 2015? What must have happened to Canadian Tire's long-term debt during the 2014 fiscal year?

3. Investors are very interested in a company's revenues and profits, and its trends of revenues and profits over time. Consider Canadian Tire's operating revenues and net income during the year ended January 3, 2015. Compute the percentage change in operating revenue and also in net income or loss during this period. Which item changed more during this period, operating revenue or net income? (For convenience, show dollar amounts in millions.)

Which provides a better indicator of business success? Give the reason for your answer.