Question 5

Based on the industry-low, industry-average, and industry-high values for the benchmarked data that appear on p. 7 of each issue of the FIR, which one of the following is the strongest and most valid signal that one or more elements of a company's costs are too high relative to those of rival companies?

a) The company's operating profit margin per pair sold in the Wholesale segment in the Latin America region was midway between the industry average and the industry high

b) The company's cost per pair sold in the private-label segment in North America were close to the industry high

c) The company's marketing expenses per pair sold in the Wholesale segment of the Latin America region were above the industry average by less than 5%

d) The company's distribution and warehouse costs per pair available in the Europe-Africa region were slightly higher than the industry average

e) The company's cost of branded pairs sold in the Asia-Pacific region was barely below the industry average