Winn-Dixie Stores reported the following data in its financial statements for 2002:
Net sales and revenues ......... $12,334,353,000
Total assets at end of 2002 ...... 2,937,578,000
Total assets at end of 2001 ...... 3,041,670,000
a. Compute the ratio of net sales to assets for 2002. Round to two decimal places.
b. Would you expect the ratio of net sales to assets for Winn-Dixie to be similar to or different from that of Zales Corp.? Zales is the largest North American retailer of jewelry, with a ratio of net sales to assets of 1.53.