Step 2. Financial Strategy The stores picked are Paxton Gate (in san francisco

Step 2. Financial Strategy
The stores picked are Paxton Gate (in san francisco) & West Coast Taxidermy (in San Bruno)
Compare financial strategies of “your store” and another store that sells similar merchandise
categories, but to a very different target market. If yours is a high margin/low turnover store,
compare it with a low margin/high turnover store.
Be careful how you choose your stores. They must be publicly traded, or you won’t get the
information. Also, do not choose retailers with multiple divisions or your numbers will not make any
sense. For instance, do not choose Ralph Lauren Polo because it is both a retailer and a manufacturer.
Do not choose Marks & Spencer because its department stores will have very different numbers than
its food stores. If you are not sure about which stores to choose, shoot me an email. Obtain data
using its annual report that you can get either in the “investor relations” area of its web site or from
the Edgar files at www.sec.gov or information at web sites like www.hoovers.com. Calculate the
following financial ratios, and then explain from a marketing perspective, why you would expect
gross margin percentage, expenses-to-sales ratio, net profit margin, inventory turnover, asset
turnover, and return on assets, to be different for the two stores. Assess which chain has better overall
financial performance. Your grade will be primarily based on your analysis of why these ratios are
different.