IB Business Management SL 3.1 Introduction to Finance Question Bank

Hums Athletics (HA)


Hums Athletics (HA) manufactures running shorts, sweat shirts, and sports bras. Operating only in the secondary sector, HA has a head office and three manufacturing facilities, one for each product. These are located in its home country in Europe. Labour costs are high. The quality of labour is excellent.
HA produces goods under its own HA brand, which it sells to wholesalers. HA also manufactures for other sportswear companies. HA puts the other sportswear companies' logos on the running shorts, sweat shirts, and sports bras. Sales to other sportswear companies are an important revenue stream for H A.
HA has many levels of hierarchy. Managers at each level have a narrow span of control, and the company is organized by product. HA's management believe that these features of organizational structure ensure product quality, which they view as essential for brand loyalty.
The sportswear manufacturing industry is becoming more competitive. Some foreign manufacturers have begun using penetration pricing to gain market share. For three years, none of HA's revenue streams have increased, despite increasing unit sales. HA's gross and net profit margins have declined. However, its sales have increased for the last three years. HA has had to raise additional external finance to increase production.
In response to the increasing competition, H A is considering two options:
- Option 1: Outsourcing some of its manufacturing overseas.
- Option 2: Entering the rapidly growing online business-to-consumer (B2C) retail market.
Market research has shown that consumers increasingly expect to buy online.

Explain:

why HA had to raise additional external finance to increase production.

Red Squirrel Apple Juice (RS)
Red Squirrel Apple Juice ( RS) is a cooperative of apple farmers. RS was named after the red squirrel, whose population is declining because of growing numbers of grey squirrels. Originally from North America, grey squirrels are aggressive and take over red squirrels' habitats. RS's founders thought that the red squirrel would be a good symbol to reverse the declining popularity of traditional apple juice due to consumer preference for high-sugar American-style beverages. With the symbol, R S aimed to appeal

to environmentally aware and health-conscious consumers.

Originally, R S only sold apple juice in bulk to beverage companies. These companies bottle the juice and sell it under their own labels. R S requires these companies to place R S 's logo of a red squirrel on their labels. Although R S only sells to a small number of beverage companies, its logo is on juice bottles in stores across the country.

Awareness of the R S brand grew. The cooperative's managers recently opened another channel of distribution: direct sales of bottled juice to consumers at the cooperative's processing plant. R S charges lower prices than stores. The new channel of distribution required capital expenditure for bottling equipment and additional revenue expenditure. R S experienced increased labour and promotion costs, which some farmers complained about.

In recent decades, R S 's home country has experienced rising anti-immigrant sentiment. Some politically motivated organizations have begun to use images of red squirrels to symbolize this sentiment, so some beverage companies no longer want to use R S's logo on their labels.

Some of RS's stakeholders are concerned.

With reference to R S, explain the difference between capital expenditure and revenue expenditure.