The marketing manager of Michelin Tire Company is planning to introduce a new re
ID: 2814684 • Letter: T
Question
The marketing manager of Michelin Tire Company is planning to introduce a new replacement tire to the market. The tire will be sold in stores at a price of $120.00 each. The retail stores require a margin of 25%. The wholesalers require a margin of 10%. Replacement tires account for half of all tire sales in the total tire market. The total tire market is estimated to be 20,000,000 units per year.
The variable manufacturing costs needed to produce a tire are $40.00. The cost of the machinery needed to produce the new tire is $15,000,000 per year. The R&D expenses incurred toward developing the new tire are $5,000,000.
In order to help build a quality image for the tire, the marketing manager is considering spending $5,000,000 on advertising. The manager’s salary is $100,000 and the sales personnel of Michelin receive a 5% commission on the selling price. (4 x 2 = 8 points)
• What unit sales are required for Michelin to break even?
• What market share in the replacement tire market does Michelin need to break even?
• What is Michelin’s profit if it gets a 10% share of the replacement tire market?
• If the wholesalers demand a 20% margin, how many units of tires would Michelin have to sell to break even?
Explanation / Answer
Selling Price in stores = $120
Cost to stores (Selling Price of wholesalers) = 120*(1-25%) = $90
Cost to Wholesalers (Selling Price of Michelin Tire Company) = $90 (1-10%) = $81
Net Selling price of Michelin Tire Company = $81 (1-5%) = $76.95
Variable cost to manufacture tire = $40
Contribution per unit = 76.95-40 = 36.95
Fixed Cost = Machine cost p.a. + Advertising cost + Salary = $15,000,000+$5,000,000+$100,000
Fixed Cost = $20,100,000
(R&D expenses are sunk cost and should not be considered in decision making)
Break Even Price = 20,100,000 / 36.95 = 543,978 units
Total Market fo replacement tires = 20,000,000 x 50% = 10,000,000
Market share in the replacement tire required by Michelin to break even = 543,978/10,000,000 = 5.44%
If Michelin gets 10% share of replacement tire market,
Profit = contribution - fixed cost = 1,000,000 * 36.95 - 20,100,000 = 16,850,000
Or
Profit = Margin of safety sales x contribution = (1,000,000-543,978) * 36.95 = 16,850,000
If wholesalers demand 20% margin,
Net Selling Price = $120 x 75% x 80% x 95% = $68.40
contribution per unit = 68.40 - 40 = $28.40
Units required to break even = fixed cost / contribution per unit = 20,100,000 / 28.40 = 707,747
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