Question

The postal service of St. Vincent, an island in the West Indies, obtains a significant portion of its revenues from sales of special souvenir sheets to stamp collectors. The postal service purchases the souvenir sheets from a supplier for $0.80 each. St. Vincent has been selling the souvenir sheets for $8.00 each and ordinarily sells about 80,000 units. To test the market, the postal service recently priced a new souvenir sheet at $7.00 and sales increased to 93,600 units.

Required:
1. What total contribution margin did the postal service earn when it sold 80,000 sheets at a price of $8.00 each?
2. By what percentage did the St. Vincent post office decrease its selling price? By what percentage did unit sales increase? (Round your answers to one-tenth of a percent.)
3. What total contribution margin did the postal service earn when it sold 93,600 sheets at a price of $7.00 each?
4. What was the postal service’s increase (decrease) in total contribution margin going from the higher price of $8.00 to the lower price of $7.00?
5. How many sheets would the postal service have to sell at the lower price of $7.00 to equal the total contribution margin earned at the higher price of $8.00? (Round your answer up to the nearest whole number.)
6. What percentage increase in the number of sheets sold at $7.00 must be achieved to equal the total contribution margin earned at the higher price of $8.00? (Round your answer up to the nearest one-tenth of a percent.)
7. A financial manager at the postal service has suggested that a more accurate comparison of the two pricing alternatives ($8.00 vs. $7.00) should include an allocation of the postal service’s common fixed costs. A portion of the common fixed costs would be allocated to each alternative using total sales dollars as the cost allocation base. He contends that this approach would help ensure that the postal service’s common fixed costs are covered by the prices that it charges customers. Do you agree?

Answer 1

St. Vincent

1. Contribution margin with sales of 80,000 sheets at $8.00 each:

Sales revenue $640,000

Cost of sales 64,000

Contribution $576,000

2. Percentage decrease in selling price:

Old price = $8.00

New price = 7.00

Decrease = $1.00

Decrease in percentage = $1/$8 * 100

= 12.5%

3. Percentage increase in sales units:

New sales units = 93,600

Old sales units = 80,000

Increase in units 13,600

Increase in percentage = 13,600/80,000 * 100

= 17%

4. Contribution margin with sales of 93,600 sheets at $7.00 each:

Sales revenue $655,200

Cost of sales 64,000

Contribution $591,800

Old contribution 576,000

Increase = $15,200

5. Contribution per margin (new price) = $6.20 ($7.00 - $0.80)

Units to sell to equal the total contribution margin earned at the higher price of $8.00 = 92,903 ($576,000/$6.20)

6. Percentage increase in the number of sheets sold at $7.00 to equal the total contribution margin earned at the higher price of $8.00:

New units = 92,903

Old units = 80,000

Increase = 12,903

Percentage increase = 12,903/80,000 * 100

= 16.129

= 16.13%

7. The common fixed costs do not vary according to the units sold. Allocating a portion of the fixed costs to the alternatives does not make the comparison more accurate.

Step-by-step explanation:

a) Data and Calculations:

Cost of a souvenir = $0.80

Selling price per souvenir = $8.00

Sales units = 80,000

Selling price of a new souvenir = $7.00

Sales units of the new souvenir = 93,600