Question

La Mode Design Inc., a high-fashion women's dress manufacturer, is planning to market a new cocktail dress for the coming season. La Mode Design supplies retailers in Toronto, Montreal, and the Atlantic provinces. Four metres of material are laid out for the dress pattern. After cutting, some material remains, which can be sold as remnants. The company could also use the leftover material to manufacture a matching cape and handbag. However, if it uses the leftover material for the cape and handbag, more care will be needed in the cutting, and the cutting costs will therefore increase. The company expects to sell 1,250 dresses if a matching cape and handbag are not available. La Mode Design's market research reveals, however, that dress sales would be 20% higher if a matching cape and handbag were available. The market research indicates that the cape and/or handbag could not be sold individually but only as accessories with the dress. The various combinations of dresses, capes, and handbags that retailers will sell are as follows: Complete sets of dress, cape, and handbag 70% Dress and cape 6% Dress and handbag 15% Dress only 9% Total 100% The material used in the dress costs $12.50 a metre, or $50.00 for each dress. The cost of cutting the dress if the cape and handbag are not manufactured is estimated at $20.00 a dress, and the resulting remnants can be sold for 55.00 for each dress cut out. If the cape and handbag are to be manufactured, the cutting costs will be increased by $9.00 per dress. There will be no saleable remnants if the capes and handbags are manufactured in the quantities estimated. + The selling prices and the costs to complete the three items once they are cut are as follows: Selling Price per Unit Unit Cost to Complete Dress $200.00 $80.00 Cape 27.50 19.50 Handbag 6.50 Instructions a. Prepare La Mode Design's incremental analysis for manufacturing the capes and handbags with the dresses b. Based on your analysis, what decision should management make? Explain your reasoning. c. Identify any qualitative factors that could influence the company's decision to manufacture the capes and handbags that match the dresses. Explain how cach qualitative factor which you identify could influence the company's decision to... [Provide and address at least 5 qualitative factors] 9.50

Answer 1

a)
		Total Number of
	Percent of total	Dresses	Accessory Capes	Handbags	Total
Complete sets	70%	1,050	1,050	1,050
Dress and accessory cape	6%	90	90
Dress and handbag	15%	225		225
Dress only	9%	135
Total units if additional items are introduced	100%	1,500	1,140	1,275
Less: Unit sales if additional items are not introduced		1250
Incremental sales		250	1,140	1,275
Incremental contribution margin per unit (excluding material and cutting costs)		$     120.00	$         8.00	$         3.00
Total incremental contribution margin		$30,000	$9,120	$3,825	$42,945
Additional costs:
Additional cutting cost(1,500 X 91% X $9)	$ 12,285.00
Additional material cost  (250 x  $50.00)	$ 12,500.00
Lost remnant sales (1250 -135) x $5	$   5,575.00
Incremental cutting for extra dresses (250 x $20.00)	$   5,000.00				$ 35,360.00
Incremental profit					$7,585.00
b) La mode inc. should manufactures the capes and handbags with the dresses because its profit will increase.
c)
Qualitative factors that could influence the company’s management team in its decision to manufacture matching accessory capes and handbags include:
1) accuracy of forecasted increase in dress sales.
2) accuracy of forecasted product mix.
3)company image of a dress manufacturer versus a more extensive supplier of women’s apparel.
4) competition from other manufacturers of women’s apparel.
5) whether there is adequate capacity (labor, facilities, storage, etc.).