Bakery

VP

So now it’s time for the bakery. Jack, you shall start this round.

Jack

I reduced the cost of labor by $36,000 in the bakery.

Andrea

Did sales also go down in your bakery?

Jack

No, they actually rose by 1.1%. We found we were a bit overstaffed and made reductions. So we cut staff and still increased sales.

Mike

Was this assessment because of some superior management or did you just get lucky?

Jack

Well, one day one of our bakers quit with no notice. We found we were making just as much bread and pastries without him. So I decided not to replace him. So that $36,000 translates to one less baker on the payroll.

VP

Andrea, go ahead.

Andrea

I was able to reduce my overall expenses by $319,000 in the bakery last year.

Mike

That’s quite a bit. Did sales drop as well?

Andrea

Yes, they did.

Mike

Well, my overall expenses increased by 23% because my overall sales surged by four percentage points more than my expenses. When I become district manager, I’m going to promote my bakery manager to take my place as store manager.

VP

Mike, it seems you have some good numbers for your bakery. What else can you tell us?

Mike

I would just like to add that my labor costs to sales ratio went down by 2.3 percentage points. Not only is my bakery selling more product, it is becoming more efficient with its labor.

Jack

What was your bakery sales per square meter?

Mike

$2,790

Jack

OK

Andrea

What was your profit margin in the bakery? You know, the profit to sales ratio?

Mike

We had a margin of 19 and a quarter percent. What was yours?

Andrea

I almost had you beat there. My margin was less than a percentage point away.

VP

The clear winner for the bakery is Mike. Now we have a close race. Andrea has two points, and Jack and Mike are tied with one point each.

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