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question 301

Multiple Choice

Use this information for questions that refer to the World Tennis Ball (WTB) Company case. World Tennis Ball Co.(WTB) makes tennis balls and sells them only in the United States.Raul Fernandez,the firm's marketing manager,is comparing his firm's distribution with two major competitors.
1) WTB sells its products through four regional distributors,who then sell to 22 sporting goods wholesalers.The wholesalers sell to a total of 7,000 retail outlets.From its website,WTB also sells directly to any customer who will purchase a minimum quantity of 24 tennis balls.WTB cooperates with members of its channel but maintains some control through its economic power and leadership.It helps to direct the activities of the whole channel and tries to avoid or resolve channel conflicts.
2) American Tennis Ball (ATB) is a competitor that sells through two distributors-each with half the country.The distributors then sell through six sporting goods wholesalers,and they,in turn,sell to 1,000 retail outlets (split between two national sporting goods chains and two general merchandise stores) .ATB and its channel make little effort to work together.However,because of a relatively low level of competition between the distributors,the wholesalers,or the retail stores,each member of the channel gives the product special attention.
3) National Tennis Ball (NTB) sells its products through only three tennis specialty wholesalers that sell only to tennis clubs.NTB actually owns the wholesale firms that handle its products.NTB's balls are only available at certain tennis clubs and NTB limits coverage to only one club in a particular geographic area.
Which of these companies appears to operate as a channel captain?

Definitions:

Goods and Services

Goods and services are the outputs of economic activity: goods are physical items that can be purchased, while services are activities performed by others for a fee.

Governments

The organizations or systems that govern a particular territory, responsible for creating and enforcing laws, policies, and regulations.

Leading Industries

The primary sectors of an economy that drive its growth, characterized by high levels of productivity and innovation.

Conglomerates

A conglomerate is a large corporation composed of diverse companies operating in various industries under one corporate group.