Quarterly Sales of a Department Store for the Last Seven

question 56

Essay

Quarterly sales of a department store for the last seven years are given in the following table. The Excel scatterplot shown indicates that the quarterly sales have an increasing trend and seasonality.Therefore,the linear regression model,Sales = β₀ + β₁Qtr1 + β₂Qtr2 + β₃Qtr3 + β₄t + ε,with three seasonal dummy variables Qtr1,Qtr2,and Qtr3,and the decomposition method are proposed to make sales forecasts.For the regression model,the following Excel partial output is available. (Use Excel or statistical software. )Using the decomposition method:
a.Compute the adjusted seasonal indices for the four quarters.
b.Find the linear trend equation for the seasonally adjusted quarterly sales.
c.Make the sales forecasts for the first and fourth quarter of Year 8.

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Definitions:

Debt-to-Assets Ratio

A metric showing the proportion of a company's total assets financed through debt, providing insight into the company's financial leverage.

Flotation Costs

The costs associated with issuing new securities, including underwriting fees, legal fees, and registration fees.

After-Tax Cash Inflows

After-tax cash inflows represent the net cash a company receives from its operations, investments, or financial activities, after all taxes have been deducted.

Flotation Cost

The total costs a company incurs when it issues new securities, including underwriting fees, legal fees, and registration fees.