If a company has an unappealingly low branded market share in North America because it is being outcompeted by various rival companies, then company managers should ___ raise the S/Q rating on branded footwear offered for sale in North America to 8 stars or higher, increase search engine and brand advertising in North America to levels close to the maximum amount spent by any other company in the prior decision round, and decrease the company's Internet price and wholesale price to branded footwear retailers by $2 to $5. abandon further efforts to increase its branded market share in North America and, instead, concentrate on winning contracts to supply chain retailers in North America with enough private-label footwear to achieve a 15% to 25% market share in the private-label segment. decrease the number of models/styles offered in North America to 50, decrease the S/Q rating on branded pairs offered for sale in North America to a maximum of 3-stars, increase advertising expenditures in North America to $4 million more than the maximum spent by any other company in the prior year, offer free shipping to customers buying footwear at the company's North American website, and cut the company's Internet price and wholesale price to $5-$10 below the lowest amounts charged by any other company in North America in the prior decision round. consider cutting the company's Internet and wholesale prices for branded footwear to levels that are $2 to $5 below the lowest prices being charged by any other company in the North American region and also spending whatever it takes to win enough upcoming bids for celebrity endorsements to boost the company's celebrity appeal rating in North America (as well as other regions) to a level of 240 or more. use the information in the prior year's Comparative Competitive Efforts page for North America to explore the benefits and costs of (1) upgrading the company's competitive efforts in the upcoming decision round to eliminate most/all of the company's sizable percentage competitive disadvantages and (2) selectively strengthening the company's competitive efforts on 2-3 competitively-important factors in the Internet and Wholesale segments by amounts sufficient to produce high-percentage competitive advantages vis-a- vis its North America rivals in the upcoming decision round.
