Kroger, a national supermarket chain, reported the following data (in millions) in its financial statements for the year ended January 31, 2009;
Total revenue $76,000
Total assets at end of year 23,211
Total assets at beginning of year 22,299
a. Compute the ratio of net sales to assets for 2009. Round to two decimal places.
b. Tiffany & Co. is a larger North American retailer of jewelry, with a ratio of net sales to assets of 0.95. Why would Tiffany’s ratio of net sales to assets be lower than that of Kroger?