Masao Sugiyama is the recently elected president of the Chamber of Commerce in Park Falls, Wisconsin. He is the long-time owner of the only full-service hardware store in this small farming town. Being president of the Chamber of Commerce has been considered largely a ceremonial post because business conditions have not changed in Park Falls for as long as anyone can remember. However, Masao has just read an article in The Wall Street Journal that has made him think he needs to take a more active interest in the business conditions of his town.
Masao decided he needs to know more about all three retailers. He asked the son of a friend to locate the following sales data, which are also in a file called Park Falls.

Masao is interested in what all these data tell him. How much faster has Walmart grown than the other two firms? Is there any evidence Walmart’s growth has leveled off? Does Lowes seem to be rebounding, based on sales? Are seasonal fluctuations an issue in these sales figures? Is there any evidence that one firm is more affected by the cyclical component than the others? He needs some help in analyzing these data.