Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation are two companies operating in the same industry. Starting in 2004, Loblaw expanded the scope of the goods it sold from primarily food to include pharmaceutical items, cosmetics, appliances, home entertainment products, and items for use at home. At the same time, Shoppers expanded the scope of the goods it sold from primarily items for use at home, pharmaceutical products, and electronic goods such as digital cameras to include food items, excluding fresh fruit and vegetables. These changes affected the type of inventory items carried by both companies.

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2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Loblaw Companies Ltd. Sales $30,802 $29,384 $28,640 $27,801 $26,209 Cost of sales, selling and 29,172 27,838 26,917 25,716 24,084 administrative expenses. Inventory 2,188 2,032 2,037 2,020 1,821 Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. Revenue 9,423 8,478 7,786 7,151 6,566 Cost of sales and other 8,335 7,520 6,958 6,431 5,928 operating expenses Inventory 1,743 1,545 1,372 1,217 1,136 Neither company disclosed its cost of sales separately. However, the industry average indicates that the cost of sales represents 77 percent of revenue, on average. Required: 1. Compute the inventory turnover ratio and the average number of days to sell inventory for each company for the years 2005-2008. 2. In your opinion, which of these two companies was more efficient in managing its inventory subsequent to the change in the lines of products they sell? Explain.