1, Shannon’s distributes its beer through a wholesaler, Miller of Denton. The retail selling price for a six-pack of its typical craft beer is $12.00. The retailer’s cost per six-pack is $8.00. The wholesaler sells the beer to the retailer for this price. Shannon’s sells a six-pack to the wholesaler for $5.40. Shannon’s variable costs of production, packaging and distribution are $3.60 per six-pack. Shannon’s has the following annual fixed operating and marketing costs:

Marketing Costs	$52,798
Consumer Advertising	$38,450
Trade Promotion	$30,000
Sales Promotion	$18,000

What is Shannon’s annual break-even in six-packs of beer sold?

2, Given the above information in Q1, Shannon’s wants to increase its sales to retailers by 20% in the next year. Management estimates that the incremental promotion program required to generate sufficient demand to boost sales by 20% will be:

Personal Selling Costs	$ 60,000 (exclusive of commission)
Consumer Advertising	$ 64,005
Trade Promotion	$ 39,142
Sales Promotion	$ 25,000

Shannon’s will need to hire an additional salesperson (paid a salary and commission) and provide some added administrative support. The salesperson’s salary plus administrative support will cost about $60,000 per year. The sales person’s commission will be the equivalent of $0.05 per six-pack sold. The incremental costs of consumer advertising, trade promotion, and sales promotion necessary to support sales in the new market will be substantial as indicated in the table above. How many six-packs must be sold to break even on the incremental costs that are anticipated?

3, Let’s modify the scenario from Q1 and Q2 a bit. Management estimates that the incremental promotion program required to generate sufficient demand to boost sales by 20% will need to be:

Marketing Costs	$ 60,000 (exclusive of commissions)
Consumer Advertising	$ 57,451
Trade Promotion	$ 38,063
Sales Promotion	$ 25,000

The total market for craft beer sold in six-packs is about 2,500,000 six-packs per year.

How much market share will Shannon need to acquire in order to break even on the incremental costs that are anticipated?