Brand X has experienced a huge increase in units sold between 2020 and 2021. Market analytics speculate that a quarter of the sales increase is due to the influencer strategy the company implemented at the beginning of the 2020 year. The company paid three influencers ($65,000 each) to regularly promote their products on the influencers' channels throughout the year. In addition to their flat fee, the influencers received free merchandise - totaling $135,500.

Here is some additional information:

Brand X sells its product via indirect distribution, where retailers take a 17.5% margin on cost.

Retail Price: $119.99

Variable costs for Brand X: $54.12 per unit

Question: What was the return on investment accrued by the influencer strategy?

Brand X Sales (Units Sold) 1,400,000 1,391,000 1,390,000 1,377,700 1,380,000 1,370,000 1,360,000 1,350,000 1,352,900 1,340,000 1,344,000 1,330,000 1,320,000 2019 2020 2021 2022 (expected)