Garcia Co. uses the conventional retail method to estimate ending inventories. The following data has been summarized for the year ended December 31, 2021: Cost Retail Inventory, January 1 $ 97,000 $ 143,000 Purchases 172,000 351,000 Net markups 12,500 Net markdowns 10,330 Normal spoilage 58,200 Net sales 236,000

Required: a) Estimate the cost of ending inventory applying the conventional retail method. b) Does the conventional retail inventory method approximate the LCM rule? Briefly explain