MARKDOWN: REDUCING PRICES TO MOVE MERCHANDISE Olympic Sports purchased two dozen pairs of 5th Element Adult Aggressive in-line skates at a cost of $1950. Operating expenses for the store are 25% of cost, while total markup on this type of product is 35% of selling price. Only 6 pairs of the skates sell at the original price, and the manager decides to mark down the remaining skates. The price is reduced 25% and 6 more pairs sell. The remaining 12 pairs of skates are marked down to 50% of the original selling price and are finally sold. 1. Find the original selling price of each pair of skates. 1. 2. Find the total of the selling prices of all the skates. 2. 3. Find the operating loss. 3. 4. Find the absolute loss. 4. INVESTIGATE Talk with the manager of a retail store. Is it important for the store to monitor inventory? Do they use markup based on cost or on retail? Do they ever use markdowns, and if so why? Ask the manager if she has ever marked a price down so much that an absolute loss resulted