Spokes-N-Wheels, Inc. markets bicycles and bicycle-related products through the mail. Their market consists of serious cyclists throughout the United States. They compete successfully by offering upscale specialized equipment at competitive prices and giving exceptional customer service. Spokes-N-Wheels offers a complete line of cycling products. Complete bicycles are the largest contributor to both revenue and profit; however, they carry other cycling-related products in their catalog. Some items are carried even though they are marginally profitable since Spokes- N-Wheels wants to be able to meet all the customers' cycling needs. They do not want a customer to go to a competitor for a unique item because most mail-order customers prefer to deal with a single company. If customers order one item from a competitor, they are likely to order other items as well. Spokes-N-Wheels' products are divided into four product lines: + Bicycles: Complete bicycles + Components: Frames, wheels, gears, etc., that customers use to construct, enhance, or maintain their own bicycles + Accessories: Helmets, water bottles, etc. + Clothing: Cycling apparel Each product line has a product manager. Spokes-N-Wheels publishes four catalogs per year. Each product manager wants to get as much display space (measured in square inches) in the catalog as possible. Although they have never analyzed it, they believe that the more display space devoted to an item, the more sales generated by the item. By coding orders, they are able to identify from which issue of the catalog the customer is ordering. Recently, Spokes-N-Wheels' President and Chairman have become concerned about an apparent drop in sales. Sales from the last catalog were at a 3-year low. They do not know whether this is a one-time fluke or a trend. To boost sales, they have been increasing the amount of display space devoted to complete bicycles, their largest revenue line-but this does not seem to be enough. Total Bikes Bikes Comp. Comp. Access. Access. Cloth. Cloth. Period Year Catalog Sales sq. in Sales sq. in. Sales sq. in. Sales sq. in. Sales 1988 5,575 500 2,875 360 1,560 380 720 440 420 1988 6,140 460 2,530 630 2,700 320 660 270 250 1988 5.915 630 3.030 420 1.995 270 510 360 380 - AWN 1988 6,925 680 4,290 340 1,580 470 880 190 175 1989 6,220 620 2,780 430 2,490 340 640 290 310 1989 5,980 570 2,370 430 2,590 360 680 320 340 1989 6, 190 420 1,750 550 3,380 420 750 290 310 1989 6,710 720 3,550 370 2,300 230 550 360 310 1990 5,890 760 2,380 370 2,670 320 630 230 210 10 1990 5,780 690 2,560 420 2,370 350 640 220 210 DWN. 11 1990 5,220 840 2,260 320 2,240 280 530 240 190 1990 4.840 920 1,800 300 2,380 240 430 220 230 The table shows sales figures and the number of square inches devoted to each product line by catalog for the last 3 years. What conclusions can you draw? Do the data indicate only a onetime fluke, or do they suggest that a serious problem exists? Your task is to explain current market dynamics affecting Spokes-N-Wheels and to recommend possible marketing decisions based on an exploration of these data. Your recommendations should focus on the amount of advertising space that should be allocated to each product. Should some receive more space? Should some receive less