The industry$-$low, industry$-$average, and industry$-$high cost benchmarks that appear on p$.6$ and p$.7$ of each issue of the Footwear Industry Report

are of little value because the benchmarking data do not identify which companies have the lowest$/$highest costs for any of the reported cost benchmarks.

are of considerable value to the managers of companies whose prior$-$year EPS was below the industry$-$average benchmark in one of more geographic regions.

are most valuable to the managers of companies whose cost benchmarks are above the industry$-$average benchmarks and$/$or who are looking for evidence to confirm a suspected need to secure more celebrity endorsements in the upcoming decision round and steal branded market share away from rivals in one or more regions.

are important enough to always merit attention by your company's managers; this is because when the benchmarks for one or more measures reveal that your company's outcome$($s$)$ were too far out$-$of$-$line and almost certainly impaired$/$weakened your company's overall performance, then your management team is well$-$advised to consider taking corrective action in the next decision round.

are of considerable value to the managers of companies pursuing a low$-$cost strategy but are of very limited value to company managers employing other types of strategies.