The Limited Inc. sells women's and men's clothing through specialty retail stores, including Structure, Limited, Express, Lane Bryant, and Lerner New York. The Limited sells women's intimate apparel and personal care products through Victoria Secret and Bath & Body Works stores. For the fiscal years 2002 and 2001, The Limited reported the following (in thousands):
Year Ending February 2,
2002 2001
Net sales $9,363,000 $10,105,000
Accounts Receivable 79,000 94,000
Assume that the accounts receivable (in thousands) were $109,000 at the beginning of the 2001 fiscal year.
a. Compute the accounts receivable turnover for 2002 and 2001. Round to one decimal place.
b. Compute the days' sales in receivables at the end of 2002 and 2001. Round to one decimal place.
c. What conclusions can be drawn from these analyses regarding The Limited's efficiency in collecting receivables?