“Our client New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., best known as simply New Balance, is an American footwear manufacturer based in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1906 as the “New Balance Arch Support Company” and currently is one of the world’s major sports footwear manufacturers. The client New Balance runs a national chain of shopping mall-based retail stores that specialize in athletic shoes (sneakers, cleats, etc.) and also carries sporting apparel (hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, pants, shorts, etc.). There are two other mall-based athletic shoe retailers who are very similar to your client in terms of size, product mix and strategy: Puma and Adidas. Your client New Balance informs you that their profits are declining and wants you to determine why and recommend a strategy to deal with it. What would you recommend?”