Business Project – T-ShirtsMath Applications

Mr. Hewson is considering opening up a store in Tinley Park, IL that will strictly sell t-shirts of various music groups. He has hired your business consulting group of SummitHillJunior High School students to help him decide whether he should enter into the t-shirt industry.

Mr. Hewson has received bids from two different t-shirt manufacturing companies, The Frankfort T-Shirt Factory Co. and Creative T-Shirts Inc. The Frankfort T-Shirt Company has told Mr. Hewson that they will sell each t-shirt according to the per-unit cost break down as follows:

Selling Price Breakdown per unit:

Plain T-Shirt$3.70

Lettering$1.65

Labor$1.15

Creative T-Shirts Inc. has offered to sell Mr. Hewson t-shirts in bulk orders. They told him that they will sell him boxes of 300 t-shirts at $2,000.00 per box.

Mr. Hewson has found retail store space on Harlem Ave. and 191st Street. At this location he will have to pay $2,300.00 per month for rent. He will also have to pay a $550 royalty fee per month for the right to sell t-shirts with logos of music groups and band logos. Additional monthly costs also include $385 for electricity and gas, $50 for water, and $65 for office supplies. Furthermore, payroll expenses will be exactly $2,400 a month.

Mr. Hewson plans on selling his t-shirts at a retail price of $18.00 each. In order to make his decision on whether to go into business selling t-shirts, Mr. Hewson will need to know how many t-shirts he will have to sell to break even. In order for the business to be worthwhile, Mr. Hewson additionally would like to make a profit of $7,500 per month. How many t-shirts will he need to sell to make this profit?

Directions:

Mr. Hewson needs your help as business consultants. It is your job to determine which manufacturing company would be the least expensive to buy from. After choosing the least expensive manufacturer, construct two algebraic equations to find the amount of t-shirts Mr. Hewson will need to sell to break even and to make a $7,500 monthly profit.

Your group will be responsible to complete a written business letter explaining to Mr. Hewson in writing how you mathematically arrived at your answers and why you did the steps you did to solve the problem. Based on your findings, you will also need to create a PowerPoint presentation that must summarize your letter while including a recommendation with suggestions for your business plan. In your written letter to Mr. Hewson as to whether he should enter the bobble head retail industry. Your recommendation should be an opinion based on how reasonable it is for Mr. Hewson to sell his desired amount of t-shirts.

Your group is also required to make a brief 5- 6 minute presentation to the class using PowerPoint that summarizes your written letter. Your PowerPoint presentation should include an Excel graph that represents your findings. Your group of 3 to 4 students must use teamwork to complete this task. Individual responsibilities must be delegated equally and fairly. Each group member must make contributions to both the written report and oral presentation. Your final section of the written report should include the list of responsibilities of each group member.

You will be given at least 3 full class periods to work on your written report and oral presentation. During the course of these 3 days, your group will meet with me once to discuss your progress. Refer to your Math notes to help construct your algebraic equations. DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS OR TO ASK FOR SUGGESTIONS.

Hint: Do not account for sales tax in your calculations.