CASE STUDIES 229 Case 12: A 5 per cent increase in sales is generally worth more than a 5 per cent reduction in costs A national retail company gave its store managers a certain amount of autonomy regarding stock, price and costs. The rationale behind this was that local managers had a better understanding of local needs. At one store in the South of England a new manager was appointed who had been with the company since leaving school. She had worked her way up the ranks from counter-assistant to supervisor and, follow- ing a period with head office in buying, was now promoted to be manager of a medium-sized store. Having worked in most departments she knew most of the `tricks of the trade' and was keen to show how she could improve branch profitability. The results for the 12 months prior to her taking up the post were: