Cost structure in publicly traded companies in the footwear Segment

Abstract

The administration costs of an organization composes part of its strategic policy andcontribute to the identification of operational risks, that is why strategic cost management andknowledge of fixed and variable costs are critical. Therefore, the objective of this work is toidentify the cost structure (fixed costs and variable costs) of publicly traded companies in thefootwear segment. The research is descriptive, conducted through document analysis andquantitative approach. The sample consists of the publicly traded companies in the footwearsegment of the BM&FBovespa, recorded in the period 2009-2011. To perform the study weuse the quarterly information disclosed by companies. The results show that the cost structureof companies in the footwear segment are similar, the contribution margin varies from 22 %to 30 % and the costs and expenses vary mostly. According to the evidence, we conclude thatthe publicly traded companies in the footwear segment have considerable flexibility in theirstrategies considering that reductions in demand are accompanied by a reduction of its costsand expenses, favoring positive results even in adverse scenarios.