On May 10, 1967, Mr.

Samuel Hintz, president of The

Hintz Company, noted that the company's accounts
receivable balance had increased to $93,000 as of April
30. 1967. Since this was $19,000 higher than it had
been on March 31, 1967, Mr. Hintz decided to
investigate the reasons for the increase to see whether
it might have significance in determining the company's
future plans.
The Hintz Company, located in New York City,
manufactured baseball, basketball, and other athletic
uniforms. The company's 20 employees cut and sewed
fabrics to color and size specifications. The uniforms
were sold directly to retail sporting goods shops in the
New York metropolitan area. As there were several
other small manufacturers of uniforms in New York
City, competition for the business of these retail outlets
was keen.
Since Hintz's founding in 1959 it had operated
profitably, and sales volume had reached a peak of
$350,000 in 1964. In the fall of 1965, sales failed to
recover from the seasonal low of the summer months.
In July, 1966, when a new sales manager, Mr. Katz,
was employed, sales volume began improving. By May,
1967, Mr. Katz had secured 50 new accounts for the
company.
After reading trade papers, Mr. Hintz believed that the
prospects of the athletic uniform market looked
promising for the remainder of 1967. It was reported
that there were a large number of newly organized
athletic teams in the New York area and that schools
and other regular purchasers were buying new
uniforms more frequently. Since Mr. Katz's more
detailed experience in the market tended to confirm this
information, Mr. Hintz was looking forward to the best
year in the company's history. On this basis, he
projected sales and profits by months for the remainder
of 1967 as follows: