Tyson Foods is the largest U. S. beef and chicken supplier, processing more than 100,000 head of cattle and 40-plus million chickens weekly. Primary distribution channels are supermarket meat departments. However, the company is now expanding distribution into convenience stores. There are almost 150,000 gas stations and convenience stores where the company would like to sell hot Buffalo chicken bites near the checkout. This is a promising channel, as sales are growing considerably at these retail outlets and profit margins on prepared foods are higher than selling raw meat to grocery stores.
Tyson will have to hire 18 more sales representatives at a salary of $25,000 each to expand into this distribution channel because many of these types of stores are independently owned.
If Tyson's contribution margin is 30 percent on this product, what increase in sales will it need to break even on the increase in fixed costs to hire the new sales reps?