The vast majority of footwear shoppers consider the widely-available and much-publicized
annual S/Q ratings compiled by the International Footwear Federation to be a trusted measure of how
a company’s footwear offerings stack up against those of other companies in the industry. Market
research indicates that the S/Q ratings are generally the second most important factor (behind price)
in shaping consumers’ choices of which footwear brand to purchase. The IFF’s S/Q rating of shoes
produced at each plant is a function of five factors: (1) current-year spending per model for new
features and styling, (2) the percentage of superior materials used, (3) current-year expenditures for
Total Quality Management (TQM) and/or Six Sigma quality control programs, (4) cumulative
expenditures for TQM/Six Sigma quality control efforts (to reflect learning and experience curve
effects), and (5) current-year expenditures to train workers in the use of best practices.