Haverty Industries Increased Its Gross Profit Rate from 18

Multiple Choice

Haverty Industries increased its gross profit rate from 18.4% in 2016 to 23.7% in 2017. Which of the following would be a possible explanation for this change?

A) Haverty's global sourcing efforts at the beginning of 2017 resulted in a lower cost of merchandise sold.
B) Haverty's new profit lines with lower margins in 2017 became a larger component of their sales.
C) Haverty increased its product markdowns in 2017.
D) Haverty's average margin between the selling price and the inventory cost decreased over this two-year period.