Scenario 14.1. Nicole has been wanting to open her own business for many years. After much saving and a loan from the bank, she was able to open up her own store. This store features upscale jewelry, footwear, and clothing for professional women. She uses a premium pricing strategy to demonstrate the quality of her products. As time passed, she adopted other product lines including luggage and beauty products. Nicole has developed strong relationships with suppliers so that new orders come relatively quickly. Nicole distinguishes herself from the competition with the high level of service at her store. Her workers are trained to greet customers within fifteen seconds of them entering the store. She also gives her employees permission to take whatever time needed to make sure that customer needs are met. Refer to Scenario 14.1. Ten years have passed since Nicole opened her first store. She has since opened two more stores, and demand remains high. Her store has been listed as one of the top stores for customer service. Nicole would like to engage in wide-scale expansion in the United States. She is looking at an option that would allow her store to gain fast and selective product distribution without incurring the high cost of constructing her own stores. However, a disadvantage to this option would be the possibility of losing some control over the new stores. Nicole is most likely considering .