The issue is now far more serious for Sigma as governmental scrutiny, coupled with consumer distrust, places its position as a market leader in jeopardy.

Sigma now has a major marketing and public relations problem that must be attacked using more than just positioning and pricing tools; in fact, their situation is so serious, that they will likely need to utilize every aspect of marketing to turn the company (and its image) into a positive paradigm.

Appendix a

Sigma's trading suspension was lifted on March 31, 2010, but stocks have continued to perform poorly:

Speculation regarding the extent of the company's problems will only intensify as more days pass without news - one certainty is that the auditors should be looking hard at the carrying value of $1.3 billion of intangible assets on the Sigma books, but that is unlikely to be the primary cause of the suspension. An information vacuum persists in relation to the company's profitability yet there is no shortage of advice being offered from high street pharmacists on Sigma's business practices. It seems that in a grab for market share, Sigma...

Moves along these lines might not fix the company's earnings problems but would make for a better-looking balance sheet (Symons, 2010).
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Collins, M. (March 23, 2010). "Elmo's Fire a Flickering Flame: Sigma." Business with the

Wall Street Journal., from the Australian. Cited in:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/elmos-fire-a-flickering-flame-sigma/story-e6frg8zx-1225844017671

Symons, D. (March 4, 2010). "Terms of Trade." The Sydney Morning Herald. Cited in:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/picture-looks-bleak-for-telstra-20100303-piza.html