A company cannot effectively differentiate its branded footware from the brands of rivals by

A company cannot effectively differentiate its branded footwear from the brands of rivals by getting a lower rate of rejection on their pairs of footwear in comparison to it's rivals.

When you have competition in the market, you want to make sure you are able to differentiate or show what is different/better about your product over your competition. If you aren't different, how will you product stand out? It won't. In a market, especially a market for shoes, it is a must to stand out because the competition is heavy!