A company that makes electric razors recently introduced a new model

This question is really asking us to identify the finding that would most seriously weaken (or "challenge") the conclusion of the company, which was that "precision was not an important concern for consumers."

How did the company reach that conclusion? We can infer that the company had already been selling multiple older razor models when it introduced a newer model, offering various features that ensured a degree of precision not possible with older models. This newer model did not sell as well as the older models after a year on the market. The company concluded that precision must not be an important concern for consumers, since those consumers were seemingly not attracted by the improved precision of the newer model.

So, did the newer model fail to sell as well as the older models because consumers are not very concerned with precision? Or could one of the findings in the answer choices have contributed to the poor sales numbers?


This finding tells us that faulty precision features can cause shoddy ("poor quality") haircuts and shaves, but it does not tell us whether precision is an important CONCERN for consumers (or what percentage of consumers actually saw this report). If consumers did read the report but do not care about precision, then the report would not motivate the consumers to buy the new model. In that case, the finding would actually support the company's conclusion, not challenge it.

If we somehow knew that a large proportion of consumers read the report, are concerned about precision, but still did not buy the new model for some other reason(s), then the finding would challenge the company's conclusion. But without further information, we cannot determine whether this finding supports the conclusion or challenges it, so (A) can be eliminated.


The finding in choice (B) provides another reason that explains why sales of the new model were relatively low. If consumers are concerned about precision but feel that they will get better overall results from an older razor, then the consumers will not be inclined to buy the new model, despite being attracted to the enhanced precision that it offers. This alternative explanation does not require that consumers are indifferent to precision, so choice (B) does challenge the conclusion of the company. We'll keep this one.


This finding neither weakens nor strengthens the company's conclusion because it does not tell us whether the relatively low sales of the new model can be contributed to consumers' lack of concern for precision or to other factors. For example, given this finding, it is possible that, say, 40% (a "significant" part) of sales comes from hair salons and barber shops while 60% comes from individual consumers. If those consumers (the 60%) are not very concerned with precision, they might not have been enticed to buy the new model and sales would have been relatively low, supporting the company's conclusion. Or perhaps those consumers DO care about precision but chose not to buy the new model for other reasons. The finding in choice (C) may or may not challenge the company's conclusion and can be eliminated.


if the razor DID significantly increase in price, then this finding would challenge the conclusion of the company because it would provide another reason why consumers may not have been inclined to buy the razor, despite being attracted to its enhanced precision. However, since the price did NOT increase, concern for precision may or may not have been a factor. Perhaps, as suggested by the company, consumers were not impressed with the enhanced precision and chose to stay with their current models. Or perhaps consumers WERE impressed by the enhanced precision but chose not to buy the newer model for other reasons (i.e., the new model may have been too complicated and difficult to use). Choice (D) can be eliminated.


We have no idea why those other models sold well. Perhaps the other companies had better marketing or offered much lower prices. Perhaps consumers were not interested in the precision features of those successful razors but instead were interested in various other features of those razors. We don't know if choice (E) challenges the conclusion of the company in the passage, so it can be eliminated. This leaves us with choice (B).