Bunuel wrote:
Company X manufactures swim wear and planned to launch a new line of women’s bathing suits in March, which is typically the peak time of year for swim wear sales. The company conducted consumer polls, which returned favorable results for both style and price, and took out advertisements in major fashion magazines and television stations. Yet the launch was disappointing: sales in March did not exceed even half of the company’s sales during the same period in the previous year.
Each of the following, if true, could explain the disappointing sales of the new swim wear line EXCEPT:
A. None of the stores carrying the new swim wear line displayed it prominently.
B. The company’s manufacturing plants experienced difficulty in obtaining dyes in the advertised colors and so substituted different colors.
C. A major competitor launched a line of similar swim wear at a lower price in February.
D. A scene in which a major actress was to wear one of the new swimsuits in a much anticipated movie to be released in February was never filmed.
E. The prediction of a cool, rainy summer by meteorologists received much attention in the national media.
The consumers found the style and price favourable but still did not buy the suits after they were launched. We need to look for reasons because of which consumer expectations were not met. Something happened because of which the product did not live up to their expectations. Given below will be 4 options that will give a reason and one which will not.
A. None of the stores carrying the new swim wear line displayed it prominently.
Helps explain. If the line was not displayed prominently, people may not have come to know about it being available to buy.
B. The company’s manufacturing plants experienced difficulty in obtaining dyes in the advertised colors and so substituted different colors.
Helps explain. People liked the colours advertised. Perhaps the new colours were not to the public's taste.
C. A major competitor launched a line of similar swim wear at a lower price in February.
Helps explain. Since a similar line was offered at lower pricing, people would not have bought the new line.
D. A scene in which a major actress was to wear one of the new swimsuits in a much anticipated movie to be released in February was never filmed.
There are no unmet expectations here. People liked the style and price and were likely to buy. Actress wearing it in an anticipated movie might have just increased the desirability of the suit but people were not expecting the actress to wear it and were not basing their decision to buy on that. They liked the style and pricing. If what people did not know did not happen, it wouldn't change their perception of the suits. Hence this cannot the reason people did not buy the suits.
E. The prediction of a cool, rainy summer by meteorologists received much attention in the national media.
Helps explain. People were perhaps not expecting to need the suit because of cool summers, hence they did not buy it.
Answer (D)
_________________
Karishma Bansal - ANA PREP
*SUPER SUNDAYS!* - FREE Access to ALL Resources EVERY Sunday
REGISTER at ANA PREP
(Includes access to Study Modules, Concept Videos, Practice Questions and LIVE Classes)
YouTube Channel
youtube.com/karishma.anaprep