In Tehama County, patronage of children's clothing shops

Question

In Tehama County, patronage of children's clothing shops is just high enough for the shop owners to make modest profits. The size of the county's population is stable and is not expected to increase much. Yet there are investors ready to triple the number of children's clothing shops in the county within the next decade, and they are predicting solid profits both for themselves and for the owners of established children's clothing shops.

Which of the following, if true about Tehama County, most helps to provide a justification for the investors' prediction?

A. Over the next twenty years, young parents, the prime consumers of children's clothing, will be a rapidly growing proportion of the county's population.
B. As distinct from the existing children's clothing shops, most of the shops being planned would be located in suburban areas, in hopes of stimulating economic growth in 
those areas.
C. Spending on adult clothing has been decreasing slightly each year for the past five years.
D. The average number of square feet per children's clothing shop is lower among existing shops than it is among shops that are still in the planning stages.
E. The sale of accessories for children, such as car seats and toys, accounts for a steadily growing share of most children's clothing shop owners' profits.

JarvisR · Answer

In Tehama County, patronage of children's clothing shops is just high enough for the shop owners to make modest profits. 
The size of the county's  population is stable and is not expected to increase much . 
Yet there are  investors ready to triple the number of children's clothing shops in the county within the next decade , and they are  predicting solid profits  both for themselves and for the owners of established children's clothing shops.

We need to solve the given paradox.What if, their actions are based upon some factors from future.

Which of the following, if true about Tehama County, most helps to provide a justification for the investors' prediction?

A. Over the next twenty years, young parents, the prime consumers of children's clothing, will be a rapidly growing proportion of the county's population.
 
Rest can be crossed out.
B. As distinct from the existing children's clothing shops, most of the shops being planned would be located in suburban areas, in hopes of stimulating economic growth in those areas.
C. Spending on adult clothing has been decreasing slightly each year for the past five years.
D. The average number of square feet per children's clothing shop is lower among existing shops than it is among shops that are still in the planning stages.
E. The sale of accessories for children, such as car seats and toys, accounts for a steadily growing share of most children's clothing shop owners' profits.

KarishmaB · Answer

This is an explain the paradox question and here is the paradox:

Current children's clothing shops make modest profits. The population is not expected to increase.
Yet investors are ready to triple the number of shops and are predicting solid profits for all.

What would explain the optimism of the investors? 
(A) does. Even though the population is expected to be stable, the proportion of young parents is expected to become very high. If right now, 5% of the population is of young parents, it might be expected to become 20% over the next few years. This explains the investors' desire to open more shops.

None of the other options explain the paradox.

Answer is (A)

UJs · Answer

I have a Query, I agree that A is the best option; but any chance that this question is written with little bit gap in it (or written poorly). investors ready to triple the number of children's clothing shops in the county within the next decade... . A. Over the next twenty years , young parents, the prime consumers of children's clothing, next decade , vs n ext twenty years bothers me a bit , there is a 10 year gap :?:

test maker can easily throw in another option which fills this gap and then A would become bad option, say for example. F. Over the next ten years , highway connecting city Tehama County with Cotton county will be complete and Cotton county don't have enough shopping malls offering kids cloths and there is no plan for new kids cloths shops in next 10-12 years.

KarishmaB · Answer

"OVER the next twenty years, proportion of young parents will be rapidly growing ... "

implies that the rapid growth will happen throughout the 20 year phase. It does not imply that AFTER 20 yrs, the proportion of young parents will become high.
Say if in the past 20 yrs, the families have had many more kids than before, then you can expect that there are many more late teens, early teens and kids. Over the next 20 years, they will become young parents - late teens probably in the next 5 years, early teens in 10-12 years and kids in 18-20 years. 
Argument gives you the investor's target of the next decade. They would expect ongoing profit for years and option (A) tells you why.

UJs · Answer

Yes, Now it makes more sense, Thanks for Explaining this Karishma :thumbup:

MBAchild · Answer

Not a good question. Not sure if gmat will give such type of question.

Deep1208 · Answer

Can someone give a setailed insight of the question.
Thank you in advance!

egmat · Answer

Deep1208   Let me break down the logical structure and approach for this Strengthen question.

Understanding the Paradox

The passage presents an apparent contradiction:

Current situation:  Children's clothing shops make only "modest profits" with the current number of shops 
  Stable population:  The county's population is stable and won't increase much 
  The prediction:  Investors will triple the number of shops AND expect  solid profits  for both new and existing shops

The Core Issue:  If shops are barely profitable now, and population isn't growing, how can tripling the competition lead to  better  profits for everyone? More shops usually means splitting the same customer base into smaller pieces.

What We Need

We need something that explains how the  total demand  for children's clothing will increase significantly, even though total population is stable. This would justify why more shops can all be profitable.

Why Option A is Correct

This resolves the paradox perfectly:

Total population = stable 
 BUT the  composition  of that population is changing 
 More young parents = more children = more demand for children's clothing 
 This increased demand can support  3x  the shops while maintaining profitability

Why Other Options Don't Work

Option B:  Suburban location doesn't guarantee increased demand—it just relocates where shops are

Option C:  Adult clothing spending is irrelevant to children's clothing demand

Option D:  Shop size doesn't explain increased customer demand

Option E:  Where profits come from (accessories) doesn't explain why there will be enough customers for triple the shops

Strategic Framework for Similar Questions

When you see "justify the prediction/plan/conclusion" questions:

Identify the gap:  What seems illogical or unexplained? 
  Articulate what's needed:  What information would make the conclusion make sense? 
  Evaluate options:  Which one directly fills that gap? 
  Avoid tangential information:  The correct answer must directly address the core issue

Key Takeaway:  In this question, the key was recognizing that stable  total  population doesn't mean stable  demographics . Population composition can change, creating new demand patterns.

You should practice similar questions  here  (you'll find a lot of OG questions) - select  Critical Reasoning → Strengthen  and choose  Medium level  questions to build mastery of this question type.

Hope it helps! Best of luck with your preparation!

In Tehama County, patronage of children's clothing shops

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

In Tehama County, patronage of children's clothing shops

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards