Cafe Cappuccino Pvt Ltd owns almost all coffee shops in Borodia and

Question

Cafe Cappuccino Pvt Ltd owns almost all coffee shops in Borodia and has announced plans to double the number of coffee shops it has in the country in the next five years. Yet, the number of people who walk into cafe Cappuccino is only just large enough for profitability now and the country's population is not expected to increase drastically over the next ten years due to the government's strategic measures taken to control population explosion. Clearly, therefore, if there is indeed no increase in population, Cafe Cappuccino's new outlets are unlikely to prove profitable.

Which of the following, if true about Borodia, most seriously weakens the arguments?

A) Though very little change in the size of the population is expected, a pronounced shift towards a younger, more affluent, and more entertainment oriented population is expected to occur.
B) The sales of ice-creams account for more of Cafe Cappuccino's profits than the sales of coffee and tea.
C) In selecting the mix of items that are served at Cafe cappuccino the policy is to avoid those that appeal to only a small segment of the cafe going population.
D) Spending on confectionary as well as on homemade chocolates is currently no longer increasing.
E) There are no population centers in the country that are not already served by at least one of the coffee shops that Cafe Cappuccino owns and operates.

Source - Crackverbal

karthikkaushik91 · Answer

Is it E? I am kinda stuck here between A and E I think A appeals to only the younger crowd, bt one is nt sure if only the younger crowd go to the Cafe.

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US09 · Answer

A - The causal relationship here for the conclusion to stand true will be weakened by this statement. Anything that says that the population "that the coffee shop" caters to is going to increase will weaken the causality that is required for the conclusion-since population is not going to increase, the new outlets will not be profitable.

Aekagra · Answer

But from sentence how we will be able to establish relationship b/w cafes and young,affluent ???

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HannibalLecter · Answer

A-Clear winner. It totally changes the base.

MSarmah · Answer

I don't think the OA is appropriate.
 
The OA is given as A but nowhere in the argument it is given that young people consume more coffee than the middle aged or the old aged people. What if the middle aged and the old aged people consume more coffee than the yound people. In that case it will strengthen the argument and not weaken it since, given the size of population, a pronounced shift towards a younger population is expected.

Thus, unless there is some indication that younger people consume more coffee or tea than the rest of the population, we cannot assume it.

Hope some experts take a look into the question !

Bhaktiiphone · Answer

The answer that is apparently correct is clearly out of the scope.

KaushalKhatri · Answer

How is A the correct answer. There is no relation mentioned between young and cafe going population.

ReedArnoldMPREP · Answer

What is the source for this question?

Answer choice A has some issues. We have to use 'real world' knowledge to know that 'younger, more affluent, more entertainment' focused crowds go to cafes more. (also... real world question....  do they? ???)

If the passage made this connection, I'd feel comfortable choosing A. As written, I think this question isn't quite fair. If it's an official question, welp, alas--either I'm wrong (someone care to explain how?) or the GMAT is breaking its typical rules here.

Jeringas · Answer

The argument claims that Cafe Cappuccino's plan to double outlets is unlikely to be profitable because:

The current number of customers is just enough for profitability, and

The population is not expected to increase significantly.

So, the argument assumes only population growth can increase demand and profitability.

We’re looking for a choice that weakens this by showing how demand or profitability can rise even without population growth.

Evaluate the choices:
(A) Though very little change in the size of the population is expected, a pronounced shift towards a younger, more affluent, and more entertainment-oriented population is expected to occur.

✅ This directly weakens the argument. Even if population size doesn’t grow, a shift in demographics (towards those who are more likely to visit cafes) could increase demand and thus make new outlets profitable.

→ Correct answer.

(B) The sales of ice-creams account for more of Cafe Cappuccino's profits than the sales of coffee and tea.

This shifts focus to another product line but doesn’t refute the link between customer volume and profitability.
→ Irrelevant.

(C) In selecting the mix of items that are served at Cafe Cappuccino the policy is to avoid those that appeal to only a small segment of the cafe-going population.

Describes a business strategy but doesn’t weaken the conclusion about limited profitability due to static population.
→ Out of scope.

(D) Spending on confectionary as well as on homemade chocolates is currently no longer increasing.

If anything, this might strengthen the argument by suggesting limited growth in other revenue streams.
→ ❌ Strengthens.

(E) There are no population centers in the country that are not already served by at least one of the coffee shops that Cafe Cappuccino owns and operates.

This might support the idea that expansion will face saturation, thus strengthening the argument.
→ ❌ Strengthens.

Deep1208 · Answer

Can you please shed some light on the question,as I am unable to get why the option 'A' is correct.Does moving towards a younger crowd solves the population problem and makes the target audience set,which will indeed help them in opening there upcoming stores?

Cafe Cappuccino Pvt Ltd owns almost all coffee shops in Borodia and

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Cafe Cappuccino Pvt Ltd owns almost all coffee shops in Borodia and

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