VRK, an iconic actor, endorses several leading apparel and footwear li

Question

VRK, an iconic actor, endorses several leading apparel and footwear lines. He plans to launch his own apparel and footwear line- VRX. Advisers to VRK have cautioned him that if VRX does not meet the quality expectations of customers, it could endanger his brand value and consequently his other endorsements. However, the Quality Control Board has certified that VRX products have the necessary quality standards to enter a competitive market. Therefore, VRK hopes that the introduction of VRX will lead to an increase in his overall annual revenue since___________.

Which of the following most logically completes the argument?

A. most leading apparel and footwear manufacturers are not disinclined towards hiring a competitor as their brand ambassador
B. in the past, all the brands that VRK has endorsed have earned commendable revenues for their manufacturers
C. VRK’s reputation in the field of acting supersedes that of other actors who endorse similar brands
D. VRX products have been vouchsafed by the Quality Control Board as being better than those endorsed by VRK for other manufacturers
E. the general public is more inclined to purchase products endorsed by their icons than ones without such endorsements

MahmoudFawzy · Answer

from the premise: 
(1) VRK + leading brands ------> revenues
(2) leading brands = quality meeting customer expectations
(3) VRX = necessary quality standards to enter a competitive market
(4) (NO) quality meeting customer expectations = endanger his brand value and consequently his other endorsements (& Overall revenue loss)

Conclusion: 
VRK + VRX ---> increase overall revenues

so possible underlying assumption must be that: 
VRX = necessary quality standards to enter a competitive market = quality meeting customer expectations.

Choices: 
 (A) most leading apparel and footwear manufacturers are not disinclined towards hiring a competitor as their brand ambassador 
 irrelevant for several reasons: (yet best contender) 
(1) "most" means that it is not a must.
(2) if VRK is selling apparel and footwear, this doesn't mean that he became a competitor for other leading manufacturers. He may be targeting a different customer segment, style, age, or even geographic area.

(B) in the past, all the brands that VRK has endorsed have earned commendable revenues for their manufacturers 
 This can be already known from the premise . we need an unstated assumption that support the conclusion.

(C) VRK’s reputation in the field of acting supersedes that of other actors who endorse similar brands. 
 out of scope for two reasons: 
(1) we are comparing between (VRK + leading brands) and (VRK + VRX) , so VRK is a common factor and it is pointless to compare between his talent and other actors.
(2) the acting talent was not mentioned as a criteria for success and more revenues. "Iconic" may have several explanations ( we can't assume that the more talented actor must mean more revenues)

(D) VRX products have been vouchsafed by the Quality Control Board as being better than those endorsed by VRK for other manufacturers 
  Indeed  , if we care sure that VRX is better quality than other endorsed by VRK, this means that VRX, with its necessary quality standards, is exceeding the customers expectations. This fills the gap and support the conclusion.

(E) the general public is more inclined to purchase products endorsed by their icons than ones without such endorsements 
 out of scope , similar to C, we are comparing between (VRK + leading brands) and (VRK + VRX) , so VRK is a common factor and it is pointless to compare products with no endorsers.

D   IMO

KarishmaB · Answer

VRK endorses several brands of apparel.
He plans to launch his own called VRX. 
Advisers have said that if VRX does not meet quality expectations of customers, his brand value could be endangered.
Board said that VRX has quality required to enter competitive market.

Conclusion: VRK hopes that VRX will increase his overall revenue.

Note that the conclusion talks about increasing total revenue. So the earlier revenue should not suffer and there should be additional revenue (or additional revenue should more than make up for any loss in earlier revenue)

What will help us establish that overall revenue should increase?

A. most leading apparel and footwear manufacturers are not disinclined towards hiring a competitor as their brand ambassador

This helps. If most of the brands he endorses are disinclined towards hiring a competitor, his earlier revenue will see a big hit. So VRX may be competitive but its sale is unlikely to make up for a big hit.

B. in the past, all the brands that VRK has endorsed have earned commendable revenues for their manufacturers

Doesn't tell us what happens when VRK launches his own brand.

C. VRK’s reputation in the field of acting supersedes that of other actors who endorse similar brands

Irrelevant.

D. VRX products have been vouchsafed by the Quality Control Board as being better than those endorsed by VRK for other manufacturers

Does not matter. We know that VRX products have enough quality. We don't know how they will be priced. If they are priced higher than expected due to higher quality, we don't know whether they will sell. We also don't know whether his other endorsements will be fine with VRX. So we cannot say what may happen to overall revenue.

E. the general public is more inclined to purchase products endorsed by their icons than ones without such endorsements

All products we are talking about are endorsed by VRK hence irrelevant.

Answer (A)

azamatboden · Answer

Can someone please explain the reason for B being wrong more elaborately?

Thank you!

PoojanB · Answer

Hi  azamatboden 
Happy to help.

Crux of the argument lies in below line

To increase overall revenue, VRK must hold his current endorsements along with his own brands.

Let's check B.
 
While B ensures the success of VRX brand, it doesn't provide assurance that VRK will not loose his current endorsements.More over, we were already sure about success of VRX from the info given in argument that quality board is giving it a green signal.

Now,Let's see what A is saying.
 
Bingo!!thats what we are looking for. It clearly mentions that competitor has no problem with VRK continuing his current endorsements with them.Thus claim of additional revenue will be satisfied.

Hope this Helps.
Regards
P.

mSKR · Answer

most leading apparel and footwear manufacturers are WILLING towards hiring a competitor as their brand ambassador
why the meaning is understood reversely to " not inclined"?

GMATGuruNY · Answer

Negative prefixes include  un-, im-, and dis- .
 not  + NEGATIVE PREFIX = POSITIVE

The product is   not un  popular  = The product IS POPULAR
 The goal is   not im  possible  = The goal IS POSSIBLE
 The company is   not dis  honest  = The company IS HONEST

Option A:
 Manufacturers are   not dis  inclined  = Manufacturers ARE INCLINED = Manufacturers ARE WILLING

mSKR · Answer

What i mean is : is not the meaning describe here is wrong? Please help me to find what am i missing.

So A says, most leading apparel and footwear manufacturers are WILLING towards hiring a competitor as their brand ambassador
So does not it mean that VRK can not use his current endorsements with these leading manufacturers? So if he can't continue then he will lose endorsement money .Then he would lose his overall revenue.

GMATGuruNY · Answer

Consider the following case:
Every year VRK receives $1 million for endorsing manufacturers X, Y and Z. 
In launching his own apparel line, VRK will become a COMPETITOR of X, Y, and Z.
If X, Y and Z are unwilling to hire a competitor as their brand ambassador, then VRK will lose the $1 million that he receives every year from X, Y and Z -- a significant loss in revenue.
Option A implies that X, Y and Z are WILLING to hire a competitor as their brand ambassador.
As a result, VRK will CONTINUE to receive every year $1 million from X, Y and Z, in addition to whatever revenue is generated by VRK's new apparel line.
This information strengthens the conclusion that VRK's new apparel line will lead to an overall increase in revenue.

GMATGuruNY · Answer

An official CR with a similar line of reasoning: https://gmatclub.com/forum/kitchen-maga ... 76306.html

Johnny1989 · Answer

How do you assume that the competitor the companies X,Y and Z would be VRK it could be someone else?

Fdambro294 · Answer

The question is an attempt to follow the same line of reasoning as seen in the official question posted by  GMATGuruNY  above.

That question, of course, is a much better resource.

(i.e., I tend to agree with you….although it does seem to be the “best” answer. Answer E seems to stray a bit too far from the line of reasoning in the stem.)

Posted from my mobile device

VerbalBot · Answer

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VRK, an iconic actor, endorses several leading apparel and footwear li

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