Company X manufactures swim wear

[shwetha_shyam]

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:

None of the stores carrying the new swim wear line displayed it prominently.
The company's manufacturing plants experienced difficulty in obtaining dyes in the advertised colors and so substituted different colors.
A major competitor launched a line of similar swim wear at a lower price in February.
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.
The prediction of a cool, rainy summer by meteorologists received much attention in the national media.

OA is D, but isnt that option related to advertising, so if the scene was never filmed, wouldn't sales have dropped?

Also am I reading too much into the passage if I chose option B, since option B is about colors and the passage mentions consumer polls returned favourable results in style and price?

[tim]

D has nothing to do with the advertisements that were actually purchased, and there is no indication from the argument that this movie factored into the company’s estimates of projected sales. As for B, what do you think style means if it doesn’t include color? :)

[dcgmat]

Hi,

Have we been intentionally miss lead here to answer D.
Because, in answer choice D, the way I understand the words "was to wear" is that the company expected this. She WAS TO WEAR it, so it is possible to argue that it was expected.
So is this answer choice, this perticular choice of words, deliberatly made to confuse the test taker into believing that maybe the company expected it?
If I have to think a little bit futher than the text, I assume that giving this meaning to these words is just fine. Isn't that equivalent to thinking a little further than the text of answer choice E, and think that people won't buy the swim wear because of the forecast, which is also logical but still assume that the test takers know about consumers purchasing habits (is this really ok?).

Is answer choice D a "word trap" that I need to be aware of and avoid?

thank you.

[jlucero]

It's not a word trap, it's a trap of weakening a premise that never existed.

Company X had good sales last year + they had a stylish & well-priced product + they advertised the product = good sales this year.

All the other answer choices somehow fit into this equation:
A) Not as well advertised as they thought
B) Not as stylish as they thought
C) Not as well priced as they thought
D) Doesn't affect the equation. Irrelevant.
E) Not as comparative of market between the two years as they thought

If the company thought that for reasons X, Y, & Z they would make a million dollars, then it doesn't matter if they also planned on W and it didn't occur. That wasn't part of the original argument flow.

[Tadashi]

Hi experts,
one question about option C: A major competitor launched a line of similar swim wear at a lower price in February.

IMO, the choice actually can't explain the disappointing sales in March.
Competitor's lower price in Feb. has nothing to do with the our sales in March. It's likely that the competitor increase price in March, making our sales to grow.

Please help me.

One more question:

May I choose choice D (OA) simply because the promotion method which requires an actress to wear swimming suits in a moive is never mentioned in the question stem.

Need your confirmation.

DOMO ARIGATO.
Tadashi.

[RonPurewal]

Hi experts,
one question about option C: A major competitor launched a line of similar swim wear at a lower price in February.

IMO, the choice actually can't explain the disappointing sales in March.
Competitor's lower price in Feb. has nothing to do with the our sales in March.

Imagine that you've made an Android phone set for release in June, at a retail price of $400.
Then, in May, a competitor releases its own Android phone, with specs similar to those of yours, for $300.

If you think that your competitor's release won't affect your sales, you should re-think that thought.

[RonPurewal]

It's likely that the competitor increase price in March, making our sales to grow.

There is no reason to believe that the competitor will raise the price of its product.

[RonPurewal]

One more question:

May I choose choice D (OA) simply because the promotion method which requires an actress to wear swimming suits in a moive is never mentioned in the question stem.

The point is that we're comparing this year's sales to last year's sales. The movie has nothing to do with a comparison to last year's sales, so it's irrelevant.

You can't just reject something because it's not mentioned in the prompt. (!!!)
Every "explanation", by definition, will ALWAYS be something that's not mentioned in the prompt!
(This is what it means for something to need explanation: we don't already have an explanation. We need new information to explain whatever needs to be explained.)

[RonPurewal]

If the question were just a little bit different, then the never-released movie could be a strong explanation.
E.g., Why were actual sales less than projected sales?
If projections assumed that the movie would be released"”and thus that the swimsuit would get exposure on the big screen"”then a non-release of the movie would definitely explain a shortfall in sales.

[Tadashi]

I find your explanation both convincing and helpful.
Thank you.
Tadashi.

[RonPurewal]

Ok.