Which of the following best completes the passage below?

Brand X, which currently markets luxury watches via billboards and advertisements in popular magazines, is considering saving money by advertising its newest line of luxury watches only in niche publications read by the wealthy. A recent study shows that most purchasers of Brand X’s luxury watches have only recently become wealthy, and purchase the watches because Brand X is highly coveted by those aspiring to wealth, who learn about Brand X watches via advertising. Therefore, Brand X should not implement its new advertising strategy because _________________.

A: most purchasers of Brand X’s luxury watches do not read magazines regularly
B: newly rich consumers will not buy the watches if the watches are not advertised to people who are not yet wealthy who will then hold the watches in high regard
C: the money saved by implementing the strategy will be outweighed by the reduction in revenue from the less expensive line of watches
D: consumers who have only recently become wealthy purchase luxury watches in order to impress those who have been wealthy for some time
E consumers who are newly wealthy prefer to purchase products that are purchased regularly by the non-wealthy

OA: B

Newly rich customer was not rich when he purchased luxury watches. IF these person did so, why not other will do same. I am questioning option B.

Can you please explain to clear out doubt?
Not very much convinced from your OE.

OE
The passage indicates that the newly wealthy purchase Brand X watches because those who wish to be (but are not) wealthy highly value the watches. If the new line of watches is advertised only to the already wealthy, those who are not wealthy will not highly value the new watches – making the recently wealthy unlikely to purchase them. Answer choice B is correct.

Akhpad,

The argument says that a person who is currently not rich, but will be rich soon, keeps a tab on the advertisements by brand X in popular magazines. This person covets the luxury watch right now but he does NOT purchase the watch when he is not rich.

The option B says that if brand X does not advertise the luxury watches in popular magazines that are read even by the not-yet-rich, then the soon-to-be-rich will never find out about such luxury watches and hence will not purchase the watches when they become rich.

For instance, the person (me) is not rich right now. But I will be rich soon. Right now, I covet the luxury watches advertised in the popular magazines which I read. If these magazines stop advertising these luxury watches, I will not come to know about the watches and so I will not purchase the watches. That is what the OE also says.


In this counterargument that you make, the flaw is that the newly rich customer does not buy the watch when he is not rich; rather, he buys the watch soon after he becomes rich.

I hope I have been able to convince you.

--Siddharth.

Siddharth, very nice explanation--thanks!

_________________
Jamie Nelson
ManhattanGMAT Instructor