The following appeared in a memorandum written by the vice president of Health Naturally, a small but expanding chain of stores selling health food and other health-related products.
“Our previous experience has been that our stores are most profitable in areas where residents are highly concerned with leading healthy lives. We should therefore build one of our new stores in Plainsville, which clearly has many such residents. Plainsville merchants report that sales of running shoes and exercise equipment are at all-time highs. The local health club, which nearly closed five years ago due to lack of business, has more members than ever, and the weight-training and aerobics classes are always full. We can even anticipate a new generation of customers: Plainsville’s schoolchildren are required to participate in a program called Fitness for Life, which emphasizes the benefits of regular exercise at an early age.”
Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.
The vice president of Health Naturally, a small retail chain of stores selling health foods and other health-related products, makes a compelling argument for his company’s expansion into Plainsville.
Judging by this memorandum, it is clear that Plainsville, New Jersey, is most certainly the prime location for one of Health Naturally’s new stores. The memo presents three pieces of evidence in support of this claim: (1) increased sales of running shoes and exercise equipment; (2) increased membership to the local health club; and (3) an increase in the number of children participating in Fitness for Life. These pieces of evidence, however, are thin and do not provide enough evidence to substantiate the claim that Plainsville is the perfect place for one of Health Naturally’s stores.
First, the memo does not specify which stores in Plainsville are selling more running shoes and exercise equipment. If this information were known, it would allow a reasonable analysis of which stores are growing and which are not. For example, if Health Naturally were to begin operating multiple stores in Plainsville, the running shoe stores might be more profitable than the exercise equipment stores. Or, if the exercise equipment stores were selling more, it would suggest that Plainsville residents may not be exercising as much as previously believed. If Health Naturally were to open a store in Plainsville and both stores were selling more running shoes and exercise equipment than years before, then the company would be wise to begin stocking more running shoes and exercise equipment. However, if the exercise stores were selling more, then the company could consider opening a second store in Plainsville. Second, the memo does not mention the population of Plainsville. A thorough analysis of membership numbers at the local health club and enrollment in Fitness for Life would not only help to determine whether the population is healthier than in previous years, but also to determine whether the population has changed. If, for example, Fitness for Life enrollment has increased since Health Naturally began its operations in Plainsville, then it is possible that the population has become more health-conscious. However, if the population has not changed, the assertion that the community is healthier is questionable.
Third, the memo claims that local schoolchildren are enrolled in Fitness for Life. However, the memo does not specify whether Fitness for Life is mandatory or voluntary, or what percentage of students participate. If Fitness for Life is mandatory, then it is possible that students from all schools, not just the public schools, are enrolled in the program. If Fitness for Life is not mandatory, then the memo’s statement is meaningless. If Fitness for Life is mandatory but enrollment in it is low, then it can be assumed that the program is unpopular with students. If Fitness for Life is not mandatory but enrollment is high, then it can be assumed that the program is popular. In any case, it would be helpful to quantify the number of students currently enrolled in Fitness for Life and to determine why enrollment is high.
Without additional information, the three pieces of evidence presented by Health Naturally’s vice president are insufficient to support the claim that the residents of Plainsville are interested in leading healthy lives and therefore are the perfect place for the company’s store.