The following appeared in a memo to the board of directors of Bargain Brand Cereals."One year ago we introduced our first product, Bargain Brand breakfast cereal. Our very low prices quickly drew many customers away from the top-selling cereal companies.

The aforementioned argument is well-presented and appears to be relatively cogent at first glance: since low prices of breakfast cereal reaps a myriad of benefits for Bargain Brand Cereals, it seems logical to assert that the company should expand its business. However, as more light is shed on the issue and more detailed facts are concerned, the lack of answers leads me to question the validity of the recommendation.

First, the author needs to answer the question whether the cheap price is the primary factor to attract customers. Since the company was able to draw many customers away from other competitors, the author hastily believes that the low cost is main contributor of this success. However, the author should take account of other possible factors that attracted consumers. For instance, consumers have become interested in Bargain Brand’s breakfast cereal since it introduced a new flavor. If this would be the case, the customers may not concern the low price, and it would be illogical to claim that the company would not need to raise the price of its product.

Another question the author should answer is whether the current popularity can represent the future success of Bargain Brand. Granted, several plans that were introduced to compete with Bargain Brand by its competitors were not successful, and the company did not need to increase its price to make a profits. However, it should be noted that the current trend is not equivalent to the future trend. In other words, the high success of the Bargain Brand was due to adverse economic condition, and if the economy has recovered in the near future, customers may not decide purchase it. In such a case, the overall profits of the company may significantly decrease so that it would be necessary to raise the cereal price. Therefore, more information is required to corroborate the soundness of the argument.

Lastly, the soundness of the recommendation that the company should expand its business should be answered. The author rashly believes that customers will also incline to buy low-priced food products since they have buy low-priced breakfast cereal over last year. However, the author should consider that the success of cereal cannot be generalized as the success of other products. Put it differently, although consumers have bought low-priced cereal, they may opt for purchasing more high-cost food products because of high quality and nutritional balance. If this would be the case, the author’s recommendation of expanding the company’s business is not persuasive, and should not be adhere to.

In conclusion, the argument above is not sound on many grounds. To strengthen the argument, the author should answer all the aforementioned questions.