Nature's Way, a chain of stores selling health food and other health-related products, is opening its next franchise in the town of Plainsville. The store should prove to be very successful: Nature's Way franchises tend to be most profitable in areas wher

The author concludes that a new franchise of Nature’s Way (NW) in Plainsville is going to be very successful. To bolster this conclusion, the author points out the following facts: (1) sales of exercise shoes and clothing are at all-time high; (2) the local health club is more popular than in the past; and (3) the Plainsville’s schoolchildren are required to participate in a fitness program. However, the argument is not wholly convincing as it stands due to its logical flaws in several critical respects.

First, the author provides no evidence that the high sales of exercise apparel would be reflected in the sales of NW’s products, or that Plainsville residents are interested in exercising. If the costs of NW’s products are prohibitively higher than those of exercise apparel, the residents might not be able to afford NW’s products, even though they have a very strong desire to improve their health. Therefore, it is difficult to assert that the residents’ tendency to buy sportswear would continue along with sales of NW’s products.

Second, there is no evidence establishing that the customers of the popular local health club will be the prospective customers of the products that NW sells. Perhaps, the health club customers might not feel the necessity of NW’s products and might be able to maintain their health by only taking the health club classes. Even if the club’s clients were to frequent and patronize a NW store, they might not benefit enough from the store since there are no other health clubs.

Finally, even assuming that the Plainsville residents lead healthy life, it does not necessarily indicate that the NW store will be most profitable. If there are other competent stores that supply similar products as NW’s to the residents, it might be difficult to ensure a profit for the NW store. Besides, its clear profit of the store might be significantly low if the rent of the store is extremely high compared to other areas in which the successful NW franchises exist.

In conclusion, the author’s argument relies on a series of unsubstantiated assumptions, and is therefore unconvincing as it stands. To justify this argument, the author should provide sufficient evidence and information that will eliminate all the above doubtful questions. Then, the argument can be completely well reasoned.