CAT Critical Reasoning Practice question with Solution 21

Here we get another curious situation: R-Bar Beans sell fewer cans nationally than its competitors, even though R-Bar Beans are preferred among all age groups in a recent survey. This seems odd, because we would normally expect that people would buy more of a product that they find superior. So what’s going on? Four of the choices, if true, would help resolve the discrepancy, and one of them (the credited response) would not. If (B) were true, and the preference for R-Bar Beans is more pronounced in some groups as opposed to others, then we would expect R-Bar Beans to have more success in those R-Bar favourite groups. However, we would still expect R-Bar Beans to have the overall lead in bean sales, since R-Bar is preferred among all age groups. That isn’t the case, as R-Bar ranks at best third in sales. (B) adds nothing to our understanding of how R-Bar compares with the other brands, and thus doesn’t help us solve the mystery.

(A) If the other beans are cheaper than R-Bar Beans, then it’s not surprising that some people buy them even if they think R-Bar Beans taste better. It’s no shock that Hondas outsell Rolls Royces, even though most people would prefer to drive a Rolls.

(C) If the survey is not representative of the national market, and if R-Bar Beans are not even available nationwide, then it’s no wonder that R-Bar isn’t #1.

(D) If many stores refuse to carry R-Bar, then reduced sales for R-Bar would be expected.

(E) solves the mystery by telling us that R-Bar sales figures reflect only three months of sales as compared with a full year of sales for the two competitors. No wonder R-Bar sold far fewer cans of beans last year than the others even though the recent survey shows that customers prefer R-Bar. Once R-Bar does catch on, though, there’s a good chance that Texas T and Aunt Sally’s will be “has-beans.”