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 ar

The Vice President believes that their stores usually do well in places where people are health conscious and as such concludes that Health Naturally should build their new stores in Plainsville. He backs up his assertion by citing that exercise equipment sales and health club memberships are at a peak. Furthermore, Plainsville children are required to participate in Fitness for Life. Whiilst this argument may seem plausible at first glance, closer inspection reveals that it lacks sufficient evidence to bolster its claim.

Firstly, the author assumes that just because their stores have done well in areas of health conscious citizens that they will see profits in Plainsville as well. However there is nothing to suggest that the citizens of Plainsville are similar to those of other areas which they have sold to. Even if Plainsville residents are as health conscious as those of other areas there may be many differences between the two as the residents of Plainsville may not necessarily eat the same types of food as health conscious people in other areas. Thus to strengthen the argument the author would need to provide information showing that the residents of Plainsville have a similar diet to health conscious individuals of other areas and as such are likely to enjoy the food that Health naturally makes.

Secondly, there is nothing to suggest that people of Plainsville are health conscious in the first place. One might object by pointing out that sales of shoes, equipment as well as gym membership have increased however this does not necessarily mean that the majority of residents are health conscious. There is no quantification in terms of what percentage of Plainsville residents buy gym equipment and frequent health clubs. It may very well be that only a small percentage of residents go to health clubs (regardless of how packed those clubs are). Thus to strengthen the argument the author must provide information about the number of persons with health club members and the amount of people in the total population. Only then can one see whether Plainsville has a high percentage of health conscious citizens.

Lastly, the author concludes his argument by mentioning that kids are made to participate in a fitness program and as such they can expect more customers. However he assumes that because kids are in the program that they themselves are health conscious. There is no information which suggests that the kids enjoy or even appreciate being part of that program. If they are simply being made to be a part of Fitness for Life and do not themselves see the value of it it is unlikely that they will appreciate Health Naturally. Thus before such a statement can be made the author must provide information which states that the majority of children in the program enjoy it and are health conscious themselves.

In conclusion, the argument does not have enough evidence to make a claim as bold as that of the author’s and is not very convincing or well reasoned as key elements of the discussion have been left out. Unless the author can provide the necessary evidence the proposition is one of wishful thinking.