Question 1

**Item E: Emilios**
St Ives is a seaside resort. It is very popular in the spring and summer but has lower visitor numbers from October to February. Emilios needs to increase its sales during these months.
A local successful restaurant chain has asked Emilios to develop and produce a new range of ice cream desserts which it would sell in its eight large restaurants across Cornwall. The restaurant chain would promote Emilios by adding its logo to the menu. The restaurant chain has offered to sell the desserts for a two-week trial period. If sales are good, then the desserts will stay on the menu. Emilios will receive half of the price the restaurant chain charges its customers.
Another option is for Emilios to open an ice cream shop in a nearby town from October to February. Emilios would sell its current popular range of ice cream in the new shop. The town centre has many popular high street stores and is very busy at Christmas time. However, it can be very quiet in January and February. There are already two successful ice cream shops on the town's high street.

Emilios wants to increase sales revenue during the winter months. It is considering two options to achieve this. Both options will cost the same to set up. The options are:
- develop a new product range of ice cream desserts to sell to the restaurant chain
- expand by opening an ice cream shop in the town centre.

Analyse the effect of each of these two options on Emilios.
Evaluate which of these two options will have the biggest impact on sales revenue for Emilios.

Accepted Answer

This is a 12-mark "evaluate" question. It requires a balanced analysis of both options and a justified final judgement.
1.  **Analyse Option 1 (Restaurant chain).**
    - Identify a positive effect (e.g., access to 8 restaurants' customers, brand promotion). Explain it using Item E.
    - Identify a negative effect (e.g., only a 2-week trial, only get half the price). Explain it using Item E.
2.  **Analyse Option 2 (New shop).**
    - Identify a positive effect (e.g., busy at Christmas, keep all revenue). Explain it using Item E.
    - Identify a negative effect (e.g., two existing competitors, quiet in Jan/Feb). Explain it using Item E.
3.  **Evaluate and Conclude.**
    - Make a clear judgement: "Option 1 will have the biggest impact on sales revenue because...".
    - Justify your choice by comparing the key factors. For example, argue that the potential sales from 8 restaurants are greater than from one new shop, or that the risks of the new shop (competition, quiet periods) are too high compared to the restaurant partnership. Weigh up the pros and cons to show why one option is superior.

Question 2

What mistakes do candidates make on this AQA GCSE question?

Accepted Answer

✗ Not analysing both options.
✗ Failing to make a clear final judgement.
✗ Not using the information from Item E to support points.
✗ The conclusion just summarises the points without making a justified choice.

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