Last week, an investigative journalist published an exposé in the newspaper, demonstrating that many of the shoes sold in a certain department store in California were made overseas in sweatshops that are alleged to use child labor. This week, the department store experienced a drop in shoe sales, after twelve weeks of robust sales of shoes. The management team of the department store maintains that the unfavorable article in the newspaper last week had nothing to do with their drop in shoe sales this week.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the management team's position?

A:This department store regularly advertises in this particular newspaper, often offering coupons for a variety of products they sell.

B:Stores typically only acknowledge the adverse effect of news on their business if they experience a sudden decline in sales.

C:This was not the first time this journalist published an exposé of some of the products sold in this department store.

D:According to customer surveys, the majority of customers who shop regularly at this department store have said that they always buy their shoes there.

E:Other department stores that sell only shoes manufactured in the United States have also reported a decline in shoe sales this week.