首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
(1) After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands
(1) After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands
admin
2021-09-18
90
问题
(1) After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands—including Best Buy, Banana Republic and Forever 21—is back on the march. And early reports from the front line in the land of shopkeepers indicate that, unlike with earlier attempts by U. S. retailers to break Britain, British consumers are welcoming the invaders with open arms—and wallets.
(2) That’s not always been the case. While the British public has long had an appetite for American fast-food vendors, the record of U.S. retailers who have tried to make it big in Britain is mixed. But the latest arrivals enter the market as already established brands with built-in consumer awareness, thanks to the dominance of U.S. culture in media and online. And they satisfy British shoppers’ desire for "something new," says analyst Natalie Berg, of London-based consultants Planet Retail. "They all bring a cult aspect" to the U.K. high street.
(3) Best Buy—America’s largest consumer-electronics chain—kicked off the latest rush into the British market in May, when it opened its first-ever U.K. store. The 4,650-sq-m big-box outlet in the London suburb of Thurrock is the first of eight to 10 stores Best Buy expects to open in the country this year. And it has proved an impressive beachhead: in terms of sales volume, that first weekend was the chain’s biggest opening weekend in its 27-year history. "We had strong expectations," says Paul Antoniadis, CEO of Best Buy UK (who won’t reveal how much they took in over those first three days). "But the actual delivery was brilliant."
(4) For some U.S. stores, this will be their first foray into the U.K. Following in Best Buy’s footsteps is California-based Forever 21, which specializes in cheap, trendy clothes for young women and will open its first U.K. branch in Birmingham, northern England, in November. But for others, now is the time to expand on past success. Hollister, which is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), has proved extremely popular in Britain since it launched its first surf-shack-chic store in London in 2008. Hollister rode the recession like it was the perfect wave. Despite the economic downturn, it opened 11 more stores across the U.K. over the past two years, most recently in April. As a result, A&F reports that average sales volume for Hollister’s British stores is six times the level of its U.S. stores.
(5) Meanwhile, Gap-owned Banana Republic, which debuted in London two years ago, opened its second and third stores in the city last December and April this year. Even in what was a tough year for retailers of all nationalities, Banana Republic’s total U.K. net sales in last year hit $24 million, up from $23 million a year earlier.
(6) What’s the attraction? Britain boasts an overall retail market worth around $415 billion—a tempting target. The U.K. is also a good launchpad for further expansions into continental Europe. Moreover, thanks to growing online sales, U.S. retailers no longer have to blanket Blighty with shops to achieve full market penetration. They can open a few flagship stores in key cities, and back them up with a strong Web presence, which in turn reduces overheads and risk.
(7) The Internet also provides a strong prelaunch marketing tool: Best Buy set up a U.K. website back in January that featured blogs, forums and advice, and used social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to build anticipation for the Thurrock launch. And there’s a new, postdownturn draw too: cheaper rents. U.K. retail rents have historically been sky high, particularly in London. Now many landlords-hit by a raft of vacancies-are willing to bargain.
(8) While the invasion is off to strong start, U.S. retailers shouldn’t consider Britain a sure thing. U.K. retailing is a highly mature market that’s brutally competitive, particularly now as retailers battle to entice credit-crunched shoppers back into shops. "It’s probably not a great time to enter the British market," says Sarah Peters, an analyst at British retailing consultants Verdict Research, "But I’m not sure if there is ever a good time." Indeed, Britain’s retailing landscape is littered with the bones of successful U.S. retailers who stumbled badly when they crossed the Atlantic.
(9) Limited Brands, in conjunction with British fashion chain Next, failed in an attempt in the 1990s to transplant Bath & Body Works to Britain. And Whole Foods Market, which opened a massive food emporium in London in 2007, lost around $52 million in the British capital last year, thanks in part to formidable competition from mainstream British supermarket chains that are already well stocked with organic groceries.
(10) If this latest flock of U.S. retailers does well in the U.K., it will likely be because they offer British shoppers something completely different. Forever 21, for example, will face resistance from established, strong domestic clothing brands, including Topshop, New Look and Primark. But Best Buy, on the other hand, has an edge. Not only are its big-box stores a novelty in Britain, but so is the brand’s emphasis on customer service. Its Geek Squad unit gives customers round-the-clock technical support, and shoppers can use its in-store setup service to configure gadgets before taking them home. "Consumer-electronics stores in the U.K. traditionally have not had good reputations for customer service," says Matthew Piner, another Verdict Research analyst. "And no one has really challenged them before."
(11) To pay for its U.K. invasion, Best Buy, which was pummeled by the recession, has already shelled out around $30.5 million and expects to spend around another $50 million to $58 million this fiscal year. That’s a big bet. But for Best Buy, and many other U.S. retailers, the potential payoff for succeeding in Britain means it’s one worth making.
To show the success of American retailers, the passage cites the following examples EXCEPT ________.
选项
A、Best Buy has gained most of the market share in Britain
B、Forever 21 extended its branches in many cities of Britain
C、the sales volume of Hollister in Britain is five times more than in America
D、Banana Republic is well-known in Britain from its website, blogs and forums
答案
D
解析
根据题干和选项定位到第4、7段。第7段第1句提到Best Buy利用网站、博客和论坛进行宣传,而选项D张冠李戴,因此符合题意。例证题,第4段分别例举了美国的Best Buy,Forever21和Hollister成功进入英国市场的事例,选项A、B、C与之相吻合。
转载请注明原文地址:https://www.kaotiyun.com/show/DrIK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
(1)NoteventhecombinedpowersofSpiderman,IronMan,theIncredibleHulk,CaptainAmericaandtheX-MencouldkeepTheMouse
A、Oneminute.B、Halfaminute.C、20seconds.D、10seconds.D访谈中女士提到,招聘者在每份简历上只会花10秒左右的时间,因此本题选D。
A、Buyingsomebooks.B、Preparingforlunch.C、Meetingwithfriends.D、Goingtohercompany.B女士在回答男士吃饭时是否抽烟这个问题时,忽然想起自己的丈夫和儿子还在等
A、WatchingTV.B、Gatheringwithfriends.C、Doingchores.D、Readingabook.C解答这类题需要做笔记。女士说她在做家务时从不吸烟,因为根本没空吸烟,要做的杂事太多。女士在看电视、看书或
A、Timeofsmoking.B、Quantityofcigarettes.C、Frequencyofsmoking.D、Typesofcigarettes.B男士问女士“你觉得你是重型烟民吗?”女士答道:不……我一周才抽3包烟,
A、BusinessAdministrator.B、FrenchInterpreter.C、MarketingOfficerTrainee.D、Languagetrainer.C对话一开头,面试官(男士)就问MissChen(女士)是不
CharacteristicsqfAmericanCultureI.PunctualityA.Goingtothetheater:be【T1】______twentyminutesprior【T1】______B.
(1)Atacertainseasonofourlifeweareaccustomedtoconsidereveryspotasthepossiblesiteofahouse.Ihavethussurvey
随机试题
试述麻醉前的一般准备和护理内容。
急性心肌梗死患者疼痛缓解后出现哪些表现时,应考虑发生心源性休克
下列选项中不属于咯血的原因的是()
使万物得以相互感应的气是
已知液化石油气热值均值为108.4MJ/Nm3,密度为1.8178kg/m3,某家庭30天用完一个钢瓶净含14.5KG重的液化石油气时,则平均日耗量为()MJ/(日.户)。
中央银行货币政策的目标是()。
一部门共有三个人数相等的工作小组,其中一组的男员工人数与二组的女员工人数相同,三组的男员工人数是全部门男员工的。则女员工占全部门人数的比例是:
阅读下列说明和C++代码,将应填入___________(n)处的字句写在答题纸的对应栏内。【说明】某大型购物中心欲开发一套收银软件,要求其能够支持购物中心在不同时期推出的各种促销活动,如打折、返利(例如,满300返100)等。现采用策略(Strate
有三个关系R、S和T如下:其中关系T由关系R和S通过某种操作得到,该操作为()。
将数据库的结构划分成多个层次,是为了提高数据库的逻辑独立性和
最新回复
(
0
)