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  3. Macy’s reported its sales plunged 5.2% in November and December at stores open more than a year, a disappointing holiday season

Macy’s reported its sales plunged 5.2% in November and December at stores open more than a year, a disappointing holiday season

admin2020-03-17  33
问题     Macy’s reported its sales plunged 5.2% in November and December at stores open more than a year, a disappointing holiday season performance that capped a difficult year for a department store chain facing wide-ranging challenges. Its flagship stores in major U. S. cities depend heavily on international tourist spending, which shrank at many retailers due to a strong dollar. Meanwhile, Macy’s has simply struggled to lure consumers who are more interested in spending on travel or dining out than on new clothes or accessories.
    The company blamed much of the poor performance in November and December on unseasonably warm weather. "About 80% of our company’s year-over-year declines in comparable sales can be attributed to shortfalls (短缺) in cold-weather goods," said chief executive Terry Lundgren in a press release. This prompted the company to cut its forecasts for the full fourth quarter.
    However, it’s clear that Macy’s believes its troubles run deeper than a temporary aberration (偏离) off the thermometer. The retail giant said the poor financial performance this year has pushed it to begin implementing $400 million in cost-cutting measures. The company pledged to cut 600 back-office positions, though some 150 workers in those roles would be reassigned to other jobs. It also plans to offer "voluntary separation" packages to 165 senior executives. It will slash staffing at its fleet of 770 stores, a move affecting some 3,000 employees.
    The retailer also announced the locations of 36 stores it will close in early 2016. The company had previously announced the planned closures, but had not said which locations would be affected. None of the chain’s stores in the Washington metropolitan area are to be closed.
    Macy’s has been moving aggressively to try to remake itself for a new era of shopping. It has plans to open more locations of Macy’s Backstage, a newly-developed off-price concept which might help it better compete with ambitious T. J. Maxx. It’s also pushing ahead in 2016 with an expansion of Bluemercury, the beauty chain it bought last year. At a time when young beauty shoppers are often turning to Sephora or Ulta instead of department store beauty counters, Macy’s hopes Bluemercury will help strengthen its position in the category.
    One relative bright spot for Macy’s during the holiday season was the online channel, where it rang up "double-digit" increases in sales and a 25% increase in the number of orders it filled. That relative strength would be consistent with what was seen in the wider retail industry during the early part of the holiday season. While Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday all saw record spending online, in-store sales plunged over the holiday weekend.
What does the author say about the shrinking spending of international tourists in the U. S.?
选项 A、It is attributable to the rising value of the U. S. dollar.
B、It is a direct result of the global economic recession.
C、It reflects a shift of their interest in consumer goods.
D、It poses a potential threat to the retail business in the U. S.
答案A
解析 细节题。第一段第二句指出，梅西百货在美国主要城市的旗舰店很大程度上依赖于国际游客的消费，由于美元汇率强势，导致许多零售商销售额缩水。由此可知，由于美元升值，国际游客购买力下降，A项与原文相符，故答案为A。B项原文未提及，故排除。C项与原文不符，原文未提到国际游客对消费品兴趣的转变。故排除。原文并未提及国际游客开支缩减会对美国零售业构成潜在威胁，故排除D项。
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