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
After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands—inclu
After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands—inclu
admin
2013-08-05
37
问题
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.
That’s not always been the case. While the British public has long had an appetite for American fastfood 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
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. For example, Best Buy 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 rpund-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."
Which category of writing does the review belong to?
选项
A、Narration
B、Description
C、Exposition
D、Argumentation
答案
D
解析
本文主要探讨了美国零售业在英国市场是否能真正获得成功,是议论文。因此答案是D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/1oZO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
T.S.EliotwasanAmerican-bornBritish______.
Materialculturereferstothetouchable,material"things"--physicalobjectsthatcanbeseen,held,felt,used--thataculture
Intheschoolsofancienttimes,themostimportantexaminationswerespoken.Usuallythestudentsweresupposedtosaypoetrya
WhichofthefollowingbeststatesChina’sstandpointontheIrannuclearissues?
______referstotheextensivesoundchangesaffectingvowelsbetween1400and1600.
HowmuchloanwillbeprovidedforthegovernmentofIreland?
Before1973,abortionwasillegalinAmericaunlessthewoman’shealthwasthreatened.InMarchof1970,JaneRoe,asinglewom
ThefirstpopulationmovementintheUnitedStatesbetweentheendoftheCivilWarand1880wasmainlytheflowofpopulationf
WhyistheIran’sSupremeLeaderurginghiscountrymentoworkharder?
WhyweretherehundredsofmournersintheAustraliancityofNewcastlewhogatheredtomournthedeathoftwentypeoplekilled
随机试题
2,2,2,9/5,5/3,()
下列关于十二指肠的描述,正确的是
具有燥湿功效的药物是
五苓散除能利湿行水外,还能
下列关于施工企业营业税计税依据的说法中,正确的是()。
不清洁提单的不良批注是从大副收据上转注过来的。()
根据《贷款通则》的有关规定,票据贴现的贴现期限最长不得超过()个月。
海格力斯效应:希腊神话故事中有位英雄大力士,叫海格力斯,一天,他走在坎坷不平的路上,看见脚边有个像鼓起的袋子样的东西,海格力斯便踩了那东西一脚。谁知那东西反而膨胀起来,这激怒了英雄海格力斯。他顺手抄起一根木棒砸那个怪东西,那东西竞膨胀到把路也堵死了。这时一
下列说法正确的有()。
Globalwarmingisalreadycuttingsubstantiallyintopotentialcropyieldsinsomecountries—tosuchanextentthatitmaybea
最新回复
(
0
)