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  3. After taking a brief pause to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands—includ

After taking a brief pause to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands—includ

admin2020-02-12  92
问题    After taking a brief pause 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 the 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 fast-food sellers, 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 fashion craze" 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-square-meter big-box outlet in the London suburb of Thurrock is the first of eight to ten stores Best Buy expects to open in the country this year. And it has proved an impressive beginning: 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 invasion of Britain. 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. Despite the economic recession, 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 Britain 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.
   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 tempt shoppers who encounter credit crisis back into shops. 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. "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."    [A] reports that Hollister’s British stores have a higher average sales volume than its American stores.
   [B] will open its first branch in Britain in November.
   [C] indicates that British shoppers are longing for something new.
   [D] plans to open a few more stores in the London suburb of Thurrock.
   [E] hopes to set up eight to ten stores in Britain this year.
   [F] has advantages in terms of customer service and brand awareness.
   [G] indicates that the U.K. consumer-electronics stores fail to provide good customer service.
Best Buy
选项
答案E
解析 Best Buy出现在第一段、第三段以及最后一段，解题句在第三段。该段第二句提到Best Buy预计今年在英国开设8到10家商场，而这个位手伦敦郊区瑟罗克，占地4650平方米的超级广场型的商场是第一家。E项“希望年内在英国开设8到10家店”与文意相符，其中hopes to set up是原文expects to open的同义替换，文中提到的in the country即指E中的in Britain，因此确定E为本题答案。
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