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
47
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.
Which category of writing does the review belong to?
选项
A、Narration.
B、Description.
C、Exposition.
D、Argumentation.
答案
D
解析
综合全文进行理解,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。写作手法题,A、B、C三项的意思分别是“记叙文”、“描述文”和“说明文”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/PrIK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
(1)DetroitseemstobewhereWallStreetmeetsMainStreet.TightcreditisreckonedtohavecosttheAmericancarmakers40,000
(1)DetroitseemstobewhereWallStreetmeetsMainStreet.TightcreditisreckonedtohavecosttheAmericancarmakers40,000
(1)Itwouldhavebeenimpossible,completelyandentirely,foranywomantohavewrittentheplaysofShakespeareintheageof
A、Notassumingeveryonewillbehaveinthesamewayasyoudo.B、Tryingtorespecttheculturaltraditionsofyourcounterparts.
A、TheBritish.B、Germans.C、Americans.D、Notmentioned.C
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、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.
随机试题
如果需要对公民的基本权利加以某种限制,前提是
适宜用胎头吸引术的情况是
下列疾病,表现为弛张热的是()
地面气象资料调查中的工作内容有:①年、季、(期)地面温度、露点温度及降雨量;②年、季(期)风玫瑰图;③月平均风速随月份的变化;④季(期)小时平均风速的日变化;⑤年、季(期)各风向,各风段,各级大气稳定度的联合频率及各级出现频率。二、三级项目至少应进行(
分批法时,成本计算期与产品生产周期基本一致,但与财务报告期不一致。()
饭店的功能主要有()。
建立了世界上第一个b理学实验室,并被誉为“科学心理学之父”的人是()。
Accordingtothepassage,thetaskofeducationisfairlycomplicatedbecause______.Theword"defeated"(Line2,Para.2)mos
A、Refrainfromshowinghisfeelings.B、Expresshisopinionfrankly.C、Arguefiercely.D、Yellloudly.A录音提到,明显表示烦恼或生气、叫喊、大声争辩等,在日
TheUShasanenduringloveaffairwiththecar.MostAmericanssimplywon’twalkanywhere,hencetherapidincreaseofdrive-in
最新回复
(
0
)