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  3. Niall FitzGerald would have liked to leave Unilever in a blaze of glory when he retires at the end of September. The co-chief ex

Niall FitzGerald would have liked to leave Unilever in a blaze of glory when he retires at the end of September. The co-chief ex

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问题     Niall FitzGerald would have liked to leave Unilever in a blaze of glory when he retires at the end of September. The co-chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods group was one of the godfathers of Unilever’s "Path to Growth" strategy of focusing on its brands, which was launched live years ago. But the plan failed to deliver on many of its promises. On September 20th, Unilever warned that it would not report its promised double-digit growth in profits this year.
    It is a tough time for producers of branded consumer goods. Unilever and its competitors have to cope with pressure on prices and stiff competition from supermarkets’ own brands, Colgate-Palmolive warned of lower profits on the ’same day, Nestle recently disappointed investors with its latest results. Even so, Unilever admits the bulk of its troubles are self-inflicted. The "Path to Growth" strategy aimed to make the firm more efficient. Unilever saved about 4 billion euro ($4.9 billion) in costs over the past five years and reduced its portfolio of brands front 1,600 to some 450, but it still failed to meet its targets for profit and sales, reporting a sales decline of 0.7% for the second quarter of this year.
    Andrew Wood at Sanford Bernstein, an investment-research firm, thinks the main problem is under-investment in advertising and marketing, an infatuation with brands and unrealistic performance targets. Unilever cut its ad and marketing expenditure at the worst moment, says Mr. Wood. Commoditised products are especially vulnerable to the onslaught of retailers’ own brands. In margarine, for instance, retailers’ own brands now capture as much as one-fifth of the market. Unilever also over extended some successful brands, for instance Bertolli’s olive oils and pasta sauces. According to Mr. Wood, Unilever can sustainably grow its business about 3% a year; it was shooting for 5-6%.
    Unilever’s chief financial officer (CFO) counters that consumers look for a product and then buy a brand, so his firm needs to focus on brands. Unilever intends to step up its marketing efforts, al though ad spending is supposed to remain at current levels. At present, Unilever spends 14.5% of sales on ads. But even the CFO admits the company has "issues of competitiveness". After seven quarters of disappointing performance, it needs to regain credibility with investors. Over the next few months, management will rethink its strategy for the next five-year plan. Patrick Cescau, a Frenchman who will take over from Mr. FitzGerald, is inheriting a tricky legacy.
选项 A、It is hard to carry out.
B、It has a glorious history.
C、it underlines Unilever’s brands.
D、It brings high growth.
答案C
解析 本题问关于"Path to Growth"计划以下哪个选项正确。由首段第二句中"...Unilever’s ’Path to Growth’ strategy of focusing on its brands"可知"它强调联合利华公司的品牌"正确。它很难实施：首段倒数第二句"But the plan failed to deliver on many of its promises"是指该计划没有达到它所承诺的效果，并非无法实施。实际上，第二段中间提到该计划使联合利华节省了40亿英镑，可见该计划已经付诸实施，只不过没有达到预期目标。它有一个辉煌的历史：本项取材于首段首句提到的"a blaze of glory"，但文中用的是虚拟语气，指Niall FitzGerald本希望自己带着荣誉退休，但实际上由于"Path to Growth"计划的失败，这种梦想已经不可能了。这与"Path to Growth"的历史无关，而且文中也一直在谈论"Path to Growth"计划的失败之处，谈不到它有辉煌的历史。它带来高增长率：由首段后两句可知该计划无法完成其承诺的两位数增长率的任务，因此谈不上带来高增长率。
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