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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

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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.
A&F
选项
答案A
解析 A＆F出现在第三段。该段末尾提到，A&F报告称Hollister英国店的平均销售额是美国店的6倍。亦即Hollister英国店的平均销售额高于美国店，A项所述与文意相符，其中的have a higher average sales volume than对应文中的average sales volume for．．．is six times the level of．．．，故确定A为本题答案。
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