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  3. Once upon a time, innovation at Procter & Gamble flowed one way: from the Un

Once upon a time, innovation at Procter & Gamble flowed one way: from the Un

游客2023-10-31  26
问题     Once upon a time, innovation at Procter & Gamble flowed one way: from the United States outward. While the large Cincinnati-based Corporation was no stranger to foreign markets, it usually sold them products that were already familiar to most Americans. Many Japanese families, for instance, swaddle their babies in Pampers diapers, and lots of Venezuelans brush their teeth with Crest. And of course (company executives assumed) Americans at home wanted these same familiar, red-white-and-blue brands. We might buy foreign-made cars, or chocolates, or cameras-but not household cleaners and detergents.   
    Recently, however, P&G broke with this long-standing tradition. Ariel, a P&G laundry detergent, was born overseas, and is a familiar sight on store shelves in Europe and Latin America. Now bilingual packages of Ariel Ultra, a super concentrated cleaner, are appearing on supermarket shelves in Los Angeles.
    Ariel’s appearance in the United States reflects demographic changes making Hispanics the nation’s fastest growing ethnic group. Ariel is a hit with this population. In fact, many Mexican immigrants living in Southern California have been "importing" Ariel from Tijuana, Mexico. "Hispanics knew this product and wanted it," says P&G spokeswoman Marie Salvado. "We realized that we couldn’t convince them to buy our other laundry detergents." P&G hopes that non-Hispanic consumers will give Ariel a try too.
    Ariel’s already strong presence in Europe may provide a springboard for the company to expand into other markets as well. Recently, P&G bought Rakona, Czech’s top detergent maker. Ariel, currently a top seller in Germany, is likely to be one of the first new brands to appear in Czech supermarkets. And Ariel is not the only foreign idea that the company hopes to transplant back to its home territory. Cinch, an all-purpose spray cleaner similar to popular European products, is currently being test-marketed in California and Arizona. Traditionally Americans have used separate cleaners for different types of surfaces, but market research shows that American preferences are becoming more like those in other countries.
    Insiders note that this new reverse flow of innovation reflects more sweeping changes at Procter & Gamble. The firm has hired many new Japanese, German, and Mexican managers who view P&G’s business not as a one-way flow of American ideas, but a two-way exchange with other markets. Say Bonita Austin of the investment firm Wertheim Schroecler, "When you met with P&G’s top managers years ago, you wouldn’t have seen a single foreign face." Today, "they could even be in the majority."
    As Procter & Gamble has found, the United States is no longer an isolated market. Americans are more open than ever before to buying foreign-made products and to selling U.S.-made products overseas. [br] What is the main idea of the passage?
选项 A、Global business is a trend at present.
B、The American market should be open.
C、The cleaner product will have a bright future.
D、P&G personnel management begins to change.
答案 A
解析 本文以美国宝洁公司营销策略的变化为主线，叙述了该公司为了扩大效益所做的努力，比如：将海外研发的产品转回国内，拉动国内的需求和消费；收购其他国家的公司，形成较强竞争力的跨国集团；引进外国管理人员，丰富和改善公司经营模式等。这些事实充分说明商业国际化的趋势不可逆转，故A为本题答案。洗涤剂产品拥有良好的前景和宝洁公司内部管理人员的调整只是本文的部分内容，并不足以概括全文，C、D以偏概全，可排除；文中宝洁公司的做法说明美国市场已经开始开放，故B的判断相对滞后，也可排除。
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