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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2024-09-16  3
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] According to the passage, Ariel
选项 A、has been the best seller in Czech.
B、is an all-purpose spray cleaner.
C、has not enjoyed popularity in the US.
D、is a home-made product in the US.
答案 C
解析 根据题干的Ariel及各选项内容定位到第2至4段。第2段指出，艾瑞尔(Ariel)是海外研发的产品，在欧洲和拉美十分畅销，但刚在加州市场出现；第3段提到，艾瑞尔很受西班牙裔居民喜爱；宝洁公司希望其他非西班牙裔居民也能使用该产品。据此分析，艾瑞尔在美国本土还没有流行，C为本题答案。根据第4段第3句“艾瑞尔很可能出现在捷克超市”可知A与原文不符；文中的多功能喷雾洗涤剂是“新奇”并非“艾瑞尔”，故B可排除；第2段明确指出艾瑞尔是海外研发的产品，墨西哥移民还必须从墨西哥购买，故D也可排除。
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