首页
登录
职称英语
After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain
After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain
游客
2023-12-10
68
管理
问题
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.
That’s not always been the case. While the British public has long had an appetite for American fastfood 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.
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. 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. 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 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.
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.
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.
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. Its Geek Squad unit gives customers rpund-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." [br] Which category of writing does the review belong to?
选项
A、Narration
B、Description
C、Exposition
D、Argumentation
答案
D
解析
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。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3261953.html
相关试题推荐
WhatwerethethingsinBritainthatDr.Mathewfoundmoststrangewhenhefirst
WhatwerethethingsinBritainthatDr.Mathewfoundmoststrangewhenhefirst
AftertheGloriousRevolution______wasestablishedinBritain.A、FeudalismandAr
BritishEducationalSystem1.PrimaryandsecondaryeducationinBritain1)Chil
BritishEducationalSystem1.PrimaryandsecondaryeducationinBritain1)Chil
BritishEducationalSystem1.PrimaryandsecondaryeducationinBritain1)Chil
BritishEducationalSystem1.PrimaryandsecondaryeducationinBritain1)Chil
BritishEducationalSystem1.PrimaryandsecondaryeducationinBritain1)Chil
ThelargestlakeinBritainis______.A、theWindermereB、theUllswaterC、theDrew
Britainhasapopulationof______in1990.A、100,411,000B、87,411,000C、5.7411e+00
随机试题
Whatistheproblem?[br][originaltext]MBMyphonehasn’tbeenworkingthisen
Manyprivateinstitutionsofhighereducationaroundthecountryareindang
Answerthequestionsbelow.ChooseNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSAND/ORANUMBERfrom
甲厂自1995年起在其生产的炊具上使用“红辣椒”商标,并于1997年8月向商标局
某公司从甲地向丁地运送物资,运送过程中先后需要经过乙、丙两个中转站,其中乙中转站
使用具有氧化作用的药物儿童药动学改变的对应描述分别为:A.引起某些药物作用或毒性
女,27岁。正常产后2天,体温37.8℃,乳房胀满疼痛,无红肿、硬结,下列处理正
与横道图相比,网络图不具有的特点是()。A.能清楚地表达工作之间相互联系、相互制
五行中某“一行”对被克的“一行”克制太过,从而引起一系列的异常相克反应,是指A.
我国《合同法》第74条规定,当债务人实施有害债权人的行为时,债权人可行使撤销权。
最新回复
(
0
)