Combine one word from a and one word from b

1.Complete the sentences using the words from vocabulary.

1 Our sales ……… is very effective. They sell a lot of products.

2 A sales ……. came to the office yesterday. I didn’t like his sales ……… at all — he just talked and talked and didn’t listen to what I was saying.

3 I’m a sales ……… . I work for an insurance company in Geneva.

4 As soon as a customer walks in, I know if I am going to ……… a sale.

2.Choose the correct words from the brackets to complete the advice for food and drink companies on the Scottish Food and Drink website.

Need to increase (1) _____ (retail buyers / shelf space) to grow the business but not

sure how? The first step is to secure (2) _____ (a listing / an outlet), then you can target growth through increased shelf space. However, space is always at a premium and success will depend on a number of factors. Convince the (3) _____

(retail buyer/ procurement department) that your product is worth more space by showing him or her what other retail (4) ______ (listings/outlets) in the local area are doing.

3. Two marketers are talking about how to market their investment services. Match the two parts of the sentences.

1 Let’s start by looking at turning the service into a product. Our investment services are

2 Yes, we could try to create

3 I don’t know, our business is really too complicated for prepaid 4 Our clients really need us to cater

5 Well, we could think about different service

6 Do you mean high and low

7 Yes, and we could combine different services to provide a new

a bundles of different investment services. b levels for differing budgets.

c offering. Say, life insurance, real estate, shares, bonds, savings accounts combined into one easy to manage portfolio.

d intangible so it might be an interesting approach for our clients. e packages.

f end packages?

g to their individual budgets and needs.

READING

1.What things could bring success to a retailer?

2.Look at the headline and introduction to the text. Write five questions you would like to ask about Richer Sounds.

3. Read the text and see if you can find the answers to your questions. Can you guess the answers to your other questions?

Richer Pickings

By Nigel Cope

At hi-fi chain Richer Sounds ‘we have a laugh’, says founder Julian Richer. They also sell more per square foot than any other retailer in Britain.

Who is the busiest retailer in Britain? Marks and Spencer? Sainsbury perhaps, or Tesco? Wrong on all three counts. The answer is Richer Sounds, a little-known, privately-owned, cut-price retailer of hi-fi equipment with 28 shops in the UK.

In the Guinness Book of Records, Richer Sounds warrants an entry for the highest sales per square foot of any retailer in the UK — Ј17,000 — for its store on London Bridge Walk in the City. Even taking an average across all 28 stores, Richer Sounds still clocks up Ј5,780 per square foot, ten times more than Marks and Spencer, six times the sales achieved by Sainsbury.

It is profitable too. Sales are up and its operating margin has soared from 3.4 per cent in 1989 to almost thirteen per cent today. Last year Richer Sounds made profits of more than Ј3m on sales of almost Ј48 m.

The man behind Richer Sounds’ success is founder, managing director and 98 per cent shareholder Julian Richer, a 39-year-old Londoner who, at the age of 14, used to buy and sell candles during the energy crisis of 1974. A likeable bloke who wears his blond hair in a pony tail and operates from a small converted Victorian vinegar factory in Bermondsey, south-east London, he raps out his sales pitch.

‘Even when I was at school I wanted to go into business,’ he says, ‘but my age was against me. Property was out — I wasn’t old enough to sign a contract. Cars were out — I couldn’t drive. So I turned to hi-fi, which was catching on at school. I bought a second-hand Bang and Olufsen for Ј10, did it up* and sold it for Ј22.’ In 1979, at the age of 19, he opened his first shop — the one on London Bridge Walk.

Since then little has changed. In simple terms, Richer Sounds sells discounted hi-fi from tiny, basic shops with low overheads. Stock turnover is rapid and the company’s smallness gives it flexibility to take advantage of deals offered by manufacturers on end-of-line or surplus equipment.

The technique has enabled Richer Sounds to secure itself a lucrative niche in a Ј4 bn audiovisual market dominated by independents.

While leading multiples stock mainly the mass market, volume selling midi systems which became popular in the early 1980s, Richer Sounds sells only hi-fi separates such as tuners and amplifiers. It buys either end-of-line ranges which manufacturers are hoping to off-load before the next, cosmetically different model arrives from Japan, or small orders of current models which, perhaps because of poor stock management, the manufacturer is

prepared to sell at a reduced price. Now, as manufacturers’ stock control improves, three-quarters of its stock is current models.

Suppliers are keen to do business with this quirky* retailer. ‘People like Dixons and Comet have so many stores (344 and 262 respectively) that unless you’ve got 5,000 of a model it’s not worth their while putting it into their distribution system,’ says Clive Roberts, sales and marketing director of Akai. ‘With Richer, you can do a deal on 30.’

Marketing is a key weapon. Richer so Sounds advertises regularly in national newspapers (‘We buy late space at a discount,’ Richer says) and in alternative* magazines such as Private Eye and Viz. Every month it produces up to 350,000 copies of a brochure pushing the latest offers.

The shops are like walk-in warehouses. Outside, «bargain bins» tout special offers including audio cassettes for 59p. Inside, compact disc players, tuners and speakers from leading names such as Sony, Akai and Marantz are stacked from floor to ceiling. Banners hanging from the ceiling proclaim: ‘If you’ve seen it cheaper, we’ll beat that price by up to Ј50.’

Good service is another priority. At Richer Sounds staff are trained not to be pushy*. They all attend two training seminars a year at Richer’s country house in Yorkshire, where more attention is paid to following the correct administrative procedures.

First-time hi-fi buyers get a call to check that they have plugged in the equipment correctly. Customer receipts include a freephone number they can dial if they have a problem. Richer’s own name and office number are supplied too.

The emphasis is on fun. If it’s raining, customers are given a free umbrella. In summer they get a Chilly Willy (a type of ice lolly). Other seasonal gifts include mince pies at Christmas and hot-cross buns at Easter. ‘We have a laugh,’ Richer says. ‘We don’t take ourselves seriously, but we do take our customers seriously.’

4. Read the text again and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.

1 Richer Sounds is

a)a single outlet retailer.

b)a privately-owned retail chain.

c)a department store.

2 Richer Sounds

a)sells ten times more than Marks and Spencer.

b)has more outlets than most UK retailers.

c)sells more per square foot than any other UK retailer.

3 Richer Sounds is cheaper than other hi-fi retailers because

a)it only sells old models of hi-fi equipment.

b)it buys equipment from manufacturers at special prices.

c)it sells second-hand equipment.

4 Manufacturers like doing business with Richer Sounds because

a)it can handle small numbers of items.

b)it has a large number of stores.

c)it accepts lower discounts than other retailers.

5 Richer Sounds

a)does all its advertising through brochures.

b)gets free publicity from newspaper and magazine articles.

c)buys advertising space at a low price.

6 At Richer Sounds, staff

a)regularly receive further training.

b)do not have to follow rules.

c)install equipment for their customers.

5.The following words can be used in more than one way. Underline the correct part of speech for each word as it is used in the text.

6.Complete the passage using appropriate forms of the words from ex. 5.

Sephora is a French beauty supermarket chain which has revolutionised the way that perfumes and fragrances are sold. Sephora operates in a 1 _____ that has traditionally been served either by small exclusive perfume stores or by department stores. It 2 ________a wide selection of top products from beauty houses like Chanel and Estee Lauder. Two years ago the original founder of Sephora, Dominique Mandonnaud, was approached by the luxury chain LVMH (Moet Hennessy — Louis Vuitton) with an offer to buy the company and one year later a 3 ________ was made. Today Daniel Richard, the new president,

4 ________ all aspects of the business. He has managed to 5 _______ the support of many of the big brands in the perfume business and has placed big 6 ________ with them. Sephora has ambitious plans for the future, and recently opened a store in New York.

7.Read the text about the American company Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer. Replace the words in italics with these words from the text ‘Richer Pickings’.

Wal-Mart is already manoeuvring to bring its vision of retailing to the European consumer. In the United States the company operates stores that are often twice as big as their European equivalents and which sell a huge 1selection of quality products at a 2 significant price reduction.

However, duplicating its success on the old continent may prove to be just as difficult as conquering the New World’s markets. Firstly, Europe with its limited space available for building new stores and its high 3 operating costs may make it more difficult for the company to produce the same 4 positive financial results that it has had in the US. In addition to that, it may be difficult to persuade

5 companies that provide goods for retailers to do business with them in the same way as they do in the US.

But with its purchase of the British supermarket chain ASDA, Wal-Mart clearly wants to establish a 6 particular market for itself in Europe.

8. a) Look at these compound nouns from the text ‘Richer Pickings’.

What other compounds do you know with these words? a market b system c name d special

‘Every month the three winning shops in our customer service competition, the Richer Way League, win a car for a month. Two get Bentleys and one a Jaguar XJS convertible. The car is theirs to use as they wish, we pay the petrol.’

READING

1. Read the text about a controversial customer service programme at Safeway, a major American supermarket chain. Choose the best sentence (A-I) from the list opposite to complete each gap.

A US Grocer’s Embrace of Customer Service

Safeway launched its Superior Service Program about five years ago. Among its rules: Make eye contact with the customer, smile, greet him or her, offer samples of products, make suggestions about other possible purchases that could go with the items being bought, and accompany them to locate items they cannot find. 1________.

To encourage staff to follow the rules, Safeway employs an undisclosed number of ‘mystery shoppers’ whose job is to act like regular customers.

2 _______. Workers who do well earn a chance at winning $500 worth of company stock, and managers whose workers are extremely friendly can receive additional bonuses.

Those who are graded as having poor customer service skills are sent to a training program to learn how to be friendlier. 3 ________.

Corporate efforts to brighten the shopping experience — such as yellow happy-face stickers and ‘have-a-nice-day’ slogans — have typically drawn mixed reactions. But few have caused as much angst among the sales staff as Safeway’s has. It has also had some unexpected side effects. 4 _______. There have been complaints by female workers in California who say that male customers have misinterpreted their friendliness and, according to some Safeway workers, the whole program is contributing to growing morale problems among the staff.

In recent interviews, half a dozen Safeway workers said the rigid implementation of the Superior Service Program has left some workers feeling so overstressed that they quit. 5 _______.

Some workers said they had been penalized for not smiling even though they felt they could not. One woman said she was marked down by mystery shoppers when she was going through a painful divorce.

The policy of leading customers to a product they cannot find also causes some problems, workers said. 6 ______. Lonely elderly people in particular, they said, sometimes seek to be accompanied for an extended period, even through their entire shopping list.

A Safeway officials said they were not aware of any employee who had resigned because of the program.

B The majority of customers seem to be very happy with the improved service. C Some cynical workers call it smile school; others call it clown school.

D Some shoppers seem to enjoy directing workers around the store.

E The sampling policy is being abused by some shoppers.

F They believe the program has resulted in increased sales.

G They grade workers on a 19-point scorecard, and the results affect the performance evaluations of the worker and his/her managers.

H There have been debates on the Internet and among customers about false and genuine friendliness.

I It also includes thanking shoppers by name at the checkout by using information from their credit, debit or Safeway card.

2 Combine a word from A with one from B to match each of the definitions below.

1 __________________ a persuasive argument to sell a product

2___________________ the rate at which goods are sold

3___________________ sales promotions to attract customers .

4___________________ shops with outlets in many locations .

5___________________ customers who seek the lowest prices 6___________________ large shops, usually located in city centres, which sell a wide variety of products

7___________________ retail facilities where customers have access to a variety of different stores in the same location.

WRITING

The company you work for faced the problem of an inefficient customer service. You were asked to analyze the situation (what do the customers complain about?) and give the recommendations how the service could be improved. Write a report to present your ideas. Follow the structure of a report.

A report should be well organized with information presented in a logical order. It is usually contains:

∙sections and subsections

∙headings and subheadings

∙a numbering system

∙indented information

All these help to make the report easy to read.

Structure of a report:

∙Title

∙Introduction

∙Findings

∙Conclusions

∙Recommendations

Introduction usually includes:

∙who asked for the report

∙why the report is being written

∙the purpose of the report

The introduction sometimes contains the Procedure – where/how you got the information.

Findings are the facts you discovered.

Conclusions are what you think about the facts and how you interpret them. Recommendations are practical suggestions as to what should be done to solve the problem, remedy the situation.

Electronic commerce

1. Discuss these questions.

1 What modern channels of distribution do you know? Have you ever used them to buy anything?

2 Have you ever bought anything over the Internet? If so, what was your experience of the website, delivery of goods, time taken, etc?

3 What kind of products or services are best sold on the Net?

4 Are there any things which could not or should not be sold on the Net?

5 What are the advantages and disadvantages of Internet shopping? Prepare the list.

6 Look at the list you’ve made. Try to predict the future of e-commerce.

READING 1

1. a) Read the text and see how close your predictions were to the ideas given here.

b)Match the headings below to the paragraphs in the article. There is one heading you don’t need. Write the correct heading number in each box.

1 What consumers really want

2 ‘Real’ e-commerce

3 Consumers want more than just convenience

6 Goodbye to the keyboard

4 Why e-commerce isn’t working

5 The virtual shopping assistant

Shopping from home

What forms of e-commerce will dominate the next millennium? What is it that the consumer may wants and will pay for? For a while, companies believed that consumers wanted convenience more than the best price. Catalogue shopping works on this principle, but it makes up only two per cent of the economy.

Consumers really want things to be simple, easy and fast. They want to be entertained when they, shop. They want to comparison shop. They want the best service. They wan: great prices. The Internet and e-commerce can provide all of this.

High definition graphics and video will be part of the everyday online shopping experience. People will be able to virtually shop and interact with their friends without leaving home. Artificial intelligence will put a virtual shop assistant at the service of every online shopper. She will suggest colours, sizes and other