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沃尔玛对美国零售业的改革受到争议(二)

时间:2006-04-11 16:00:00

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Wal-Mart's Controversial Growth Revolutionizes American Retail1 (Part 2)

沃尔玛对美国零售业的改革受到争议(二)

 

Since Sam Walton founded the first Wal-Mart store more than 40 years ago, the discount retail chain has revolutionized American retailing2 with both positive and negative effects on the nation's retail industry.

 

Wal-Mart took the idea of the department store and the grocery store and turned it into something revolutionary: the big box store. In it, people can purchase almost anything they can imagine, from tools to clothes, computers to food -- and virtually everything in between. Convenient? Absolutely.

 

And with Wal-Mart's traditionally low prices -- nearly 20% lower than other retailers3 -- shoppers have come in droves. Jorge Leis, a retail expert at the consulting firm Bain & Company explains.

 

Jorge Leis: The biggest impact Wal-Mart has had on the retail industry is introducing their everyday low price strategy, continually and almost ruthlessly providing goods for a lower price than the competition. And thereby4 forcing everyone to be more efficient with capital (and) more efficient in terms of managing costs, so they can approach at least the prices that Wal-Mart will bring into a market.

 

Unfortunately, that hasn't been possible for many stores, especially small, independent shops - the so-called Mom and Pop stores. As a result, many of these businesses have had to close their doors. And that has led some communities to oppose Wal-Mart stores opening in their regions. Throughout the United States, several hundred communities have passed laws that block the advance of retail giants such as Wal-Mart into their area.

 

Senior Vice-President of Boston Consulting Group Michael Silverstein takes a dim view of big-stores' opponents.

 

Michael Silverstein: There are a handful of communities where people said, 'We don't want to pay lower prices, we want to pay higher prices; we don't want to support efficiency, we want to support inefficiency5’.

 

But it is possible to compete with Wal-Mart. Some major retailers in the United States have not only survived competition with Wal-Mart, but have thrived. Target is one such company. It's a similar type of store, offering virtually everything shoppers might want under a single roof. Its prices are fairly low. But the niche6 it chose for itself is that of a step above Wal-Mart in terms of quality. The company has even hired designers to create its own line of products. The key to competing with Wal-Mart seems to be offering extra advantages - like the designer Target products - in addition to low prices.

 

Jorge Leis says that according to research done by his company, Bain and Company, competitors won't run Wal-Mart out of business, but they can grow alongside it.

 

Jorge Leis: What we found is that market leaders actually grew with Wal-Mart, and Wal-Mart, together with the market leader, stole share from the followers7 in that particular market. And this happened again and again and again as we go into discreet8 cities and understand the phenomenon. We have [studied] a number of cities, and in every case, the leader grows with Wal-Mart, and followers decline in market share."

 

Mr. Leis says these major companies usually follow four strategies: when they open a new store, they cut into the trading zone of the other stores in that area; they survey the customer base and determine what those people need, then try to attract customers in a manner that differs from Wal-Mart's.

 

Next, they treat price-setting as a science, not an art -- they figure out which products their customers are most interested in, and set the prices of these items to more or less the same as Wal-Mart's. To maintain profit, they set prices of other goods slightly above those at Wal-Mart.

 

Finally, when it comes to operating costs, they are just as ruthless as Wal-Mart, especially with regard to supplier and management costs.

 

Mr. Leis says that by using these strategies, companies that lead a local market before Wal-Mart arrives are usually able to continue to expand their share of the market even after Wal-Mart moves in.

 

注释:

positive [5pCzEtiv] adj. 积极的

negative [5ne^Etiv] adj. 消极的

grocery store 杂货店

in droves 陆陆续续

mom and pop store []小零售铺,夫妻店

niche [nitF] n. 适当位置

particular market 特定市场

trading zone 自由贸易区

figure out 断定

management cost 管理费用


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1 retail VWoxC     
v./n.零售;adv.以零售价格
参考例句:
  • In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
  • These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。
2 retailing f7157e2e76f903d2893786de5cb093af     
n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词)
参考例句:
  • career opportunities in retailing 零售业的职业机会
  • He is fond of retailing the news. 他喜欢传播消息。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 retailers 08ff8df43efeef1abfd3410ef6661c95     
零售商,零售店( retailer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
  • Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。
4 thereby Sokwv     
adv.因此,从而
参考例句:
  • I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市,因此对它不怎么熟悉。
  • He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民,因而得到了投票权。
5 inefficiency N7Xxn     
n.无效率,无能;无效率事例
参考例句:
  • Conflict between management and workers makes for inefficiency in the workplace. 资方与工人之间的冲突使得工厂生产效率很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • This type of inefficiency arises because workers and management are ill-equipped. 出现此种低效率是因为工人与管理层都能力不足。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 niche XGjxH     
n.壁龛;合适的职务(环境、位置等)
参考例句:
  • Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
  • The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。
7 followers 5c342ee9ce1bf07932a1f66af2be7652     
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件
参考例句:
  • the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
  • The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
8 discreet xZezn     
adj.(言行)谨慎的;慎重的;有判断力的
参考例句:
  • He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
  • It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

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