Retailers and marketing firms have found that______with people in the virtual world.

According to Mary Meeker, ______.

A．traditional retailers can't compete with online ones on price, choice or service

B．the battle between traditional retailers and online retailers is over

C．online retailers have prevailed over traditional ones in the market of certain products

D．online retailers have destroyed the value of traditional retailers' properties

Let China's Retail Wars Begin

Newly unfettered foreign chains could grab more of China's market. On a cold and windy Friday afternoon, Li Fang is rushing to get some shopping done before the weekend begins. And the 30-year-old human resources manager knows exactly where she wants to go: the Carrefour hypermarket, a 10-minute bus ride from her apartment in north Beijing. it's not the cheapest option, but the French-owned store has all the meat, vegetables and fruit she needs. "Carrefour offers high quality and a better variety of products compared to other supermarkets," she says.

In recent years, major international chains like Carrefour SA of France and Wal-mart Stores, Inc. of the United States have expanded aggressively in China. Local Chinese retailers have loudly protested this and lobbied heavily for protection from the new competition in price and service that these major retailers have set off. Earlier drafts of the law had included a requirement for a system to rate and punish foreign retailers who had previously set up stores without central government approval. Another proposal would have prohibited foreign retailers from opening stores in cities that haven't drawn up detailed maps of planned retail sites, which would include many smaller cities.

Many more Chinese will soon get a chance to sample the quality and variety at Carrefour and other foreign-owned stores. In keeping with the conditions for China's membership in the World Trade Organization, Beijing on Dec. 11 lifted most restrictions on foreign retailers. Gone are limits on the number of stores, rules confining them to large cities, and regulations capping the foreigners' stake in local ventures at 65%.

China erected those hurdles to give its own companies a chance to copy the West's big-store model—and they have done so with great success. The top four retailers in the country are all run by the government or local entrepreneurs, led by a rapidly expanding chain called Shanghai Bailian. But the foreign companies are nipping at the locals' heels, and they have big plans for expansion now that the barriers have been tom down. Pads-based Carrefour has some 240 stores in China, and plans to open as many as 150 more this year. Its 2003 sales of ＄1.8 billion make it China's fifth-biggest retailer. China "is very important for our future," says Jean-Luc Chereau, executive manager of Carrefour China.

PREMIUM ON CONVENIENCE

Carrefour was quick to get into China and often pushed the regulatory envelope, bypassing Beijing and cutting deals with local governments. Although that strategy got Carrefour into hot water at the time, the company has emerged as the undisputed leader. It has even bested its Bentonville (Ark.) rival, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., (WMT) which has 43 stores in 20 Chinese cities, and another 10 in the works this year. Germany's Metro is the No. 3 foreign player, with 24 stores and another 40 within five years. All told, dozens of foreign companies have opened in the mainland.

Why the rush？ Over the past 20 years, retail sales in China have jumped nearly 15% annually, to some ＄628 billion in 2004—making it the third-largest market on earth. And consumer expectations have shot up even faster. Just a decade ago most Chinese were content to line up in state-owned stores to buy whatever meager products were available, then shuffle off to outdoor markets for meat, eggs, and vegetables. Now both local chains and the multinationals are pushing out the stodgy old state retailers and mom-and-pop shops by building big, convenient stores in choice central locations in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. With the end of geographic restrictions, the battle for dominance will shift to smaller cities.

The customers are a middle class that today totals at least 100 million. These shoppers like to buy clothes, TVs, and groceries at clean, modem outlets with a full ran

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

troubled Marlow Fashion

Group as a non-executive director, but is uncertain as to the level and nature of her contribution to the strategic

thinking of the Group.

The Marlow Fashion Group had been set up by a husband and wife team in the 1970s in an economically depressed

part of the UK. They produced a comprehensive range of women’s clothing built round the theme of traditional English

style. and elegance. The Group had the necessary skills to design, manufacture and retail its product range. The

Marlow brand was quickly established and the company built up a loyal network of suppliers, workers in the company

factory and franchised retailers spread around the world. Marlow Fashion Group’s products were able to command

premium prices in the world of fashion. Rodney and Betty Marlow ensured that their commitment to traditional values

created a strong family atmosphere in its network of partners and were reluctant to change this.

Unfortunately, changes in the market for women’s wear presented a major threat to Marlow Fashion. Firstly, women

had become a much more active part of the workforce and demanded smarter, more functional outfits to wear at work.

Marlow Fashion’s emphasis on soft, feminine styles became increasingly dated. Secondly, the tight control exercised

by Betty and Rodney Marlow and their commitment to control of design, manufacturing and retailing left them

vulnerable to competitors who focused on just one of these core activities. Thirdly, there was a reluctance by the

Marlows and their management team to acknowledge that a significant fall in sales and profits were as a result of a

fundamental shift in demand for women’s clothing. Finally, the share price of the company fell dramatically. Betty and

Rodney Marlow retained a significant minority ownership stake, but the company had had a new Chief Executive

Officer every year since 2000.

Required:

(a) Write a short report to Susan Grant identifying and explaining the strategic strengths and weaknesses in the

Marlow Fashion Group. (12 marks)

age.Both aspects are highly developed and specialized phases of marketing.The costs of both trans-porting and storing are built into the prices of products.Transportation can be by truck, rail-way, ship, or barge.For some items, such as exotic plants and flowers, or when rapid delivery is essential, air freight may be used.

Storage, or warehousing, is a necessary function because production and consumption of goods rarely match: items generally are not sold as quickly as they are made.Inventories build up,both in warehouses and at retail establishments, before the foods are sold.The transporta-tion function is involved in bringing goods to a warehouse and taking them from it to retail stores.

Storage performs the service of stabilizing market price.If, for example, no agricultural product could be stored, all food would have to be put on the market immediately.This would, of course, create a glut and lower prices drastically.There would be an immediate benefit to consumers, but in the long run they would suffer.Farmers, because of low prices, would be forced off the land, and the amount of food produced would decrease.This, in turn, would raise consumer prices.

Warehouses for storage are of several types.Private warehouses are owned by manufactur-ers.Public warehouses, in spite of their name, are privately owned facilities, but they are in-dependent of manufacturer ownership.General-merchandise warehouses store a great variety of products.Cold-storage warehouses store perishable goods, especially food products.Grain ele-vators are a kind of warehouse used to keep wheat and other grains from spoiling.A bonded warehouse is one that stores foods, frequently imported, on which taxes must be paid before theyare sold.Cigarettes and alcoholic beverages are common examples.

The distribution center is a more recently developed kind of warehouse.Many large com- panics have several manufacturing plants, sometimes located outside the country.Each plant doesnot make every company product but specializes in one or more of them.The distribution center allows a manufacturer to bring together all product lines in one place.Its purpose is to minimize storage and to ease the flow of goods from manufacturers to retailers rather than build up extensive inventories.It reduces costs by speeding up product turnover.Very large corporations will have several distribution centers regionally or internationally based

1.The main subject of this passage is______.

A、transportation and storage

B、storage of products

C、distribution center

D、two main aspects of product distribution

2.Warehousing is important in that ______.

A、inventories build up before the goods are sold

B、the prices will go down

C、more goods are produced than can be consumed

D、the food has to be put on the market immediately

3.How many types of warehouses for storage are discussed in the passage？()

A、3

B、4

C、6

D、7

4.Where might one find meat and milk？()

A、Grain elevator

B、Cold-storage warehouse

C、Private warehouse

D、Bonded warehouse

5.What is NOT true of a distribution center？()

A、It is a relatively new type of warehouse

B、Product is replaced more quickly and costs are down

C、Some distribution centers are not built in the sane country as the factory

D、It builds up extensive inventories to minimize storage

According to the retailers, the shoppers are ______ with their money.

A．pessimistic

B．restrained

C．hopeful

D．miserly

According to the passage, e-mails are used by online retailers to ______.

A．cater to the special needs of the online shoppers

B．help online customers to learn to do online shopping

C．change the attitude of the potential buyers toward online shopping

D．convert lookers into bookers

nt still takes measures to limit the numbers of stores opened by foreign retailers in large cities.

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

According to the passage, retailers launched pop-up stores to______.

A．offer shoppers new and exiting experiences

B．cut down the extra expense of running stores

C．attract customers with destructive discounting

D．let customers learn about their products online

Emek Basket has studied the impact of Wal-Mart on the retailers in ______.

A．American counties

B．European towns

C．American metropolis

D．cities all over the world

The power of manufacturers has been shifted to the hand of retailers thanks to ______.

A．the development of logistic technology

B．the development of marketing strategies

C．the labeling regulations

D．the bar code system

a, Chinese retailers and government officials are ______ about the growing foreign competition.