2015年经济学人 超市 商海无涯巧行舟

Supermarkets

Learning to be different

Some glimmers¹ of hope for struggling supermarkets

RARELY have the Christmas results for Britain's supermarkets been awaited with such trepidation². Most of them, especially the market leader, Tesco, struggled in 2014. The hard-discount stores, Aldi and Lidl, continued to undercut them, gobbling up market share, while falling food prices ate into their profits. Would the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year's Day, generally the strongest sales period, bring some relief?

He's making a list, checking it twice

The answer, so far, is mixed. Waitrose, the most upmarket grocer, did well. It made ￡728m (1.1 billion) over the five weeks to January 3rd, excluding fuel—7% more than in the same spell a year ago. By contrast like-for-like sales at Sainsbury's fell by 1.7% in the 14 weeks to January 3rd among stores that had been open at least a year. Tesco, which reported on January 8th, recorded another drop in sales, though by only 0.3% compared with the previous year. It is to close 43 stores. Analysts⁴ estimate that Asda, the second-biggest chain after Tesco, saw its market share fall by 1% in the three months to December.

Asda's boss, Andrew Clarke, has warned of more challenging times ahead. Yet the lesson from these results is clear. Grocers with a clearly defined position in the market will continue to prosper⁵, but for those without one there is more pain to come. Thus Waitrose, for instance, has remained resolutely⁶ and distinctly posh. It has refused to chase the upstart discounters by slashing⁷ prices, as mid-market rivals have done.

Natalie Berg of Planet Retail⁸, a research outfit⁹, argues that the key to survival in a ferociously¹⁰ competitive groceries market is to offer the customer a brand that is “clear, targeted and consistent.” Waitrose, at the top end of the market, does this well, as do Lidl and Aldi at the bottom. The rest are stranded¹¹ in the middle, trying to be all things to all people. This week, for instance, Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco announced further price cuts. That might fend¹² off the discounters for a bit. It will also muddy perceptions of who their target customers really are.

But it is not all gloom for the supermarkets. A more clement¹³ economic environment should help all of them. Tumbling fuel prices and—a novelty, this—rising real wages will put more money in shoppers' pockets. The results also demonstrate that supermarkets are rewarded for a strong internet presence. Again, Waitrose has done well here: grocery sales through its online service grew by 26% over the Christmas period compared with a year ago. Its parent company, John Lewis, has had great success with a new click-and-collect service at its department stores, which allows customers to nominate a place to pick up their shopping. Most of the supermarkets are trying out new digital gizmos to make shopping easier. Waitrose is experimenting with a home-scanning device called Hiku. This will allow people to scan barcodes on Waitrose products at home to add them to their online shopping basket.

There are grounds for optimism even at Tesco, argues Bryan Roberts, an analyst³ at Kantar Retail. For a couple of years its stores in London have done better than those in the rest of the country. Store managers in the capital have enjoyed more autonomy to fill their shelves with products suited to the people who live or work in the local area. This process had become over-centralised, missing local trends; devolution seems to have helped reverse that. Simple, but effective.

1 glimmers   

n.微光，闪光( glimmer的名词复数 )v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A faint lamp glimmers at the end of the passage. 一盏昏暗的灯在走廊尽头发出微弱的光线。 来自互联网
• The first glimmers of an export-led revival are apparent. 拉动出库复苏的第一缕曙光正出现。 来自互联网

2 trepidation   

n.惊恐，惶恐

参考例句：

• The men set off in fear and trepidation.这群人惊慌失措地出发了。
• The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.流行病猖獗因而人心惶惶。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

6 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

7 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

8 retail   

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。

9 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

10 ferociously   

野蛮地，残忍地

参考例句：

• The buck shook his antlers ferociously. 那雄鹿猛烈地摇动他的鹿角。
• At intervals, he gritted his teeth ferociously. 他不时狠狠的轧平。

11 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

12 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

13 clement   

adj.仁慈的；温和的

参考例句：

• A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
• The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。