新奇事件簿 高档商店打击偷衣贼

An upmarket chain of U.S. department stores has taken action to stop people buying expensive clothes, wearing them once and then returning them for a refund¹. About 65 per cent of U.S. retailers³ reported they have been victims of this practice, known as "wardrobing". This form of "return fraud" costs the retail² industry an estimated $8.8 billion a year. The store, Bloomingdale's, has started attaching large, black, hard-to-hide tags to the bottom of dresses that cost over $150. The garment cannot be returned if the tag is missing. This means anyone thinking they can have a "free dress rental⁴" might have to think again. The tag means they would be advertising⁵ the fact at their party that they are wardrobing.

一家美国高档百货商店正在采取措施阻止人们购买昂贵服装，并将穿过的服装拿回退款。在美国，有大约65%的零售商店称他们成为了此行为的受害者，而这种行为也叫做“偷衣贼”。据预测，每年因退款而给零售产业造成的损失达到了88亿美元。布鲁明戴尔商店已经开始在价格超过150美金的衣服底部贴上了不容易隐藏的黑色大标签。如果顾客遗失了标签，那么衣服是不能退款的。这就意味着那些有“免费服装租赁”的顾客要三思而行了。在派对上，这种标签就意味着宣布他们是“偷衣贼”。

Retail analyst⁶ Hitha Prabhakar explained how serious wardrobing was, saying: "What people don't realize is that it's an illegal process." Wardrobing has become such a problem that Bloomingdale's has decided⁷ to risk annoying and potentially losing customers in an effort to deter⁸ it. They have, in effect, let go a little of the sales mantra that "the customer is always right". Some Bloomingdale's customers believe the tags make them feel dishonest, while others think it's a long overdue⁹ solution to unscrupulous shoppers. The National Retail Federation¹⁰ said: "It's a delicate balance of loss prevention and good customer service, and the relationship has to be handled with appropriate finesse¹¹."

零售行业分析师普拉巴卡尔讲述了“偷衣贼”问题的严重性，他认为：“人们没有意识到的问题是，这是一种违法行为。”“偷衣贼”问题已经让布鲁明戴尔决定以损失顾客为代价来阻止这种行为的发生。事实上，他们已经不再认为“顾客都是对的”这种魔咒。许多布鲁明戴尔的顾客认为标签让他们感觉他们是不诚实的，还有人认为对那些肆无忌惮的顾客所采取的措施似乎有些过头。美国零售联盟称：“在阻止顾客流失和优质的顾客服务之间存在着微妙的关系，而我们需要用巧妙的方式来解决两者之间的关系。”

1 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

2 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。

3 retailers   

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 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 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。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

9 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

10 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

11 finesse   

n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕

参考例句：

• It was a disappointing performance which lacked finesse.那场演出缺乏技巧，令人失望。
• Lillian Hellman's plays are marked by insight and finesse.莉莲.赫尔曼的巨作以富有洞察力和写作技巧著称。