VOA标准英语2011--Gap-like Japanese Retailer Plans Hundreds of US Stores

Gap-like Japanese Retailer² Plans Hundreds of US Stores

 

As the U.S. economy continues to struggle, Gap, one of the largest U.S. clothing retailers³, will soon close 20 percent of its stores. Meanwhile, a major Japanese clothing retailer - with merchandise very similar to Gap's - is heading in the opposite direction. Instead of being deterred⁴ by the grim economic outlook, Uniqlo plans to open hundreds of stores in the United States.

Uniqlo has been selling reasonably priced, casual clothing in Japan since the 1980s, but sales have been flat recently. So the company is looking overseas for growth. Most of its new stores are opening in Asia, but the United States plays a big role in its expansion strategy.

Uniqlo opened its first U.S. stores in New Jersey⁵ shopping malls in 2005, but they didn’t do well and closed within a year. The CEO of Uniqlo USA says the company moved too fast and that Americans were unfamiliar⁶ with their brands then.

Shin Odake believes the company's vast new flagship store on New York City’s fashionable 5th Avenue should change that. "If you are to be recognized as a global brand, we need to have a huge store in the center of New York City."

The success of its first New York store has prompted Japanese retailer, Uniqlo, to move forward with plans to open hundreds of US outlets8.

Uniqlo has had a store in Manhattan for several years and it is now the company’s most successful outlet⁷. Anxious to build on that success, the company just opened a third store on 34th Street, down the block from Macy's department store.

Both new Uniqlo outlets are three stories high. They're crowded with stacks of jeans at 80 percent off the usual price. Piles of cashmere sweaters in virtually every imaginable color - three shades of green, and blues⁹ from navy to periwinkle - are on sale for $50 and $60. Most cashmere sweaters sell for at least $100 and, often, far more.

Experts believe the range of colors lures¹⁰ consumers into buying more than one item.

"Especially when the value is good, they think, ‘O.K., I’ll buy two for me, but you know I think I’d like to get this new color for my husband,’" says Roseanne Morrison, a fashion consultant¹¹ with The Doneger Group, a fashion industry consulting firm. "And that’s really the secret."

Uniqlo now has three stores in New York.

Just before opening day in late October, hundreds of employees scurried¹² about the 34th Street store setting up displays while the checkout¹³ staff lined up behind their cash registers, practicing their friendliness¹⁴ and timeliness.

Attention to detail is one of the things the company hopes will differentiate¹⁵ Uniqlo from rivals like H&M, Zara and Gap.

Odake believes innovation is another advantage. He says the company studies its clothing with the eyes of an engineer.

"We approach the basic product and then we try to improve it every year, similar to the car manufacturer trying to improve the make of the car. So that’s the approach that we have, which is quite different from, I think, the other brands."

That Japanese engineering is what brought shopper Irme Chan to Uniqlo. She purchased one of the company’s signature products; its "Heattech" thermal¹⁶ underwear.

Cashmere sweaters - usually priced at over $100 - selling for about $60 at Uniqlo in New York.

"Owned it for years. Have to keep buying it because my sister or my family will steal it," says Chan, who likes the quality and value here compared to similar stores.

That combination could give Uniqlo an edge in a slow economy, according to retail¹ sales consultant Patricia Pao.

"Fundamentally, we are a nation that is born to shop," says Pao. "You can only restrain yourself for so long. People are going to buy things that are of good value. They’re not going to buy things just because they’re cheap."

Uniqlo USA CEO Odake wants to eventually open 1,600 stores in the United States, almost twice the number of Uniqlo outlets in Japan.

1 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。

2 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

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 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

7 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

8 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

10 lures   

吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式）

参考例句：

• He left home because of the lures of life in the city. 他离家是由于都市生活的诱惑。
• Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. 可能正是寻觅幽静的去处，或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。

11 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

12 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。

14 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

15 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

16 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。