關於國際貿易的英語文章
隨着我國經濟和對外貿易的同步快速增長，國際貿易活動也日益增多。下面是本站小編帶來的關於國際貿易的英語文章，歡迎閱讀!
關於國際貿易的英語文章1
ON THE JOB： FACING BUSINESS Challenges AT BLACK & DECKER
Power- Tool Maker Has a Remodeling Project of Its Own Nolan Archibald had a bit of a mess on his hands. He had recently been promoted to chairman and CEO of Black & Decker， a multibillion-dollar power-tool manufacturer that was having profit problems and losing market share. Most troublesome， the company was generally annoying many of the wholesalers and retailers it relied on to sell products to consumers and construction professionals.
The company had developed a reputation for being arrogant， to put it mildly. In the words of a former Black & Decker employee， referring to Archibald's predecessors： "Management seemed to think it had the answer to every question and would generously impart its wisdom to the masses：' Such an attitude nearly got Black & Decker kicked out of Wal-Mart， the largest retailer in the United States. Not the best plan for selling products， to say the least.
In addition， inventory shortages plagued retailers. If a Black & Decker product turned out to be popular with the public， retailers had a pretty good chance of running out of it because Black & Decker put a lot of emphasis on meeting its internal financial goals. The company restrained production toward the end of the year to make sure its inventory levels dropped quite low. This practice made Black & Decker's financial statements look good， but it was driving retailers away.
To make matters worse， Archibald's predecessors had recently purchased General Electric's entire line of small household appliances (at the time， the biggest brand transfer in history)， and although the new line of products provided a strong stream of revenue， it gave Black & Decker yet another distribution headache. Before the acquisition， most Black & Decker products were sold through hardware stores， home-improvement centers， mail-order retailers， and discount stores. To be successful， small appliances had to be sold through department stores as well， and Black & Decker had little experience in this area. Unfortunately the company tried to use the same approach it had used with power tools， which served only to alienate the department stores that had grown used to good treatment from General Electric.
How could Nolan Archibald repair the bad reputation that Black & Decker had gained with wholesalers and retailers? How could he combat the pressure from competitors who were trying to push Black & Decker off the shelf? How could he handle the new small appliances， given the company's lack of experience? In short， what steps could he take to ensure Black & Decker's survival and continued success?
Meeting Business Challenges at Black & Decker
It's hard to say which is more impressive： the speed at which Nolan Archibald and his colleagues turned around the corporate culture or the thoroughness of the results. Black & Decker used to be a manufacturer driven by financial measurements; it is now well on its way to being Archibald's vision of a worldwide marketing powerhouse. The company's approach to managing its marketing channels is a central component of the new Black & Decker.
The change started with strategic planning， as it should. In Archibald's own words： "You analyze the problems that are unique to the company and the industry and then determine what the strengths and weaknesses are. Then you develop a plan to leverage the strengths and correct the weaknesses." Archibald and his colleagues made sure that marketing channels were a part of that strategic plan. Moreover， the new approach manages channels as a vital marketing resource， rather than simply as a pipeline for pumping products to customers.
The analysts who have observed Black & Decker's remarkable turnaround point out several aspects of channel management that have been a vital part of the success. The first change was simple but most important： more respect for marketing intermediaries. Black & Decker had a tough act to follow when it acquired General Electric's small-household-appliance line. Known as "Generous Electric" in some circles， GE went out of its way to be a good supplier. This effort included ample support of retailer promotions， deep inventories to prevent product shortages in the stores， and a general level of respect for the people and organizations on the front line. Black & Decker's efforts to improve relations started by emulating this regard for retailers. Out of this new respect flowed assistance. Black & Decker took several important steps to help its channel partners. One of these was implementing a segmented channel strategy that focuses specialized sales assistance on the company's two major groups of customers： industrial or professional customers and retailers. This channel strategy allows Black & Decker to give each kind of intermediary the unique help it needs. Another key step was to train its sales force thoroughly， not only in mastering product performance but also in helping retailers with inventory management， purchasing， and in-store product displays. Also， the promotional budget was beefed up to help pull customers into retail stores.
Giving assistance is now mutual. Black & Decker established a number of dealer advisory panels， which retailers can use to give the company feedback on new products customers would like to see. By using its channel as a source of marketing-research information， Black & Decker benefits by getting a better picture of customer needs， and the retailers benefit by being able to deliver the right products.
Coordinated physical distribution is another change that helps both the company and its intermediaries. To better mesh its delivery systems with the needs of distributors and retailers， Black & Decker changed virtually every aspect of its physical distribution. This overhaul included new locations for distribution centers， modified transportation policies， and more powerful systems for managing and coordinating information.
Increasing the number of products held in inventory is another important step. Maintaining a deeper inventory gives retailers the confidence that they'll be able to keep up with demand， particularly during the Christmas shopping season， when many tools and small appliances are purchased.
Yet another element in Black & Decker's strategic plan is growth through acquisition， which has been tied closely to marketing channel management. The $2.8 billion purchase of Emhart is a good example. Some observers criticized the move， which gave Black & Decker a big presence in hardware. However， the logic was clear after a second look： Some of Emhart's products (like lawn and garden tools， sprinkler systems， locks， and faucets) fit in perfectly with Black & Decker's existing consumer goods channels; other Emhart products mesh well with the industrial channels. The units of Emhart that didn't align with the existing marketing channels were put up for sale.
Black & Decker's dramatic turnaround is convincing evidence of the importance of managing marketing channels effectively. Its sales are growing in every channel of distribution it uses. In fact， the company is starting to be praised as a strong marketing organization that helps create demand for its retailers.
關於國際貿易的英語文章2
ON THE'JOB： FACING BUSINESS CHALLENGES AT IKEA
Opening the Door to Sales on Two Coasts
What's yellow and blue， as large as seven football fields， and filled from floor to ceiling with furniture? The answer， as millions of shoppers from Budapest to Burbank have learned， is an Ikea store. Based in Denmark， Ikea operates more than 139 warehouse-sized furniture stores in 28 countries. The retailer opens between five and ten outlets every year， and no two grand-opening advertising campaigns are exactly alike， because no two audiences are exactly alike. For instance， when Ikea opened stores in Elizabeth， New Jersey; Burbank; California; and Manhattan， New York; Ikea president Anders Moberg knew that the markets for each of these stores were as different as Coney Island hot dogs and avocado salad.
Ikea's international success has been anything but an overnight phenomenon. Founder Ingvar Kamprad came up with the company name in 1943 by combining his own initials with the first letter of his farm， Elmtaryd， and the first letter of his native parish， Agunnaryd (similar to a county in the United States)。 His first furniture showroom was in southern Sweden and featured bargain prices for simple but stylishly functional designs. However， it wasn't until he opened his Stockholm store， in 1965， that Kamprad put into practice the marketing concepts that now distinguish Ikea from its competitors： moderate prices， quality products， and a pleasant shopping environment. .
Going to an Ikea store is "like entering a homefurnishings paradise. Customers are invited to wander through each model room and measure， touch， even sit or lie down on any of the hundreds of furniture samples inside each 200，000-square-foot outlet. What's more， hungry shoppers can snack at the in-store cafe， and harried parents can leave their children at the in-store play area while shopping. Prices are low because customers select their own items and carry them home in flat-pack cartons， where they assemble the pieces using simple tools included with every purchase.
To enter these separate markets， Moberg knew that each store would need completely different ad campaigns. Plus， with real estate prices sky-high in Manhattan， Ikea would have to scale down the traditional superstore format to a more affordable size. If you were in Moberg's shoes， how would you use promotion to introduce Ikea to the target audiences in these separate markets? What advertising strategies would you use to develop ads to attract customers? How would you affordably merchandise 12，000 items at a pricey Manhattan location?
On the Job： Meeting Business Challenges at Ikea
Introducing Ikea to entirely different markets-some 3，000 miles apart-was the promotional challenge facing Anders Moberg. Despite the success of the chain's first four V.S. outlets， Moberg knew that the grand openings in Elizabeth， New Jersey， and Burbank， California， were important stepping-stones to the heavily populated New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. The advertising had to build awareness of the store name and the retailing concept as well as attract store traffic. The Ikea president also realized that these grand-opening campaigns could not be clones; each had to be carefully tailored to its local audience.
The first store opening， in Elizabeth， was scheduled for May 23， 1990. To reach a target audience of young adults and families， the retailer launched an integrated marketing communications campaign of print， television， billboard， transit， and direct-mail advertising before the store opened. For instance， billboards on the New Jersey Turnpike teased motorists with cryptic messages. One billboard read， "On May 23， find a place to crash on the Jersey Turnpike." Print ads used lots of copy to explain the headline， "Why thousands will sper1d their Memorial Day vacation on the Jersey Turnpike." Topping off the ad blitz， Ikea mailed more than 1 million copies of its 200-page catalog to households within 40 miles of the new store.
While the preopening hoopla was going on， Ikea also kicked off a television campaign to support the chain's overall image. The commercials poked fun at the irritations of shopping at traditional furniture stores， such as high prices and delivery hassles. However， the campaign didn't take itself too seriously; its tag line was "It's a big country. Someone's got to furnish it." The two campaigns started people talking about Ikea， and they helped bring people-by the thousands-to the store on opening day. During the first hour the Elizabeth store was open， 3，000 people surged through the doors; by the end of the first day， 25，000 had visited the store.
Once the Elizabeth store was open， Moberg concentrated on the Burbank store opening. Sticking with a tongue-in-cheek creative approach， the retailer adjusted the media to the local market by relying more heavily on outdoor media， because southern California is car country. So for 6 weeks before the store opening， slightly irreverent teaser ads appeared on 1，600 billboards， buses， and transit shelters around Los Angeles. These intriguing outdoor ads were designed to start people talking about the campaign. Passersby might look at one poster， for example， and wonder what could possibly have "more mass appeal" than the Pope.
The suspense ended two weeks before the Burbank store opened， when Ikea added its store name and opening date to the posters. In addition to mailing catalogs to homes within an hour's drive， the retailer also used radio， television， newspaper， and magazine advertising to give more details about the outlet's products， services， and location. Once again a brief but intense preopening campaign brought results： Burbank's first day was another blockbuster.
But the challenge Moberg faced in Manhattan years later was by and large his biggest. In order to successfully convert the big box concept to a much smaller 7，500-square-foot urban footprint， Ikea adopted a unique promotional format——a marketing outpost. The Manhattan store was designed as a stage——with a grid system that suspended lights and wooden panels that were easy to reconfigure. Like a theatrical production， every 6 to 12 weeks the store closes for about one week while the theme changes; product mix， walls， displays， figures， signage， video displays， lighting， and just about every other element is reconfigured. When the overhaul is complete， a "new" store emerges like Ikea Entertains， or Ikea Plays， or Ikea Dines， or Ikea Sleeps——to name a few.
And by all indicators， the new marketing concept has been a smashing success. Still， Moberg isn't about to take the U.S. market for granted. He plans to boost advertising spending to fight competition from Ethan Alien and Pier 1. And Ikea is launching a new line of children's furniture——something few competitors specialize in. After all， it's a big country. Somebody's got to furnish it， and Anders Moberg is determined to see that Ikea gets the job.
