商务英语03

（文章来源于网络，侵删，个人翻译水平不好，如有不当之处，欢迎指正）

原文

For most of the 20th century Smithson's was one of Britain's most successful department stores, but by the mid-1990s, it had become dull. Still profitable, thanks largely to a series of successful advertising campaigns, but decidedly boring. The famous were careful not to be seen there, and its sales staff didn't seem to have changed since the store opened in 1908. Worst of all, its customers were buying fewer and fewer of its own-brand products,the major part of its business, and showing a preference for more fashionable brands.

在20世纪的大部分时间里，史密森百货公司是英国最成功的百货公司之一，但到了20世纪90年代中期，它已经变得沉闷了。虽然有利可图，这很大程度上要归功于一系列成功的广告活动，但肯定很无聊。这家曾经的名牌如履薄冰（翻译的可能不太准确），自1908年开店以来，公司的销售人员似乎没有改变。最糟糕的是，它的客户渐渐很少购买旗下主营业务的产品，同时表现出对更时尚的品牌偏好。

But now all this has changed, thanks to Rowena Baker, who became Smithson's first woman Chief Executive three years ago. Since then, while most major retailers in Britain have been losing money, Smithson's profits have been rising steadily. When Baker started, a lot of improvements had just been made to the building, without having any effect on sales, and she took the bold decision to invite one of Europe's most exciting interior designers to develop the fashion area, the heart of the store. This very quickly led to rising sales, even before the goods on display were changed. And as sales grew, so did profits.

但现在一切都变了，这要归功于三年前成为史密森第一位女性首席执行官的罗维娜•贝克。从那时起，尽管英国的大多数主要零售商都在亏损，但史密森的利润一直在稳步增长。贝克刚开始的时候，已经对集团做了很多改进，但销售没有任何起色，她大胆地决定邀请欧洲最受欢迎的室内设计师之一来开发时装区——这是实体店的核心。这一举措很快便促使销售额上升，甚至在陈列品被更换之前（这一句话翻译的感觉怪怪的）。随着销售额的增长，利润也随之增长。

Baker had ambitious plans for the store from the start. 'We're playing a big game, to prove we're up there with the leaders in our sector, and we have to make sure people get that message. Smithson's had fallen behind the competition. It provided a traditional service targeted at middle-aged, middle-income customers, who'd been shopping there for years, and the customer base was gradually contracting. Our idea is to sell such an exciting variety of goods that everyone will want to come in, whether they plan to spend a little or a lot.' Baker's vision for the store is clear, but achieving it is far from simple. At first, many employees resisted her improvements because they just wouldn't be persuaded that there was anything wrong with the way they'd always done things, even if they accepted that the store had to overtake its competitors. It took many long meetings, involving the entire workforce, to win their support. It helped when they realised that Baker was a very different kind of manager from the ones they had known.

贝克从一开始就为公司实体店制定了雄心勃勃的计划。“我们布局很大，以证明我们和我们所在行业的领导者们比肩，我们必须确保人们得到这一信息。史密森已经在竞争中落后了。它为多年来在中层收入的中老年人提供了传统意义的服务，而与此同时客户群逐渐萎缩。我们的想法是销售诸多令人感兴趣的各种商品，这样每个人都想进来，不管他们计划花一点钱还是花很多钱。”贝克对这家商店的愿景很明确，但实现它还远远不够简单。”起初，许多员工拒绝接受她的改进，因为他们不认为他们一直以来处理事务的方式有什么问题，即使他们承认门店必须超越竞争对手。为了赢得全体员工的支持，公司开了很多词长时间会议。这也帮助他们意识到贝克和他们认识的经理完全不同。

Baker's staff policies contained more surprises. The uniform that had hardly changed since day one has now disappeared. Moreover, teenagers now get young shop assistants, and staff in the sports departments are themselves sports fans in trainers. As Baker explains, 'How can you sell jeans if you're wearing a black suit? Smithson's has a new identity, and this needs to be made clear to the customers.' She's also given every sales assistant responsibility for ensuring customer satisfaction, even if it means occasionally breaking company rules in the hope that this will help company profits.

贝克的员工政策包含了更多的惊喜。从第一天起就没变过的制服现在不见了。此外，青少年现在有年轻的售货员，体育部门的工作人员本身就是教练中的体育迷。正如贝克解释的那样，“如果你穿黑色西装，你怎么能卖牛仔裤呢？史密森有了一个新的身份，这需要向客户明确。” 她还让每个销售助理负责确保客户满意，即使这意味着偶尔违反公司规则，希望这将有助于公司盈利。

Rowena Baker is proving successful, but the City's big investors haven't been persuaded. According to retail analyst, John Matthews, 'Money had already been invested in refurbishment of the store and in fact that led to the boost in sales. She took the credit, but hadn't done anything to achieve it. And in my view the company's shareholders are not convinced. The fact is that unless she opens several more stores pretty soon, Smithson's profits will start to fall because turnover at the existing store will inevitably start to decline.'

事实证明，罗维娜·贝克是成功的，但该市的大投资家们还没有被说服。据零售业分析师约翰•马修斯说，这笔钱已经用于该店的整修，事实上，这导致了销售额的增长。她获得了生育，但没有做任何事来实现它。在我看来，公司的股东们并不信服。事实上，除非她很快再开几家店，否则史密森的利润将开始下降，因为现有门店的营业额将不可避免地开始下降。\

生词

1. dull adj. 迟钝的;钝的;呆滞的;阴暗的 v. 缓和;减轻;使阴暗

   • It's always dull and raining.
     天气总是阴雨连绵。

2. retailers n. 零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

   • Retailers can return defective merchandise.
     零售商可以退回有缺陷的商品。
     2-1 defective adj. 有错误的;有缺陷的，有瑕疵的;[语]变化不全的;智力低于正常的 n. 身心有缺陷的人;变化不全的词

     • Her sight was becoming defective.
       她的视力开始出现问题。

     2-2 merchandise n. 商品;货物 vt. 销售;买卖 vi. 经商

     • The merchandise is reasonably priced and offers exceptionally good value.
       这些商品定价合理，很是划算。

3. interior n. 内部;内政;内地;内心 adj. 内部的;内地的，国内的;内面的

   • An official from the Ministry of the Interior said six people had died.
     内政部的一位官员说已有 6 人丧生。

4. sector n. 部门;领域;扇形;防御地区

   • Officers were going to retake sectors of the city
     军官们打算重新夺回该市的防御区。

5. contracting adj. 收缩的，缩成的，缩小的

   • As a slowly contracting dwarf the star may remain luminous for billions of years.
     收缩较慢的白矮星仍会发光几十亿年。

6. resisted v. 抵抗，抗拒（resist的过去式与过去分词形式）
   +I should congratulate you that you resisted the temptation.
   我应向你祝贺，你抗住了这种引诱。

7. workforce n. 全体员工;（国家或行业等）劳动力;劳动大军;劳动人口

   • Young people were several times more likely to be out of work than older members of the workforce.
     劳动人口中，年轻人失业的可能性是年长者的好几倍。

8. investors n. 投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

   • The company talked with many potential investors.
     公司和许多潜在的投资人举行了磋商。

9. boost vt. 增加;促进，提高;吹捧;向上推起 vi. 宣扬;[美国俚语]（尤指在商店）行窃，偷窃 n. 提高，增加;帮助;吹捧;加速[助推]器

   • We need a big win to boost our confidence.
     我们需要大胜一场来增强信心。

10. credit n. 学分;信誉，信用;[金融]贷款;荣誉 vt. 相信，信任;归功于;[会]记入贷方;赞颂

• We don't mind who gets the credit so long as we don't get the blame.
  谁受到表扬无所谓，只要我们不挨批就好。

11. shareholders 股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

• Large companies can easily buy out the shareholders of small companies.
  大公司可以很轻易地买下小公司股东们的全部股权。

12. inevitably adv. 难免;不可避免地，自然而然地;必然地，无疑的;终于只好

• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.
  技术变革必然会导致失业。