Useful terms and expressions

• to thrive – процветать, преуспевать

• uncontested – свободный от конкуренции; свободный от других игроков

• go head-to-head –противоборствовать, соперничать

• exposure to competition – воздействие конкуренции

• competitive environment – конкурентная среда; условия конкуренции

• to launch a company – создать, основать компанию

• a crowded market – перенасыщенный рынок (рынок, где представлено множество компаний, предлагающих аналогичные товары (услуги) и конкурирующих между собой за потребителя)

• turnaround – здесь время на межполётную подготовку, время на подготовку к обратному рейсу

• no-frills airline – бюджетная авиакомпания (предлагающая рейсы по сниженным тарифам)

• venture capitalist – компания венчурного капитала (инвестирующая капитал в рискованные предприятия)

• to foster – способствовать развитию, поощрять

• frugal – экономичный, бережливый

• deep pockets – богатство, состоятельность

TEXT 8

Canadian retailers closing amid intense competition, failure to adapt to market

In fashion, everyone knows that you're only as good as your last season.

But now, you also have to be fast and adaptable, which is something many Canadian retailers like Danier Leather, Laura, Smart Set and Jacob haven't been able to do.

In Canada, many retailers had a "great thing going for years," according to Farla Efros, the president of HRC Advisory, a retail consulting firm. There wasn't much competition and the economy was stable.

But that all changed with the recession and the onslaught of international competition. An influx of fast-fashion brands, combined with an inability to adapt to new styles and a growth in consumer choice, have led to the demise of many mid-price Canadian retailers.

International companies like Zara, H&M and Forever 21 are seen as fast-fashion brands – they're massive and they operate on a ramped-up schedule. This speed allows these big retailers something traditional ones don't have: flexibility. They can get a new popular style onto the market in weeks or even days in some cases.

Traditional retailers just can't keep up.

On top of that, spending habits are changing. Mid-market retailers don't have as much draw because people are gravitating towards the extremes.

One of the main criticisms of Danier was that it didn't try to change until it was too late. It had a lock on the leather jacket market in Canada.

But leather's popularity has grown "astronomically" over the last few years, says Farla Efros, the president of HRC Advisory, a retail consulting firm. That popularity has brought cheaper alternatives and different styles onto the market.

And Danier was not particularly popular with the younger crowd, says Ed Strapagiel, a retail industry consultant. Even if they had tried to appeal to younger generations, their traditional image stuck with them.

Efros says that by the time many of these retailers tried to change, it was too late.

"They had already ignored their current consumer base and stopped reinventing," she says

Most shopping in Canada is still done in "brick-and-mortar" stores – only about 10 per cent is done online. But according to Strapagiel and Efros, that percentage grows every year.

Because of this, consumers now have more choice than ever. And many customers expect Amazon-style free shipping, so the retailers have to eat that cost, says Efros.

Strapagiel says online stores, while actually quite challenging and expensive to operate, have become a necessary cost of doing business.

Consumers now hold the power because online shopping has given them almost infinite choice, says Efros. That power had traditionally been in the hands of the manufacturer or the retailer.

The recession is difficult to ignore – Efros says it's been like the final nail in the coffin, but not the main cause behind these brands' failures.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business March 13^th, 2016