III Make up a plan of the text.

IV Translate the paragraph in italics in a written form.

V Questions for discussion:

1. What can spoil the look of your clothes?

2. What happened in 1973?

3. What is laundering?

4. What are soil-removing chemicals?

5. How should one sort clothes for laundering?

6. Why must clothes washed in soaps be well rinsed?

7. What is the advantage of detergents?

8. What chemicals improve laundering?

9. When do wrinkles appear?

10. What is the difference between ironing and pressing?

TEXT C

I Mind the following words and word-combinations:

1. bleach symbols – символи відбілювання

2. to prohibit – забороняти

3. steam – пара

4. skillfully – уміло

5. newness – новизна

6. a clothes-hanger – вішалка

7. spot remover – засіб для видалення плям

8. a mending tissue – тканина для латок

9. fascinating – чарівний, захоплюючий

II Listen to the text ‘Keep Your Clothes in Good Condition’ and be ready to answer the questions:

1. What can a label say about the garment?

2. What other tools for clothes care do you know?

III Listen to the text again. Decide if the statements are true or false.

1. One should know how to care only expensive clothes.

2. Labels may also have iron symbols.

3. If the laundry washer is crossed, don’t use bleach.

4. Colourful clothes could be heavily bleached.

5. Spot removers are also important means for taking care of your clothes.

UNIT 16

TEXT A

I Listen and remember the following words:

1. an ad – реклама

2. competitive – конкурентний

3. an editor – редактор

4. a kit – комплект, набір

5. to handle – керувати, мати справу з

6. retail – роздріб

7. wholesale – оптовий продаж чи купівля

8. a pipeline – «поєднуючи ланка»

II Read and remember the following phrases:

1. a prospective buyer – майбутній покупець

2. fashion promotion – просування, сприяння в моді

3. a press release – повідомлення для преси

4. to catch one’s eye – затримувати погляд

5. to be alerted – бути напоготові

6. preteen clothes – допідлітковий одяг

Apparel Marketing

Anyone who has ever seen a clothes advertising on television or in a magazine is aware of how products are advertised to the prospective buyers. However, advertising is much more than a single ad or even a series of ads. As far as a manufacturer is concerned, advertising is a part of a larger section of the company. This section is called the marketing division. It performs many different tasks. The goal is to sell a product better than the competitive company.

Market research is the study of buyers’ habits, needs, and wants. In a way, it involves finding out who are the buyers of a product. If, for example, the division sells clothes for children and young people, it must find the answers to many questions about the buyers. How long do they wear clothes? On what occasions do they wear them? What styles are popular this year? What colours are popular?

Advertising, or communicating with the customer, is the next responsibility of the department. Advertising is a way of describing and selling a product to the consumer.

Fashion promotion is another way of telling people-potential buyers – about a product. The goal of fashion promotion is to promote a product to fashion magazines and other publications. Fashion promoters supply photographs of the product and press releases to magazine editors and newspapers or write articles for fashion magazines. They often prepare press kits. These kits contain press releases and photos and are sent to editors all over the country. They may promote an old product, or they may introduce a new product, fabric, or method of production. The kits are planned to give fashion editors ideas for articles or short features.

Fashion promoters also handle all the publicity at trade, shows and anywhere else that a manufacturer might need promotion publicity.

Label development is the final stage. This involves planning what the labels on the product will say and how they will look. If they are well-designed, they catch the buyer’s eye. They contain important information that may help a buyer finally decide to buy a product.

Labels are used to state the manufactures’ name, and that was about all. Today, they are much more consumer oriented. Labels tell how to care for a garment, what its special features are and how it can be expected to wear. They must be designed in such a way as to attract customers’ attention.

After clothes are being advertised and marketed, clothes manufactures turn their attention to selling and distributing their clothes to the stores.

Apparel sales may be either retail or wholesale. In wholesale sales, clothes manufacturers sell their products to the stores. In retail sales the stores sell products to the consumer or customer. This is the responsibility of sales representatives and buyers.

Sales representatives work for the manufacturer. Very few clothes manufacturers own stores. A great part of their business involves selling to department and special stores. So they turn to sales representatives to do this. Buyers work for the various stores that buy and sale the clothes.

Sales representatives are expected to visit the sales offices or the manufacturer several times a year for sales meetings where new lines are presented. They learn about the garments – how they are meant to be worn, how they are made, how they can be cared for.

Sales representatives are the important pipeline between the customer, or retailer, and the manufacturer.

Buyers are the representatives of stores who place orders for garments from sales representatives. Just as sales representatives are the wholesalers, buyers are the retailers. Buyers are usually specialists. This means that a buyer only makes purchases in one or two clothing areas. Buyer may only purchase women’s sportswear or men’s jewelry or baby clothes, or preteen clothes. They make final decisions for stores. Once a buyer has chosen the clothes, store and department managers are alerted. Selling and buying are closely related.