Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme is a US-based doughnut chain. It is over 65 years old. It is a retail and a wholesale business. A retail business sells directly to customers. A wholesale

business sells products in large quantities to other businesses, rather than to the general public.

The company sells its products in its own company stores. It also has franchise stores and sells to supermarkets. A franchise is when a company lets another business sell its products in return for a share of the profits. The doughnuts are very popular. When the company opened a new store in New England, people slept on the street outside the store and waited in the dark until it opened.

The company is expanding into new markets in the US. This year earnings rose 50 percent. A year ago, the company had 90 outlets. Now it has 236 stores. The company plans to open a new doughnut and coffee-shop style business. Total sales increased 29.5 percent to $186.9m from $144.3m a year ago.

From FT.com

1. Use one of the words below to complete the sentences

wholesaler supermarket franchise retail

a) When I do my weekly shopping, I usually go to the

b) I need to buy a large quantity of products for my business from the

c) I want to start a business where I sell directly to customers.

d) I want to start a company but I want to sell a well-known product. Perhaps I should buy a in Kentucky Fried Chicken?

2 Match the numbers with the information in the article.

stores of earnings dollars outlets years old

a) 90 1. stores

b) 65 2. of earnings

c) 236 3. dollars

d) 186.9 million 4. outlets

e) 50% 5. years old

Over to you

What are the most popular businesses in your country? What type of company are they? What do they sell?

Unit 10 The Web

Spam

Level of difficulty **

Before you read

Do you think spam is

- e-mail advertising that is sent to lots of people?

- a game that you can play on the Internet?

Reading

Read this article adapted from FT.com and answer the questions

The spam debate

Spam is a word for e-mail messages that a computer user didn't ask for and doesn't want. Advertisers spam people by sending the same message to lots of people at the same time. And spam is increasing every day. It's costing businesses money. Employees open, read and to delete unwanted spam e-mails; this wastes company time. Billions of messages are sent each year - perhaps 40 percent of all e-mails. A year ago it was only eight percent.

Some companies sell lists of e-mail addresses. Marketing professionals buy lists from these companies. Then they send advertising messages to the addresses. Large organisations can get thousands of spam e-mails every month. AOL, the Internet service provider, gets about 780m e-mail advertising messages every day.

IT managers hate spam. Some IT departments use “anti-spam” software. It checks e-mails and stops spam messages. But there are problems. Sometimes it also stops e-mail from companies that you want to contact. Businesses need to talk to each other and sometimes e-mail marketing is necessary. It isn't going to be easy to find a solution.

From FT.com

1. Find a word in the article that has a similar meaning to the phrases below.

a) short written communication-………

b) remove an e-mail from a computer …………

c) an activity telling people about a product or service to make them

buy it……………

d) Information Technology ………………

e) see, write to or speak to ……………….

f) An answer to a problem …………………….

2. Are these sentences true or false? Correct the information in the false sentences.

a) Spam is decreasing every day.

b) Some companies sell lists of e-mail addresses.

c) Large organisations can get hundreds of spam e-mails each month.

d) IT managers love spam.

e) There are some problems with anti-spam software.

f) It is going to be easy to find a solution.

Over to you

Is spam a problem for you? Do you think it is a problem for

companies?

How many unwanted e-mails do you receive each week? What do you do with spam mail?

Unit 10 The Web

Online shopping

Level of difficulty **

Before you read

Match the words and phrases with similar meanings.

1. grow a) on the Internet

2. exceed b) a group of people who live together

3. almost c) more than

4. online d) a company or shop

5. consumer e) increase

6. retailer f) customer

7. households g) nearly

Reading

Read this article adapted from FT.com and answer the questions.

e-commerce

More people are shopping online. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of online shopping households in the US grew from 5m to 36.5m. Online sales increased from $2.4 billion to more than $72 billion. By 2007 nearly 63 million people, almost two thirds of all US households, will shop online and sales will exceed $217 billion, or eight percent of total US retail sales. Today people are more comfortable shopping online than they were in the past.

Some countries do less online shopping than North America. In Europe things are getting better. The number of online shoppers who bought at least once in the past three months increased to 17 percent of all Europeans. That is a 14 percent increase compared to a year ago.

Some consumers will never feel comfortable shopping online. They do not want to use credit cards online. They worry about delivery or they prefer to shop in stores. However, customers expect retailers to have a website, where they can do research before going to the store. There are opportunities for both traditional retailers and online retailers to succeed.

From FT. com

1. Are these sentences true or false?

a) Online shopping increased in the US between 1997 and 2002.

b) Sales will be more than $217 billion by 2007.

c) People are less comfortable shopping online than in the past.

d) The number of online shoppers in Europe is less than a year ago.

e) All customers will feel comfortable shopping online.

f) Customers don't expect retailers to have a website.

2. Match the numbers with the information in the article.

a) 17% 1. people

b) 72 billion 2. months

c) 63 million 3. of Us householders

d) 3 4. dollars

e) 8% 5. of Europeans

f) 2/3 6. of total Us retail sales

Over to you

Do you buy things online? Think of three advantages and three disadvantages for online shopping. Compare your ideas with a partner.

Unit 11 Cultures

Living in another culture

Level of difficulty **

Before you read

Underline the correct word or phrase to make true sentences.

a) If you do a deal you

i) make a business arrangement. ii) are late.

If you have good manners you are i) polite. ii) loud.

c) If you rush something you

i) do it slowly. ii) do it quickly.

d) When people get together they i) leave. ii) meet.

Reading

Read this article adapted from FT.com and answer the questions.