Commercial Correspondence

ENQUIRIES

PART I. Sample letters

1. Enquiry from a retailer to a foreign manufacturer

Dear Sir/ Madam

We are a chain of retailers based in Birmingham and are looking for a manufacturer
who can supply us with a wide range of sweaters for the men’s leisurewear market.
We were impressed by the selection of sweaters that were displayed on your stand at
the “Menswear Exhibition” that was held in Hamburg last month.

As we usually place very large orders, we would expect a quantity discount in addition
to a 20% trade discount off net list prices. Our terms of payment are normally 30-day
bill of exchange, documents against acceptance (D/A).

If these conditions interest you, and you can meet orders of over 500 garments at one
time, please send us your current catalogue and price-list.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Yours faithfully

Peter Crane (Mr.)

Chief Buyer

F. Lynch & Co. Ltd

1 Nguyễn Thị Hải Thúy (BA, MBA)

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Comprehension questions

1. What expression does Peter Crane use to indicate that Lynch & Co. is a large
company?

2. What market is Lynch & Co. interested in?

3. Where did Lynch & Co. get to know about Satex?

4. What kinds of discounts are they asking for?

5. How would payment be made?

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2. Reply to the general enquiry in which the buyer asked for certain concessions

Dear Mr. Crane

We were pleased to receive your inquiry, and to hear that you liked our range of
sweaters. We can confirm that there would certainly be no trouble in supplying you
from our wide selection of garments.

We can offer you a quantity discount, which would be 5% off net prices for orders over
£2,000, but the usual allowance for a trade discount in Italy is 15%, and we always
deal on payment by sight draft, cash against documents. However, we would be
prepared to review this once we have established a firm trading association with you.

Enclosed you will find our summer catalogue and price-list quoting prices CIF London.
We are sure you will find a ready sale for our products in England, as have other
retailers throughout Europe and America, and we do hope we can reach agreement on
the terms quoted.

Thank you for your interest. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely

D. Causio (Sig.)

Sales Director

Encl. + 01 Catalogue

+ 01 Price List

Comprehension questions

1. Does Sig. Causio agree to all Mr. Crane’s requests concerning discounts?

2. What method of payment does he ask for?

3. What does he suggest about the method of payment in the future?

4. What is enclosed with the letter?

5. How does Sig. Causio indicate that his company deals internationally?

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3. Reply to a request for a catalogue and pricelist

Dear Ms Lowe

We were pleased to receive your enquiry today, and are enclosing the catalogue and
price list you asked for.

You will see that we can offer a wide selection of dinner and tea services ranging from
the rugged ‘Greystone’ earthenware breakfast sets to the delicate ‘Ming’ bone china
dinner service. You can choose from more than fifty designs, which includes the
elegance of ‘Wedgwood’, the delicate pattern of ‘Willow’, and the richness of
‘Brownstone’ glaze.

We would very much like to add your clients to our worldwide list of customers, and
could promise them an excellent product with a first-class service. We would be glad
to accept orders for any number of pieces, and can mix sets if required.

You will see that our prices are quoted CIF to Eastern Canadian seaboard ports and
we are offering a special 10% discount off all net prices, with delivery within three
weeks from receipt of order.

If there is any further information you need, please contact us, or go to our website at
the address above. Once again thank you for your enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(signed)

J. Merton (Mr.)

Sales Manager

Encl. + 01 Catalogue

+ 01 Price List

Registered No.716481

VAT Registered No. 133 53431 08

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Comprehension questions

1. How does Mr Merton draw attention to his company’s many products?

2. How does he imply that his company has an international reputation?

3. What terms for delivery do Glaston Potteries quote?

4. How does he encourage further enquiries?

5. Which words in the letter have a similar meaning to the following?

a. range

b. select

c. time when order received

PART II. Exercises

I. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words or phrases.

1.

Dear Sirs

Thank you for your (1)................... of 1st Dec. for Ladies’ woolens.

We have much pleasure in sending you (2)................... a fairly full collection of our
(3)................... and best selling designs and hope some of them will (4)................... you.

We would like to (5)................... to our exclusive quality “Gold Ring” which has been
an outstanding success. We believe that it represents the best (6)................... for money
in this type of goods and we are sure that you will find it sells well indeed.

If the range of (7)................... we have selected does not contain anything you want,
please do not (8)................... to let us know your exact (9)...................

We look forward to your (10)................... which will have our best attention.

Yours faithfully

2.

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Dear Sirs

We thank you for your (1)................... of 20th Dec. for samples and a pattern card of
floor coverings. We have today sent by air a range of (2)..................., specially
selected for their hard wearing quality but regret we do not have the (3)...................
you require. For the purpose mentioned we (4)................... quality No. 5 which is
specially made to (5)................... to the wear and tear of rough and uneven surfaces.

We invite you (6)................... the samples and are confident that they will
(7)...................

Meanwhile we (8)................... a copy of our pricelist and (9)................... of trade,

and look forward (10)................... from you.

Yours faithfully

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3.

Dear M. Morreau

Thank you for your (1)................... of 27th June in which you expressed an interest in
relating a selection of our products in your shops in France.

Please find (2)................... our current brochure and price list.

(3)................... for a 20% trade discount, we regret that we cannot (4)................... more
than 15%. However, we do give a 5% quantity discount on (5)................... for over
£10,000. We are sure that you will agree that these terms are highly (6)...................

We are confident that we can (7)................... within two months as you require, but
wish to emphasize that (8)................... will have to be by sight draft until we have
(9)................... a business relationship.

Thank you for your (10)................... and we hope to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely

Glaston Pottiers Ltd

(signed)

Sales managers

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II. Matching

Match the word in column A with the definition in column B

A B

1. Catalogue a. Company that is partly owned by a larger one.

2. Tender b. Person who buys goods or services from a shop or

company.

3. Estimate c. Money taken off the usual selling price of goods

when the buyer is purchasing a large amount.

4. Wholesaler d. Place where a company demonstrates its products.

5. Customer e. Publication giving details of goods or services

offered by a company.

6. Subsidiary f. Prices given for work to be done.

7. Showroom g. Written estimate, usually for a large job such as

building a factory.

8. Prospectus h. Publication giving details about school or college.

9. Quantity discount i. Person or company that buys goods from

manufacturers and sells them to retailers.

10. Sale or return j. Term used when a supplier agrees to buy back unsold
goods.

III. Sentence building

A. Sort out the jumbled words below to make sentences typical of business
correspondence. Add capital letters and punctuation as necessary.

1. offer/ do/ you/ large/ a/ orders/ discounts/ on

2. details/ of/ can/ you/ prices/ please/ me/ send/ your

3. after-sales/ do/ an/ offer/ you/ service

4. guaranteed/ are/ for/ how/ goods/ long/ the

5. goods/ can/ how/ delivered/ soon/ the/ be

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6. terms/ what/ payment/ your/ of/ are

7. can/ buy/ where/ the/ I/ goods

8. you/ do/ what/ quantity/ discounts/ sort/ offer/ of

9. can/ send/ mail/ please/ your/ by/ me/ you/ express/ catalogue

B. Rewrite/ Complete the following sentences so that they have a similar meaning
to the one above, but are more suitable for formal business correspondence.

1. ‘Ask them for a cash discount.’

2. ‘Ask Schmidt to send us their catalogue and a price list.’

3. ‘We’re going to give them a big order, so find out if they allow quantity discounts.’

4. ‘If they can’t deliver the goods before Friday, tell Larousse to email us.’

5. ‘It would be a lot of help if they could send some samples.’

6. ‘Say that we’d like Andover to send someone here to give us an estimate.’

7. ‘Say we’d like to see a demonstration of both models.’

8. ‘Find out if Weston’s will let us have twenty units on approval.’

9. ‘Ask when he will let us have the cheque.’`

10. ‘Say our suppliers generally let us settle by monthly statement.’

IV. Translation

A. English - Vietnamese Translation

1. Your name has been given to us by the British Chamber of Commerce.

2. We have seen your advertisement in the latest issue of the “Agriculture”.

3. We have learned your name and address by the introduction of the Japanese Embassy,
who has advised us that you are the sole exporter of …

4. We are interested in the purchase of your range of … advertised in … and would like
to know if…

5. Our company is one of the main producers of… in Vietnam

6. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as one of the leading
trading companies dealing in all kinds of material for textiles industry.

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7. There is a brisk demand here for high- quality T-shirts of the type you manufacture
now.

8. At the moment, we are in the market for… and we shall be glad if you will quote us…

9. We would be glad to receive specifications of your new personal computer IPC,

together with your current export price list and particulars of shipment.

10. We shall be obliged if you will send us the prospectus, quote your latest price and
state the time of delivery with your most favorable terms of payment.

B. Vietnamese - English Translation

1. Thông thường chúng tôi được hưởng 10% chiết khấu thương mại cùng với chiết khấu
số lượng cho các đơn hàng trên 1000 chiếc.

2. Trường hợp chúng tôi thanh toán tiền hàng sớm theo điều kiện thanh toán khi giao
hàng, quý ngài có thể dành cho chúng tôi mức chiết khấu trả sớm là bao nhiêu?

3. Triển vọng bán hàng quần áo may sẵn của quí ngài tại thị trưòng này là đầy hứa hẹn,
chúng tôi mong sớm nhận được thư báo giá và bìa mẫu hàng của các ngài.

4. Chúng tôi mong sớm nhận được chào hàng của quý ngài và hy vọng rằng trong tương
lai mối quan hệ làm ăn của chúng ta sẽ tốt đẹp.

5. Nhờ đoàn đại biểu thương mại Nhật Bản ở Hà Nội mà chúng tôi được biết địa chỉ của
các ngài.

6. Chúng tôi mong các ngài trả lời sớm.

7. Chúng tôi muốn mua chè, xuất xứ Việt Nam, giao hàng ngay.

8. Chúng tôi chắc chắn rằng các ngài sẽ thấy mặt hàng này bán chạy thật sự.

9. Chúng tôi rất vui mừng gửi kèm theo cho các ngài một bộ khá đầy đủ các kiểu mới
nhất và bán chạy nhất của chúng tôi.

10. Chúng tôi vui mừng báo cho các ngài biết rằng hôm nay chúng tôi đã gửi cho các
ngài bằng bưu kiện những mẫu sau.

V. Letter-writing

1. Anh (Chị) là Trưởng phòng kinh doanh của công ty Red Spot Computers, một hệ
thống đại lý bán máy tính cỡ trung tại Việt Nam, có nhiều địa điểm bán hàng lớn nằm ở
khu vực thương mại và giáo dục. Qua quảng cáo trên số phát hành tháng Tư của tờ

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 Commercial Correspondence

Laptop Users’ Journal, anh (chị) biết một loại máy tính mới có tên là ZX99 được chế
tạo ở Anh, đang có bán ở đó và được công ty Kingston Corporation độc quyền phân
phối. Máy ZX99 là loại máy tính xách tay cao cấp nhất với đặc điểm là có thể giao tiếp
dễ dàng với các loại máy tính khác.

Anh (Chị) biết là loại máy này sẽ thu hút sự quan tâm của khách hàng và nhu cầu sẽ rất
lớn nếu máy này được nhiều người biết đến.

Anh (Chị) hãy viết thư cho Giám đốc điều hành của công ty Kingston Corporation để
hỏi về việc xin làm đại lý. Anh (Chị) cần có thêm thông tin về máy tính đó gồm các tài
liệu chào hàng (sales literature), tờ hướng dẫn, ca-ta-lo và bảng giá bán sỉ.

2. Read this email from Gerd Busch, Marketing Manager of Busch AG, to his PA.
Imagine you are the PA and use the information he gives to write a letter replying to
Anne Croft of Shape-up Fitness Centres on Herr Busch’s behalf.

Birgit

Please reply to this letter. Send Ms Croft a catalogue and price list (tell
her that all prices are quoted CIF London). Also mention the following:

- 5-year guarantee on all our equipment

- Highest-quality materials used

- No credit term (our prices highly competitive due to small profit

margins)

- 5% quantity discount off net prices on orders over €5,000

Encourage her to contact us again.

Thanks

Gerd Busch

14 May 20--

11 Nguyễn Thị Hải Thúy (BA, MBA)