UNIT 10 SELLING

READING
A Global Retailer
Carrefour is the second largest retail company in the
world and was the first to open a hypermarket in China. It
entered the Chinese Market in 1995. it now has annual sales in
the country more than 2 billion and is opening an increasing
number of stores to improve its market share (currently 5%).
Carrefour has attracted customers by adapting to and
copying local customs. For example, Chinese consumers
traditionally bought live fish at markets, so Carrefour introduced
live fish at stores near the sea. However, in stores
hundreds of miles from the sea, live fish would not be
practical. Frozen fish was introduced instead and
this boosted sales of fish by 30-40%.
 Carrefour has tried to stay ahead of the customer by not
introducing products and ideas that are so new and radical that
they don’t sell, but not being too late either. One way Carrefour
has done this is by introducing Chinese consumers to the idea of
drinking wine with a meal by selling a few wines which go well
with fish and seafood. It has also expanded its range of services,
introducing loyalty cards as a way to offer discounts, and
providing consumer credit. In 2006, it launched an advertising
campaign for online shopping. All of these have helped promote
the Carrefour name, both in China and around the world.
Read the text about Carrefour, the French supermarket
group. Are these sentences true or false?

1.Carrefour is increasingly successful in China .......

2. All of the Carrefour stores in China sell the same products .....
3. Chinese consumers have always drunk wine with their food.....
4. Chinese consumers can buy Carrefour products and pay later...
5. Internet shopping is now possible at Carrefour ......
 VOCABULARY
Exercise 1
Match verbs 1-8 to a-h to make phrases. Then look at the text to
check your answers
1.to improve ..... a. sales
2. to enter ..... b. new customers
3. to attract ..... c. a discount
4. to launch ..... d. a new market
5. to expand ..... e. the company’s name
6. to offer ..... f. an advertising campaign
7. to promote .... g. your range of products or services
8. to boost ...... h. market share
Exercise 2
Choose the correct word (a, b, or c) to complete each sentence

1.A ...... is another name for a “producer”.

a. supplier b. distributor c. manufacturer
2. Supplier sells large quantities of goods to .... , who do not
usually sell directly to customers.
a. wholesalers b. retailers c. manufacturers
3. We offer a..... to customers who buy in bulk.
a. refund b. discount c. delivery
4. We ask consumers who are not fully satisfied to .... goods
within seven days
a. discount b. refund c. return
5 In order to get a full ....., customers must send back goods in
the original packaging
a. discount b. refund c. return
6. Goods will be .... within 24 hours of your order
a. dispatched b. purchased c. exchanged
7. Goods are kept in our ..... until ready for delivery
a. stock b. storage c. warehouse
8. Products and services offered at a large discount are generally
a (n) ......
a. sale b. bargain c. offer
 STRUCTURE
GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

Gerunds have the following uses

1.After prepositions
He joined us after working for a competitor
I’m not interested in buying things on the net
2. As a noun
Registering as a seller only takes a few minutes
The policing of the site is done by the users
3. After certain expressions
There’s no point bidding now. It’s been sold

Key words:
there’s no point, it’s no use, it’s no good, it’s not worth, have
difficulty, be used to, look forward to, object to
4. After certain verbs
We’ve just finishing preparing the new website

Key words
Admit, attempt, avoid, begin, consider, continue, delay, dislike,
enjoy, finish, go, involve, keep, like, mention, miss, prefer,
postpone, practice, propose, recommend, report, risk, start, stop,
suggest
Infinitives have the following uses
1.After adjectives
The website is very easy to use
It’s important to preserve the community feeling
2. Showing purpose
Some people quit jobs to become eBay traders
3. After certain verbs
Many rivals aim to build bigger websites

Key words:
afford, agree, aim, arrange, decide, demand, expect, fail,
hope, intend, manage, need, offer, plan, prepare, promise,
refuse, train, want
4. After certain verbs + object
We asked him to present the figures next week

Key words:
advise, allow, ask, cause, enable, expect, help, invite, lead,
permit, persuade, remind, teach, tell, train, trust, urge, use, warn
Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive
with no difference in meaning
I prefer buying CDs on the internet
I prefer to buy CDs on the internet

Some can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive

with a difference in meaning
We stopped selling the old designs. (what is stopped?)
We stopped to get a coffee. (reason for stopping?)
I remember seeing it in the papers. (refers to past)
Remenber to send the report. (refers to future)
 EXERCISE
Complete the sentences using the correct form of verb
(gerund or infinitive)
1.I enjoy (be) alone.
2. Why do you dislike (live) here?.
3. I don’t like people (shout) at me.
4. Would you prefer (have) dinner now or later?.
5. I would like (be) rich.
6. I was very tired. I tried (keep) my eyes open, but I couldn’t.
7. The baby began (cry).
8. He continued (work).
9. It has started (rain).
10. I don’t like (drive).
 USEFUL LANGUAGE

Mentioning people you know

Harry kaufman suggested I gave you a call
I was given your name by John Stuart
Giving advice
I suggest you give her a call
You could try to track him down through our New York Office
Referring to a previous meeting
Haven’t we met somewhere before?
We both went to that presentation
 Asking for help/ contacts
Can I mention your name when I call him
He mentioned that you might be able to help me
You haven’t got his phone number by any chance?
Is this a convenient time or shall I call back later?

Establishing common interest

Maybe we could help you out there
Are you in sales or product development?
 DIALOGUE

Choose one of the phrases from the boxes to complete these

conversation

-if you need any help

-that’s very kind of you
-would you mind
-I won’t be able to
- would you like a hand
- I’m sorry but
Bill : Hi sally. (1) ...... changing the time of today’s meeting?
Some time this afternoon would be better for me.
Sally: (2) ....... I’ve got to finish that report today. Perhaps we
could fix something up for tomorrow?.
Bill: (3) .......?
Sally: (4)...... Bill but I think (5) ......
Bill: OK. Let’t get together tomorrow.