上期答案(10.21——10.31).doc

(1) There are no fashion seasons at HM’s store on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Trucks hauling1 brand-new items pull in2 almost every day. Ever since the Swedish purveyor3 of cheap chic4 first brought its mix of trendy fashions and superlow prices to Manhattan in 2000, Upper East Side matrons5 and gum-popping teens alike have been known to line up before doors open, hoping to be the first to nab6 a $99 limited-edition cocktail7 dress by Stella McCartney8 or a $49 pair of drainpipe9 jeans. Unlike the average retailer, HM never overstocks10, even on best sellers, to avoid clearance sales11. The result: many customers come in weekly or even daily to check out12 the latestitems, rather than monthly. The company already has 91 stores across America, and with plans to open 150 new stores worldwide this year, says the United States will be its fastest-growing market. (1) 在位于纽约第五大道的HM时装店里，你看不出什么是本季节的时尚，因为几乎每天都有成卡车的新款时装纷至沓来。自从2000年这家瑞典廉价时装供应商将超低价的时尚服装带到曼哈顿以来，人所共知的是，从上东区的家庭主妇到吹着泡泡糖的十几岁年轻人，店门没开就在店前排起长队，为的只是赶早抢购由斯特拉·麦卡特尼设计的99美元一件的限量版常礼服，或49美元一条的紧身牛仔裤。与普通零售商不同的是，为了避免清仓甩卖，HM从不过量库存服装，即便是旺销的款型也是如此。其结果是：许多顾客不是每月，而是每周甚至每天都来察看是否有新款上柜。该公司在全美已有91家分店，今年还计划在全球新开150家，并称美国将是其增长最迅速的市场。 (2) There’s a name for what HM sells — it’s called “fast fashion.” And in Europe, where the concept began, it’s already big business, representing anywhere from 5 to 18 percent of the total apparel market in countries like Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain. So far in the United States, however, fast fashion remains a niche — it represented a little more than 1 percent of America’s $172 billion apparel business, according to a 2004 study by Bain Co. consulting. But with both HM and its Spanish rival, Zara, moving rapidly into the U.S. market, big American players from the Gap to WalMart are on the defensive13: too big to copy the fast-fashion model from the ground up14, they are imitating elements of it, moving from a seasonal cycle to something much faster. That could have a dramatic effect on the glo