Work in pairs. Tell your partner about a successful company you know. Talk about its products and achievements
Text 4
Read the text about another famous company and do the tasks after it.
The Levi’s Story
The company makes the most famous and popular trousers in the world. They are made of very strong cotton. There are not many genuinely classic brands, but Levi’s have earned themselves a place among the Coca-Colas, Zippos, Bics, Levi Strauss’s achievement is formidable: from a small family firm to a massive international concern.
Levi Strauss was a German immigrant who arrived in San Francisco in 1853. First, he made tents for gold prospectors. Then, he started to make trousers from the same material. In the early 1960s, Levi Strauss was sky-rocketing. American firms and music had spread to Europe and jeans had come to symbolize a new, youth culture. Kids decided that denim would become their uniform, a visible statement of a new, exciting lifestyle. In 1873, Levi’s dyed the trousers blue. Levi’s headquarters today are still in San Francisco and, in 1993, they sold 50 million pairs of their “501” blue jeans.
The company was not always successful. In the 1980s, they had problems but they changed management and in 1985 Bob Haas became President of the company. With large investment in marketing and advertising, Levi’s relaunched the original “501” jeans. The campaign was a huge success. In Great Britain the advertising was so successful that sales of “501” jeans rose by 800%.
Today, about 16,000,000 pairs of “501” jeans are sold in Western Europe and they are all made in factories in Scotland and France. More than half of Levi’s profits come from export.
The factory in France employs about 540 people who, produce 18,000 pairs of jeans every day. With thirty-five factories in the US, the company is a major employer, particularly in the South. Unfortunately, because this is such a popular product there are many “private” copies made also. In 1993, for example, police throughout the world found 2,000,000 fake pairs of Levi’s jeans.
In the future, they hope that more companies will allow casual dress so that sales will rise as office employees start to wear jeans to work. Just what Levi Strauss designed more than one hundred years ago – working trousers!
Answer the following questions.
1) What does the company specialize in? 2) Where are the headquarters of the company? 3) What do you know about Levi Strauss? 4) Who became president in 1985? 5) How did they manage to relaunch the original “501” jeans? 6) Where does the company have factories in Europe? 7) What did police find in 1993? 8) Are Levi’s jeans popular all over the world?
2. Name the most popular brands of jeans. What jeans do you wear? How many of you own a pair of Levi’s?
Read the text again and summarize the main points under the following headings.
· The Levi achievements
· The company’s history
· The company’s development
4. What clothing companies do you like? Why do you like them?
5. What are the most successful clothing companies in your country?
Text 5
Read the following text and retell it in Russian.
Marcia Lee Jeans
Background
Marcia Lee Jeans is based in New York. Its brand is well known in the United States. The jeans sell in the upper price rangers and appeal to fashion conscious people aged 15 to 40. They are distributed in major department stores throughout the country. At pleasant, the jeans are made in the US by a number of factories on the East coast, none of which are owned by Marcia Lee Jeans. Competition in this segment of the market in strong, so the company has to keep costs as low as possible in order to remain profitable.
In the next 10 years, Marcia Lee plans to expand in Europe and Southeast Asia so that it becomes a global company. To do this, it has decided to build its own factory in an overseas country. The factory will have approximately 2,000 workers who will produce the jeans. These workers will be recruited locally. Denim, the raw material which is used to make the jeans, will be imported from several counties.
The company is considering three countries as a location for the factory. There is some information about each country. They are code named A, B, C.
COUNTRY A
Economy
· Growth rate: 2% per year
· Inflation rate: 5%
· Unemployment rate: 25%-30%
· The country has a lot of debt and is trying to modernize its economy.
Transport
· Good rail network but poor roads
· New international airport
· The main seaport is in poor condition.
Labour
· Unskilled labour available. A lot of training needed for jeans production
· No unions in most industries
· Wage rates: very low.
Comments
The country has a military government. Bribery is common. Political problems: the people in the north want to become an independent state. The government will contribute 30% towards the coast of a new factory.
COUNTRY B
Economy
· Growth rate: 1,5%
· Inflation rate: 0,5%
· Unemployment rate: 3%
· A modern industrial country with many manufacturing industries.
Transport
· Has a fully integrated road and rail network
· International airport
· No seaport
Labour
· Not a lot of skilled labour available
· Strong unions
· Wage rates: high
Comments
The country has a stable government. It is a member of a large trading group. There are street new laws on pollution. There are no tax incentives for building new factories. Business tax is very high.
COUNTRY C
Economy
· Growth rate: 4%
· Inflation rate: 5%
· Interest rates: 8%-12%
· Unemployment rate: 12%
· Government encourages the privatization of industry
Transport
· Road and rail network is in poor condition
· Government has started a big investment programme for the transport system. It will take 5-10 years to complete.
Labour
· Large supply of skilled workers, but they are not used to working long hours
· Strong unions
· Wage rates: low
Comments
A lot of paperwork is required for new businesses. There are problems with air and water pollution. Profits are tax free for the first three years after a factory has been built.
Companies must pay 5% of their profits into a fund for training their workers.
Case study. You are member of the planning committee. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each location. Decide which is the most suitable location for the new jeans factory.
Text 6