Natura looking for growth outside of Brazil

Natura, a fast-expanding Brazilian cosmetics company that specialises in making ‘natural’ products from trees in the Amazon rainforest, is considering starting sales operations in the UK, USA and Russia as part of an international expansion plan.

Alessandro Carlucci, Natura’s chief executive, says he would like to see the company gain at least 10 per cent of its annual sales from outside Brazil within five years. The percentage of international sales is currently 3 per cent.

‘We think there is a lot of space in the cosmetics industry to grow and we think we have good products that will appeal to consumers in other countries,’ Mr Carlucci said.

The company has a team of 15 people, based in the UK, USA and Russia, who are exploring ways to start selling cosmetics in these places, probably through groups of self-employed agents.

Natura’s store in Paris, which opened last year, plans to recruit in the coming months about 50 sales agents in France. Mr Carlucci says the store in France is an ‘experiment’ to test interest by consumers outside Latin America in Natura’s products.

He declined to provide details of Natura’s sales in France, but said he was ‘very happy’ with the results so far.

HOW TO CREATE DEMAND

Lipstick that can change colour according to a woman’s feelings: blue when she is angry, red when happy. A machine that can paint a woman’s nails in exactly the same pattern as her dress: these are the ideas of the future, according to Jean-Paul Agon, chief executive of L’Oréal, the world’s biggest cosmetics company.

Mr Agon wants scientists and marketers to work together to maintain the French group’s remarkable growth. ‘It is not always by asking people what they want that you find the big idea,’ he says.

L’Oréal is at its best when introducing or inventing a product that the consumer later comes to love. Mr Agon therefore believes that L'Oréal has a lot in common with companies such as Apple Computer and Nokia.

‘Before the invention of cellphones and iPods, nobody thought they needed one, but now that they exist, everybody believes that they make life better. Beauty is a little the samee,’ Mr Agon says.

12 Пометьте высказывания нужными буквами:

       a)    true for Natura

       b)    true for L’Oréal

       c)    true for both companies

       d)    not true for either company

51   They sell cosmetics.                                                                     ______

52   They sell only natural products.                                              ______

53   They are market leaders in the global cosmetics industry.          ______

54   They sell only in Latin America at present.                                 ______

55   They are growing rapidly just now.                                             ______

56   They are looking for ways to increase international sales.           ______

Отметьте, какие утверждения правдивые (T), а какие ложные (F).

57   Mr Carlucci says that sales in France are falling.                         ______

58   Natura wants to employ people to sell its products abroad.        ______

59   The extract about L’Oréal describes two future product ideas.  ______

60   L’Oréal’s CEO believes that the only way to find new product ideas is to ask customers what they want.                                                                                ______

14 Прочтите и письменно переведите электронное письмо. Напишите ответ (50-60 слов). Укажите, что Вы заняты на этой неделе, но хотите встретиться еще раз. Предложите пообедать вместе. Напишите, что у Вас есть свободное время с 12.30 до 1.30 p. m.

Hi! Remember me? We met at the conference in St Petersburg last May. I’m going to be in your area next week, and it would be great if we could meet. Perhaps we could go out for dinner one evening? Please let me know if you have time and if so, which day you would prefer. Hope to see you soon, Best wishes Joy

15 Прочтите объявление о вакансии и напишите электронное письмо Дэмиану (40 слов). Напишите, что Вы заинтересовались, хотите узнать о вакансии подробнее и получить бланк заявления. Писать о себе необязательно.

Sales Executives Omnia, a top media company, is recruiting talented sales people who wish to develop their career in media sales. Salary?44,000 e-mail damian@omnia.co.uk for details.

 

ВАРИАНТ 2

1 Прочитайте диалог и переведите на русский язык. Менеджер по маркетингу Кит проводит совещание с менеджером по проведению исследований рынка Донной, менеджером по продажам Фатимой и менеджером по новым продуктам Джейми в компании по производству замороженных продуктов Igloo Foods. Составьте план пересказа от третьего лица с ключевыми словами. Перескажите основное содержание, выскажите свое мнение.

Keith          OK, let’s start. At the last meeting, we agreed that we need to extend our product range. The purpose of this meeting is to decide what kind of new products we should develop. Donna, you’ve looked at the market research. What have you found out?

Donna        Well, the trend is definitely towards healthy foods. Market research shows that 60 per cent of people buy healthy foods some or all of the time. And 35 per cent often buy vegetarian food. If we go with the trend, we’ve got three options. The first is healthy dishes made with meat or fish and very little salt or fat. The second is healthy desserts, made with fruit and not much sugar. And the third is vegetarian dishes.

Keith           OK, let’s look at the first option – healthy meat and fish dishes. What do you all think?

Fatima        We launched a healthy chicken dish two years ago. It wasn’t very popular and didn’t sell well. It didn’t have much salt. And without salt, it didn’t have much taste. The customers’ opinion was that it was tasteless.

Jamie         Perhaps we should make something spicy, then. We could make an Indian-style dish. For example, chicken curry. That has a strong taste and doesn’t need salt.

Donna         I’m afraid I don’t agree, Jamie. Several other companies already produce exotic foods – curries and so on. It’s a very specialist area, and we don’t have any experience or expertise in that.

Jamie          Well – we’re talking about introducing a new product range, so whatever we choose, we’re entering a new market where we don’t have much experience.

Fatima        Jamie’s right. We have to be ready to take some risks or we’ll never make any progress.

Keith           OK, let’s make a note of chicken curry. That’s one suggestion. What other suggestions do you have?

2 Прочтите вопросы к диалогу и выберите правильные ответы – a, b или c.

1     The aim of the meeting is to decide …

       a)    what kind of new products to develop.

       b)    how to market a new product.

       c)    how to improve an existing product.

2     Donna talks about …

       a)    customer profiles.

       b)    the market trend.

       c)    sales figures.

3     Fatima talks about a chicken dish that didn’t sell well. It was …

       a)    not healthy.    

       b)    not tasty.

       c)    too salty.

4     Jamie suggests …

       a)    an exotic fish dish.

       b)    a Chinese chicken dish.         

       c)    a spicy Indian-style dish.

5     What does Donna think of Jamie’s suggestion?

       a)    She agrees.     

       b)    She disagrees.

       c)    She isn’t sure about it.

6     In this extract, the team gives opinions about …

       a)    chicken curry.

       b)    healthy desserts.

       c)    vegetarian dishes.