unit

Brands
A
Abu Dhabi Denmark Nescaf Starbucks

Business Leaders on FT.com

before you watch

Look at the words below. Some are BRANDS and some are COUNTRIES. Draw a circle around the BRANDS.
BHS Body Shop Evans Costa Rica Kuwait River Island Turkey Debenhams Mothercare Russia USA Ecuador Next

Poland Topshop

Thailand

B C

In which regions or continents are the countries? Name the brands from the box associated with these products.
1 ___________________: a brand of instant coffee 2 ___________________: a chain of retail stores selling products for mothers and babies 3 ___________________: a chain of cafs selling coffee and other drinks 4 ___________________: a chain of shops selling make-up and beauty products 5 ___________________: chain of shops selling clothes and furniture, originally known a
as British Home Stores

comprehension

Watch Part 1 of the video. Choose answers to the questions.

1 What was the first franchise Alshaya represented?
a) Mothercare b) Body Shop c) Starbucks

Part 1

2 Where did they open their first store?

a) Poland b) Turkey c) Kuwait

3 Where has Alshaya recently opened new stores?

a) Russia b) Kuwait c) Poland

Watch the complete video. Dont try to understand every word. Listen for the numbers you hear. Tick 3 the numbers you hear.
1 85 6 130 13 300 40 1,200 83 14,000

Watch the video again. What do the numbers refer to? Look at the words in the box. (Some words are used more than once.)
brands people countries stores franchises years
Market Leader Intermediate 3rd Edition

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Pearson Education 2010

UNIT 1 BRANDS

comprehension

Part 2 Main points

Read the statements below carefully. Watch the video again. Tick 3 the statements which are true.
1 Mohammed joined the company in 1983. 2 In 1985, the company had six stores. 3 Now the company distributes over 40 different brands. 4 The company operates in 30 different countries. 5 Fourteen thousand people now work for the company. 6 The company has more than 1,200 stores. 7 Most of the stores are in Poland, Russia and Turkey but they also have a few stores in
the Arabian Gulf countries.

8 The company represents a wide range of home improvement brands. 9 The company is most successful with large, global brands. 10 The company is also trying to support charitable work in their markets.

Watch the video again. Choose the best answers to these questions.
1 Mohammed joined the company
a) when it started. b) two years after it started. c) two years before it started.

2 Since 1985, the company has

a) doubled in size. b) lost 14,000 employees. c) started to represent more brands in many more countries.

3 The company started by representing brands

a) in Poland. b) in the Arabian Gulf countries. c) in our big markets.

4 There is little demand for home improvement brands because

a) there is very little cheap labour available for customers. b) customers prefer to do their own home improvement. c) customers can easily hire workers to improve their homes.

5 The expertise offered by the company is

a) suited to large global brands. b) a headache for small businesses. c) good for brands targeted at young customers.

6 The company encourages its brands to become associated with

a) educational and local development projects. b) family businesses. c) adapting brands to different markets.

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Pearson Education 2010

Market Leader Intermediate 3rd Edition

UNIT 1 BRANDS

vocabulary

Complete the sentences below using words from the box.

predominantly home improvement initiative franchise infrastructure charity hypermarket alliance

1 Young families often spend their evenings and weekends working on _________. 2 She loves reading, _________ romantic fiction. 3 You can usually buy anything you want at a _________. 4 They started a _________ to look after old donkeys. 5 Five leading software publishers have formed an _________ to challenge Microsoft. 6 Although it is a very big country, it has an excellent transport _________. 7 The government has announced an _________ to repair old school buildings. 8 We have the exclusive _________ to sell Skoda cars in Kenya.

language work

Look at the phrases below. Do they mean more or less than the number you see?
1 At least 63% of young male drivers choose red cars. 2 Most children over the age of seven have already started to grow their adult teeth. 3 Our brain training games can improve your memory by up to 80%. 4 Since reaching a 363p high in March 2009, Boxhams share price has plummeted. 5 Expenses in excess of $50 must be accompanied with a receipt. 6 Within the next ten years, we will put a man on the moon and bring him back again. 7 Fresh chicken should be stored at temperatures under 2C. 8 Fewer than 35% of Scottish schoolchildren have bicycles. 9 A return ticket is much cheaper than two 7 single tickets. 10 Well-qualified graduates can earn upwards of 30,000 per annum.

It is important that business people can communicate numbers accurately. Check that you can say the sentences below.
1 Water freezes at 32F. 2 A mile is 1,760 yards. 3 A kilometre is 0.6214 of a mile. 4 My telephone number is 0360744355. 5 She lives at 362 West 11th Street. 6 Your room number is 425. 7 An inch is 2.54cm. 8 My daughter is 3 1/2 years old. 9 He gave his wife a four-gigabyte memory stick for their 25th wedding anniversary. 10 The company was founded in 1724.

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Pearson Education 2010

Market Leader Intermediate 3rd Edition