Stores and consumers.

Stores. Conventional stores are often more or less specialized in selling some specific kind of merchandise, for instance, all types of sportswear, play things for children, special kinds of foodstuffs, etc. All the luxury stores – the famous Tiffany (jewelry), Versacci (high fashion clothing), etc. or ordinary specialized stores – a variety of antique and collectible stores, as well as book stores or stores selling videos, CD's, cassettes, CD-ROM's, and accessories for computers. All of them are trading in goods destined only for some strata of the population (interested in such specific merchandise), but not for the general public. Even some food stores can be included into such category – such as specialty stores selling mainly national food or strong drinks.

Supermarkets sell food and basic everyday necessities. A supermarket is a large self-service store selling a great variety of food and household goods displayed on open shelves. A customer having easy access to all the shelves chooses himself the articles to be bought and pays for them at one of the check­outs at the exit. A customer takes a cart (Am.) or a trolley (Br.) on entering the supermarket which is the generally accepted code of “supermarket behaviour”. All the articles in self-service stores have special tags that activate the alarm sound if a customer attempts to leave the premises without paying. In most foreign supermarkets a conveyor belt starts about four or five metres from the check-out. A customer is supposed to put all his purchases out of the cart onto the belt. When the section of the belt with a customer's purchases approaches the cashier, she first enters the price of every article into the till, then packs the articles into plastic or paper bags and puts filled bags into the cart. Upon that a customer is expected to pay.

Malls are quite specific shopping centres where all kinds of manufactured consumer goods can be bought such as clothes, shoes, underwear, leather goods, kitchen utensils, cosmetics, perfumes, jewelry, cameras, cassette recorders, CD’s etc. A mall is a collection of dozens of stores in one place, a kind of a trading city. The stores are relatively autonomous and may belong to different manufacturers, firms or trading companies. It is not only a place of trade but a place of entertainment as well. There are a lot of restaurants, bars, cafes, kiosks, stands and a lot of places to eat and to relax, such as performances, pop singers, comedians, and so on. The original meaning of the word “mall” is public walk. Malls are multi-storeyed structures with elevators and escalators leading from floor to floor and open galleries surrounding each of the upper floors. They are as a rule very beautifully decorated inside – with fountains and trees, different forms of applied arts. Though the greater part of all the malls are luxurious multi-storeyed buildings, one can meet more modest ones. They are usually constructed as a very long one-storeyed building in a form of rectangular with a roofed gallery and the open space in the centre of it.

Marts are small stores selling a variety of goods. They are self-service stores where a customer can buy food and drinks and all kinds of trifles (e.g., films for cameras, magazines and papers to read, sunglasses, etc.) Arts and crafts marts are engaged in selling objects of arts and folk crafts too.

Wal-Marts, the full name is Wal-Mart Discount City, the first of them was opened in 1962 in Arkansas by Sam Walton. A Wal-Mart has everything a mall has – all kinds of stores selling all imaginable kinds of manufactured consumer goods and many opportunities for customers to relax and have a fun. It also has everything a supermarket has – selling all kinds of food and houseware collected under one roof. The idea of Wal-Marts is creating one-stop shopping environment. The result was the creation of a shopping centre of enormous size and proportions. It is a gigantic one-storeyed structure with dozens of entrances and exits. It is really a trading city, that's why Wal-Marts are built beyond the town limits. And it is really a discount trading city because no other kinds of stores can afford such discounts.

Consumer Rights. In their role as consumers, ordinary EU citizens are key players in the Union's new frontier-free single market. The Union has in fact incorporated as the basis of its consumer policy, the protection of the five fundamental rights which lie at the heart of national policies. These are:

1. The protection of consumers' health and safety. Only products which will not endanger health or safety may be put on the market. This means setting safety requirements, providing full information about potential risks, and protecting consumers against physi­cal injury.

2. The protection of consumers’ economic interests.

There is, for example, a general ban on misleading advertising and unfair terms in contracts with consumers.

3. Consumer rights to information and education.

Consumers must be put in a position where they can make an informed choice among goods and services offered. This includes objective information on the features and price of the items available. Consumers also require proper information about their efficient and safe use.

4. The right to redress.

Consumers have the right to receive advice and help when seeking redress for faulty products or for injury or damage resulting from the use of goods and services. There need to be simple, affordable and rapid procedures for settling complaints and claims.

5. Consumer representation and participation.

Representatives of consumers need to be present in decision-taking procedures on issues of concern to them at local, national or EU level. At Union level, this covers not only specific consumer issues but also other relevant policy areas like food laws, transport, competition policy, financial services, environment and the like.

When the Community (the former name of European Union) adopted its first consumer programme in 1973, it focused on the practical application of the five principles. As a first result, a number of directives were adopted over the next 10 years covering among other things the safety of cosmetic products, the labelling of foodstuff, misleading advertising, consumer rights in door-step selling, product liability and the provision of consumer credit.

In addition to its programme of legislation on consumer protection, the Union took steps to make sure the interests of consumers are taken into account at local and EU level. It has supported the development of national consumer organizations and of five major EU-wide organizations with consumer interests. These are: the European Consumer’s Organization (BEUC), the Confederation of Family Organizations in the European Union (Coface), the European Community of Consumer Cooperatives (Eurocoop), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and the European Interregional Institute for Consumer Affairs (EIICA).

Internally, the European Commission created an independent Consumer Policy Service in 1989 in order to give more authority and a higher profile to the implementation of consumer policy.

Task 1. Learn the following words and word-combinations:

conventional – звичайний;

merchandise – товари;

antique storе – антикварний магазин;

collectible store – магазин колекцій;

accessories pl [ek'seseriz] – обладнання;

strata ['stra:ta] – прошарки (суспільства);

specialty – спеціальний асортимент;

everyday necessities – предмети нагальної потреби;

article – товар, вироб;

check-out – контрольно-касовий пункт

tag – ярлик, бірка

cashier – касир

till – касовий апарат

mall Am. – торгове містечко

kitchen utensils – кухонна утварь

mart Am. – невеликий магазин

Wal-Mart Am. – торгове містечко с багатьма магазинами.

Task 2. Answer the questions on the text:

1. What articles are sold in conventional stores?

2. What is a distinguished feature of supermarkets?

3. What kind of stores are malls?

4. What is the analogue of a mart in your country?

5. Is any difference between Wal-Marts and malls?

6. What kinds of stores described in the text are there in your country?

7. What rights do the consumers enjoy in the EU?

8. When was the first EU consumer programme adopted?

9. What EU-wide organizations protect the interests of consumers?

10. What service was created in 1989 and why?

Task 3. Answer the questionnaire by putting “yes” or “no” at each point. Then read the comments below:

Questionnaire

Are You a Skilled Buyer?

As a consumer you enjoy many privileges. You can buy a wide variety of products in a wide variety of stores. However, as a consumer you also have certain responsibilities. Reading labels, returning goods of poor quality, keeping records of your purchases, and paying bills promptly are among them. By accepting these responsibilities, you will be more pleased with what you buy.

1. Do you take your time about buying?

2. Do you shop at sales?

3. Do you avoid impulse buying?

4. Do you look carefully at what you buy?

5. Do you study labels?

6. Do you compare prices and services?

If you have put “yes” at five points except the 2nd, you proved to be a skilled buyer.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-21