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Winner business innovation

Danny Chapchal, chairman of Camcon
destination for top management from the
Technology, has a nice story to tell about his
world's big companies, many of which are
Company, winner of this year's Business
piloting the new valve.
Innovation Award. When he took over as
The binary actuator was invented by Polish
chairman it was to raise money for the firm
sound engineer and academic, Wladyslaw
which has world-wide patents on the binary
Wygnanski, who has spent more than two
actuator.
decades perfecting what at first seems to be
The binary actuator? Does this sound very
the most simple of gadgets.
exciting? Certainly not to the first venture
The valve works by using magnets and
capital organization Mr Chapchal approached.
springs and very little power. It works for a
Within days of receiving the company's offer
long time and at great speed. These qualities
they wrote back saying ' we cannot see the
are wha t people who use valves have
been
market for this technology '. Mr Chapchal
searching for, and there is every
chance that
thinks they will end up in the same position
as the company that turned down the
Beatles.
The binary actuator is a valve; a simple but
brilliant re-invention of the valve, and a
step-change in technology that will make
ripples around the world. A valve is a simple
device that controls the movement of a liquid
or gas in the system, preventing the liquid from
moving in more than one direction.
Imagine something that could reduce jet
engine noise by 90% and allow ambulances
to go over speed bumps without slowing
dowm ... these applications are just a
beginning. Camcon Technology is now the

Camcon will make the big time.

Christopher McDouall, a director of the
company says : ' This is a beginning
of
something that over the next 25 years will
become extremely significant.' He should
know; he began his career whit the legendary
Barnes Wallis inventor of the jet engine
and was also involved in the early days of
Concorde. Mr McDouall adds; ' You can't say it
is like the transistor, but it is similar to the
effect it will have.'
Commenting on the award, Mr Wygnanski
said: ' This is proof that inventors and the
business community in Cambridge is truly
international'.

Ooop:

Tec 2:
Vuitton's drive to maintain double -digit
London; Dubai, Singapore and New York to
sales growth. And it helps reduce Vuitton's shop,' Singh recalls. Within a year, Vuitton
dependence on Japanese customers, who was scouting for store locations, finally
account for more than half of sales world- settling on retail space in Delhi's luxsurious
wide.
Oberoi Hotel. The company expects to
Vuitton isn't the only luxury group
open a second store in Mumbai this year.
eyeing emerging markets, but it tries to
For Vuitton, these
store openings
stay ahead of the pack. In his Paris office,
serve a dual purpose. Of course, the
Vuitton chief Yves Carcelle keeps a photo company hopes to draw crowds of
of Nanjing road of Shanghai, which was
shoppers. But just as important, the
clogged with bicycles in 1992 when
outlets, and the publicity they generate
Vuitton became the first global luxury
help to raise the brand's profile with
group to open a store there. Today, the
people who may end up shopping for
street is thronged with cars and is the
Vuitton when they travel abroad. London
main artery of a bustling business district.
based analyst Melanie Flouquet of J P
Bagging some new markets
In fact, about 8 % Vuitton sales are
Morgan says that within
fifteen years more
made to mainland Chinese customers. That
than 100 million Chinese wil l go abroad
Indian aristocrats, business leaders, and includes clients at nine stores in China, as
annually.
Bollywood stars turned out in force last well as Chinese tourists shopping in other
That's why Vuitton plans to open four
March at a glittering reception for an countries. Once again in India, Vuitton is
more stores in China this year. The
exhibition of antique luggage used by the first major luxury shop group to set up
company says mainland China and Taiwan
Maharajas. But the luxurious steamer shop. ' We have one billion [Indians] who
together are already its third
largest
trunks and cases for swords and turbans are just waiting for us', Carcelle says.
market behind Japan and the US. And
werrn't on display in a historical museum.
Yet entering a new country requires
there are more serious shoppers out there.
The setting was Louis Vuitton's newly - painstaking groundwork. Carcelle sent a
Vivian Hung , a 34- year -old Hong Kong
launched New Delhi store, its first outlet team to India in 1999 to meet Tikka
native who lives i Beijing, is a devoted
in India.
Shatrujit Singh, a young aristocrat who
Vuitton fan who owns a collection of
Vuitton's move into India is part of an was the advisor to Vuitton's parents LVMH handbags and the latest ready- to-wear by
expansion that over the past decade has Mot Henessy Louis Vuitton in India,
Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs. ' Other big
doubled the size of its retail network to were it was selling champagne, cognac,
brands like Prada and Gucci are very good
318 stores in 51 countries. Beside India and perfumes. Singh introduced them to
but I choose Louis Vuitton,' she says. With
it opened its first store in Russia last year wealthy businesspeople and socialities. clientele like that, Vuitton looks set for
and will soon move into South Africa. ' There was nothing available in India for
even more globalgrowth.
Tapping new markets in essential to the rich to buy. People were flying to
Business Week

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 2:
c a ea a e:
Te 1:
Research in the United States
Britain is not far behind the USA have therefore relabelled this as 'prop
sugests that a teenager its
with this technique. Last
night in provision'. The Sol beer in Hollyoasks is
exposed to up to
3,000
London, party lovers could listen on used as a realistic prop. No money is
television ads a day. These ads their mobile phones to a list of places paid to the programme - makers. ' It
can become with
noise, to go out under the slogan 'Sol on a sounds artificial for a character to walk
barely noticeable. The huge mission'. When they relax in front of into a pub and ask for a cola drink,'
growth of satellite channels the soap opera Hollyoaks, they will see said the ITC's Helena Hird.
and the introduction of the actors drinking from bottles of Sol
Some enterprising consumers are
TiVo box,
which can Mexican beer. It is all part of a 1m finding novel ways of exploiting the
record programmes
while campaign by Sol, which is rejecting urge to brand anything that moves. A
filtering out the ads, has normal advertising in favour of more Dutch student, hitch-hiking round the
reduced the reach of the covert methods. 'Today's youth are very world, is naming on the website diary
television commercial even cynical,' said Zoe Smith, Sol's brand the hotels that
give him
free
more. As a result , brands manager in Britain. 'You cannot be too accommodation. Jonathan
Ressler
are turning increasingly to obvious. They like something a little bit whose agency has helped to pioneer
undercover marketing. In
different that challenges them'.
product placement methods, says this is
America , actresses are hired to go into
In Hollywood, product
placement just the beginning. 'You're
definitely
bars to
offer
strangers particular has been around for decades. Producers going to see real people
being
brands of alcohol, cigarettes or snacks. can collect upwards of 75,000 a time sponsored by companies. It's not going
They never reveal the truth of their from companies wanting their product
to be a superstar like Michael Jordan
mission,but the intentions are to help
to be seen on the screen. To an extent,
it's going to be Mr Joe Average. And
foster a feel-good image for their
the same is true of television, altought
it'll be cheaper, more effective
and
corporate employers. This
stealth
the methods are more subtle. British
carry far more credibility,' he said.
advertising its aimed particulary at TV companies face heavy fines from
We'we had reality television, he argues,
young consumers who are no longer
the Independent
Television
so what's wrong
with
reality
influenced by the heavy sell with which Commission if they accept payment for advertising?
they have grown up.
product plaement. Marketing firms
The Times

Ooop:

Te 2:
your potential employer is looking for
on neon yellow paper are
'wrong,
and then match approximately five from
wrong, wrong.'
your portfolio.
What about length? Must you
keep
If you're going for your first job, you
everything on one page? Is it
OK to
migh not feel you have five
stretch to three? Mr
Richardson feels achievements under your belt, but it can
that two pages
are pretty standard for
be just a question of looking at your
the UK,and that busy
recruiters won't experience in the right way. ' Lots of
read anything
much longer than that.
students undersell themselves,'says John
'The key is to be pithy'says Mr
Owen,'I Richardson, careers consultant at
saw a CV recently
that was to simple.It Manchester University. 'When they say
was about 10 lines long.
Just: I went to
they've done nothing you want to
this university, I'm interested in these
scream at them. You've worked in a bar
things, Iwant to work in advertising for
on a Saturday night in Manchester?
these reasons. It was very impressive.
' Writing a CV is like eating an elephant. You've got experience handling conflict.'
With all this, you're probably
You have to do it chunk by chunk,' says
The same applies to any attempt to
running out of space. The good news is
Margaret Stead, CEO of careers
make your CV stand out from the
that you don't need to include
consultancy careersnet.com. She feels
crowd. When it comes to quirky
references. It's perfectly acceptable to
that all to often we take to daunting,
touches,' Do it for a reason,' says Nic
put'references available on request' at
one-size-fits-all approach to compiling a Owen, account direcor at advertising
the bottom.
CV. When it comes to CVs, the key is to agency M&C Saatchi. 'If there's a reason
Mr Owen also thinks humour can
make it relevant. Ms Stead recommends for it then it can be powerful but
help. He says it's important to let your
that, rather that writing a generic
gimmick for their own sake are
personality come across. 'People think
chronological CV, you should build up a annoying.'Ms Stead fondly remembers
they have to be so serious. You
portfolio of achievements. When
a CV that turned up with a tea bag
shouldn't be flippant, but the best CV's
applying for a job, identify the
attached and an invitation to 'have a
are the ones where you warm to be
achievemnets that demonstrate skills
cup of tea while you read my CV .'But
person. In the end you just have to be
she agrees that you can't rely on the
yourself. If you lie about who you are
person who reads your CV sharing your
now and get the job, you will have to be
sense of humour. As a general rule,
that person for the rest of your career.'
Stead says, tricks like printing you CV

Ooop:

 3:
c a ea o .
1:
Now read the text and answer the questions.
1

Why don't analysts share Mr Scott's optimism about Wal-Mart's US growth?

Where does Wall Street think that Wal-Mart's future growth will come from?

How did Wal-Mart become number three in Britain?

What mistakes did it make in Indonesia?

What useful expertise has Wal-Mart obtained from Asda?

Why does Wal-Mart need to achieve greater scale internationally?

How could the aquisition of a European competitor help Wal-Mart's personnel

problems?

In less than four decades Wal-Mart has come to account for 60% of America's retail sales and
7-8% of total consumer spending (excluding cars and white goods). Its pre-tax profits have
grown by 15% over the last decade to $9.3bn in 2000. No other global retailer comes close
when measured by sales. H Lee Scott (Wal-Mart's CEO) says future growth will come from
aggressive new store openings, plus a move into food and into such services as banking.' Is
there some reason we couldn't be three times this size'. However, analysts worry about
saturation in America and expect domestic growth to slow. Wall Street is pinning its hopes
instead on Wal-Mart's overseas efforts. Founded only a decade ago, the international division
already accounts for 17% of sales and 11% of profits. Wal- Mart is already the biggest retailer
in Canada and Mexico. It bought itself the number three position in Britain with its 6.7bn
acquisition of Asda and is now pushing into China. But its ventures in Argentina, Indonesia,
and Germany have been flops, accompanied by heavy losses. With a presence in nine
countries, Wal-Mart is in fact lessinternational than other aspiring blobal retailers such as
France's Carrefour, which has stores i 31 countries. Most of Wal-Mart's overseas problems
were avoidable. In the 1990's it made the mistake of exporting its culture wholesale, rather
than adapting to local markets. When it moved into Indonesia, it shipped in an entire
warehouse on a barge. Wal-Mart is at least learning from its experience. Unlike its small,
nervous steps into some foreign markets, the acquisition of Asda was bold, providing crucial
experience in selling food. Wal-Mart is also becoming more culturally astute, even importing
food ideasoverseas into its domestic business. Bit Wal-Mart's biggest problem is its lack of
'human capital', says Coleman Peterson, head of personnel. The group has been at pains to
replace expatriates with locals, and every overseas country team expect China's is now led by
a non- American. Yet it is expanding faster than it can train people internally, and has lost
high-quality local managers to rivals. This leads to another problem: that the international
division still lacks scale. To exploit savings from sourcing globally, Wal-Mart need to make
more acquisitions. Buying Carrefour would be its boldest move. However, Wal-Mart is more
likely to buy the hypermarket businesses of Germany's Metro, worth $4bn. Buying even part
of Metro would bring Wal-Mart huge clout with European suppliers, and also some more
experienced European managers.
The Economist

ec 2:
Hamleys is Britain's most famous toy shop. It is located in the West End of London, famous for
its theatres, expensive shops, and department stores. Read the article and complete paragraphs
A-F with these initial sentences.

Mr Burke brought back the basics of retailing with a focus on range, value, service, and the
store environment.

The success of The Bear Factory will help reduce Hamley's reliance on the flagship store.

Two weeks before Christmas and Simon Burke, the chairman of Hamleys, is striding around
Britai's best-known toy store looking anxious.

Indeed he has strong views on the toy industry including the fact that many hot sellers are not
up to much.

' I used to play games like Diplomacy and war games ( as a child ).

Services like VIP shopping have been introduced, as well as a home delivery service.

B ' I think that with the degree of

store so we should have the
ultimate
branding that is prevalent in the toy
toys.'
industry, the actual playing quality of the E
Hamleys has also started an
item is often overlooked. You'll get what expert hotline where customers can ask
are sometimes quite poor toys that will questions about specialist areas like
sell very well because they happen to
model railways. Prices are more
have the right brand or because they are competitive and the flagship store has
supported by massive advertising.'
been given an additional 2.6m
It was all strategy games, rather
makeover to make it closer to the
than games of chance where there's lots fantasyland it should be. Meanwhile

the
of

dice-rolling involved.'The former war

failed Toystack stores are gradually
being
game players has needed all his strategic turned into branches of The Bear
skills to revive the fortunes of Hamleys
Factory, which sells custom-made
teddy
which was an under-invested has-been
bears with voice-recorder messages.
when he was brought in two years ago.
F
It will also cut the group's reliance
With four chief executives in the
on tourist spending. All of which brings
A
This is a make-or-break time for the previous four years the business had
Mr Burke to an issue he clearly feels very
company which makes nearly all its money become confused.And the acquisition of strongly abou. It is the decline of
in the last three months of the year. But Toystack, a chain of shopping mall toy
London's West End. ' It is quite a
you realize that he doesn't look half as
stores, had proved disastrous.
challenge to trade in the West End now.
anxious as some of the shoppers. 'When it
D
He has cut out cheap rubbish and Time was when people would have given
gets close to Christmas Eve people will,
put in more own brand products
anything for a West End site. But now
within reason, buy just about anything'
including traditional wooden toys. ' And you have to ask some questions. There is
he says. Hamleys is enjoying a renaissance we have more big-ticket items such as
a fundamental transport problema and
under the 43-year-old Mr Burke but the
16,000 4x4 mini car with a petrol
there are increasing number of
former Virgin executive who joined the
driven engine. I don't expect to sell
alternatives with free parking. The West
firm two years ago, is no starry-eyed kid in many of them, but we've the ultimate toy End has to pull its socks up.'
the candy store.

Read th text again and answer these questions.

1

Why are the weeks before Christmas so important to Hamleys?

What theory does Burke have about the success of some toys of poor quality?

What connection does the writer make between Burke's childhood hobbies and his
actions as a manager?

How do we know that Hamleys was in a poor state before Burke arrived?

What is The Bear Factory's USP?

Why is The Bear Factory so important for the London store?

What worrying key issue is beyond Burke's control?

10

 4:
e-mail oo 150 a je o a:
1.
Use the information below to writte a letter demanding payment.

You supplied 200,000 blank CDs to Skunkx records. It was an emergency order, so you
supplied them straightaway on the promise that your invoice would be paid within ten
working days. You have been working with the studio for the past three years and there
has never been a problem. However, the invoice is now seriously overdue. You suspect
that the company may be in in financial difficulty. However, you supplied the goods in
good faith and want your invoice to be paid. Otherwise you may have to take legal action
to recover the debt.

O:

11

 5:
o 200 o 250 e a .
c a. (Tip).
Think of a company you know which is in danger of going out of business, or which needs
improvement. It could be a company, a shop, or a service (such as a hairdressing salon).
Write a report explaining how this company could develop its business to stay competitive.

often use the passive voice

instead of the active
introduce options using the
infinitive
may begin sentences with
an adverbial phrase,
e.g. As a result, the decision
to introduce variable pricing
was taken.
use more formal vocabulary,
e.g. undertake (rather than
agree), retail outlet
(rather than shop).

O:

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