1ere G

Distribution consists of bringing the goods from the producer to the consumer or
customer with the help of various types of traders.
- First the wholesaler, who acts as a middleman between the producer and the retailer;
he buys and sells the goods in bulk, and usually takes responsibility for transport and
warehousing or storing / stocking in a warehouse. Wholesalers are eliminated in factory
outlet stores* which are spreading throughout the USA and Europe.
- Second the retailers:
a) Small independent shopkeepers who may be helped by shop-assistants; sometimes
they are franchised (authorised to market the products of a producer under its brandname or trademark: for instance Benetton of Italy)
b) Chain-stores which are more or less specialised: e.g. W.H. Smith and Sons for papers,
books and stationery, Boots for pharmaceutical and health products (along with other
small articles) in Britain; Baskin-Robbins for ice-creams in the USA.
c) Huge department stores (e.g.: Selfridges in London, Macys, Sears & Roebuck, J.C.
Penney, in the USA), where a wide range of articles is sold in various departments: e.g.
the mens wear department, the toy department, the furniture department, the
sportswear department, etc.
d) Self-service stores: High-Street supermarkets, so called because they are situated
in town centres (e.g.: Sainsburys, Safeway in Britain), are facing the growing
competition of superstores often situated out-of-town because the land is cheaper; the
biggest ones in Britain are Tesco or Asda, and they have many branches. In the USA,
Safeway, Stop & Shop are well-known chains of supermarkets.
More and more shops and supermarkets are concentrated in shopping centres, or malls,
with large parking facilities.
e) Customers do not always have to go out to do their shopping; they can make their
purchases from home, thanks to mail order. Sears & Roebuck in the USA, one of the
largest distributors, is also a major mail-order firm and its enormous catalogues are
famous. In Britain, Empire Stores is the British counterpart* of La Redoute.
Glossary: 1. factory outlet store: magasin dusine 2. counterpart: homologue

A READING COMPREHENSION
I./ Are the statements below are right ( R ) or wrong ( W ). Justify your answers,
referring to the text. (02 pts)
1- Superstores are usually found in town centres.
Right Wrong

2- Boots is a British pharmaceutical chain shop.

Right Wrong

3- You can only buy groceries at the corner grocery.

Right Wrong

.
4- There are many different retail outlets in shopping malls.
Right Wrong

II./ Answer the questions below. (02 pts)

5- How does the wholesaler acts as a middleman between the producer and the retailer?

.
6- What allows you to make your purchases from home?

7- Give an example of a shopping mall in Dakar.

8- Why are superstores generally situated out-of-town ?

....
III./ In the text, what do these underlined words refer to ? (01 pt)
9- so called: .....
10- ones: .
IV./ Complete the chart below, from your understanding of the text. (03 pts)
Distribution interveners Functions
Types
11- bulk buying and selling
Wholesalers
12- ......................................
13- ......................................
14- ................................................
Retailers
15- ................................................
16- ................................................
17- ................................................
18- mail-order firms
V./ Summarize the text at 1/10th of its length (around 32 words). (02 pts)
.......................................................................................................................................................
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.......................................................................................................................................................
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B LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE

I./ Compound words. (02 marks)

Home-produced goods are goods that are produced at home. Find the compound words for
the definitions below:
19. A cart that horses drive A
20. A thing that man has made A ........
21. Letters that are written with the hand ..
22. Lamps that the sun powers .
II./ Turn into active voice, using the agents in the brackets. (04 marks)
23. Goods may be sent by rail, road, canal, river or air. (by traders)

24. A warehouse is a building where goods are stored. (by traders)

25. Goods should be insured against many risks. (by traders)

26. Banks are often said to lubricate the wheels of commerce. (by people)

C WRITING
Topic: What are the different interveners in the chain of distribution of goods and what do
they do? (Write about 100 words). (04 marks)