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  3. The sharks are circling. Having beaten off one private equity bid, the Sainsbury family is now wrestling with another takeover c

The sharks are circling. Having beaten off one private equity bid, the Sainsbury family is now wrestling with another takeover c

admin2010-04-24  47
问题      The sharks are circling. Having beaten off one private equity bid, the Sainsbury family is now wrestling with another takeover challenge, from the Qatari-backed investment fund Delta Two. According to Alistair Darling, such smash-and-grab raids on British corporations are to be encouraged. But firms such as Sainsbury’s have a history and meaning in our national life that goes beyond the balance sheet.
     In the late 1980s, J. Sainsbury PLC. was feted across the business world as one of the great retailers. its chairman was knighted as the company posted record profits. Founded in London’s Drury Lane in 1869 by John James Sainsbury, it had started as a small dairy selling eggs, milk and "the best butter in London". As late Victorian family incomes rose, urban retailers expanded into the grocery and butchery business. And, in an era of adulterated foods and filthy shops, the Sainsbury ethic of cleanliness, quality and value marked it out.
     As suburbia expanded, so did Sainsbury’s. John James always believed in buying freehold properties and his premier stores were located in the commuter belts of Croydon, Purley and Balham. Personalized service and an aspirational decor transformed neighborhood grocery shops into Edwardian food emporia. But, in language eerily familiar to modern ears, local shopkeepers soon complained about the unfair advantage of supermarkets with their distribution depots, bulk buying, vast advertising budgets and price cuts; 1900s retailers fought desperately against their expansion. Yet Sainsbury’s grew and there was nothing they could do.
     The real revolution came in the post-war years when John James’s grandson, Alan Sainsbury, introduced serf-service at Croydon in 1950--much to the horror of some suburban grandees who threw their wire baskets at the Sainshury chairman. Characteristically, Harold Macmillan better judged the post-war materialist mood and praised the Harlow Sainsbury’s as "a very clean and most ingenious way of serving the public and doing business". Profits soared and Sainsbury’s was on the path to becoming a major influence on the British people’s cultural, commercial and social habits.
     Behind the shop stood the family Titans--referred to by staff as "Mr. Alan", "Mr. JD", or "Mr. David". While retail was always detail at Sainsbury’s, the company bad a broader view of its public role. Early supporters of the Beveridge report, the firm inaugurated a comprehensive pension and sickness scheme. It had an equally keen sense of its history.
     But during the 1990s, the Sainsbury’s supermarket crown was stolen by Ian MacLaurin’s Tesco. Every empire contains the seeds of its own downfall and Sainsbury’s centralized management structure failed to adapt fast enough to a shifting retail market. David Sainsbury was the last family member to sit as chairman and the fifth generation spurned careers in the firm. And now, despite a recent turn-around, the Sainsburys are under pressure to sell their remaining shares to private equity property speculators.
     In the end, business is business and one can’t be too misty-eyed. But an implicit part of the Sainsbury’s brand has always been a connection to this dynastic tradition of retailing. It is a precious asset that will vanish the moment private equity spivs get their bands on John James’s legacy.  
In the first paragraph, "The sharks are circling" probably means ______ .
选项 A、there are some dangers in the neighborhood
B、there is fierce competition in the retailing market
C、there are many competitors in the market
D、there is fierce competition in Sainsbury family
答案B
解析 推理判断题。根据该句可以到文章中迅速定位，在第一段介绍该句之后，引出the Sainsbury家族企业所面临的竞争，从第二句中的“…is now wrestling with another takeover challenge，”可以推断这一形象化的比喻的真正含义是选项B 。
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