Generous Carrefour provokes outrage among citizens |
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/11/21 09:21 I时代 |
ONE of the world's top retail giants Carrefour would never have imagined that one of its celebratory events would cause a furor among locals. To mark the France-based hypermarket chain's 40th anniversary, its Quyang outlet has been distributing 500 free breakfast meals—soybean milk and steamed stuffed bun——every morning since last Monday. But the free meal, valued at just more than one yuan (12 US cents), has led to long queues—extending to about 100 meters——of mostly old people outside the supermarket every day. The meal has become so popular that some seniors have been queuing up as early as 5 am even though the store doesn't open until 8:30 am. Once open, all the 500 meals get over within 10 minutes, leaving many, some of whom have been waiting for hours, disappointed. “I used to do exercise at 6 am daily. Because of the free breakfast, I changed my venue to near the store,”said an old man named Wang. The long queues, the disappointments have triggered different opinions among locals, with the city's largest news portal (www.eastday.com) launching a discussion panel. Some Netizens think it is alms-giving by Carrefour while most are ashamed that people would actually wait several hours for a low-cost breakfast. Still others consider it a marketing blitz. “Carrefour has made use of low-income people for advertising,”said an online surfer nicknamed Qian Fu.“If they really want to do something good, why not cut commodities' prices?” A passer-by surnamed Zhang said:“These people don't lack moneysa for breakfast. They are just being petty. It's a bit shameful, really. Carrefour, on its part, said it was purely a commercial activity for its 40th anniversary. "We didn't want to cause any controversy and there is no other connotation to the activity,”said Zhang Lixia, a public relations manager of Carrefour. “Despite the row, the free meals will continue as planned,”giving no date as to when it will end. Underground Tutor 词汇快车 retail零售的 celebratory庆祝的 furor狂怒 hypermarket超市 outlet销售点,分店 soybean milk豆奶 steamed stuffed bun有内馅的包子 senior年长者 venue地点,场所 |
北京家乐福超市免费早餐遭市民质疑 |
世界上最大的零售商之一——家乐福超市的管理人员没有料到,为了店庆推出的优惠举措居然会招来市民的质疑和责备。 作为40周年店庆的一部分,家乐福曲阳店从上周一开始,每天免费为市民提供500份早餐——豆浆和包子。 这顿价值只有1元钱的免费早餐吃得真不容易。为了这份早餐,老人们不得不早上5点就赶去排队,而超市要8点30分才开门。开门仅10分钟,500份免费早餐便立刻被一抢而空,一些等了数小时的市民不得不空手而归。 |
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