Addendum on Used To vs. Use To

Addendum on Used To vs. Use To Addendum on Used To vs. Use To Addendum on Used To vs. Use To By Maeve Maddox It sometimes happens that I write a post that I think is beautifully focused on one point of usage, and then I receive a slew of emails faulting me for misrepresenting the topic. That’s what happened with a post on the modal use of used and use to express habitual action in the past. When an article receives this kind of response, I have to assume that my intended explanation wasn’t as clear as I thought it was. The post was based on the following question from a reader: Which is correct    He USED to go to the game on Friday. He USE to go to the game on Friday. All I intended to point out in my answer was that used is the correct choice for the examples given, but that use is correct when it follows the negative didn’t. What I said was, When the statement is positive, as in the reader’s example, the expression is used to. In negative statements, the expression is use to. For example, â€Å"He didn’t use to go to the game on Friday.† One reader correctly commented, â€Å"The distinction is not really about positivity/negativity,† and offered the following sentences as evidence: He did use to go to the game on Friday. He never used to go to the game on Friday. The first example is correct as a contradictory statement. For example: Person A: He didn’t use to go to the game on Friday. Person B: He did use to go to the game on Friday. The second example contains the negative adverb never, but used is still the correct form. Any adverb, negative or otherwise, may modify the modal used: never used to go always used to go rarely used to go I apologize for my sweeping statements about positive and negative. Another reader asks, Can we say â€Å"usednt to† instead of  Ã¢â‚¬Å"didn’t  use to†? It depends. If you live in the UK or some other place where this expression is common, go ahead and use it. If you say it to an American speaker, you’re likely to get a puzzled look. For British speakers, here’s what it says about the different forms in The Penguin Writer’s Manual: The strictly correct negative form of used to is used not to, which can be shortened to usedn’t to: â€Å"You used not to (or usedn’t to) mind if we came in a little late.† This often sounds rather formal, so that did not use to or didn’t use to (but not didn’t used to) are generally acceptable in informal speech or writing. Likewise, the traditionally correct negative question form used you not to..? or usedn’t you to..? is often replaced, more informally, by didn’t you use to..? If neither of these options seems acceptable, you used to, didn’t you? can be used. Another reader demands, What is your authority for this? My usual authorities are the OED, Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary, and The Chicago Manual of Style. This time, however, I relied for the most part on British and American grammar sites that target English learners. BBC: When talking about things that we did in the past but dont do now we can use the expression  used to. The negative form, to talk about things which we didnt do in the past but do now, is  didnt use to.   Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: Except in negatives and questions, the correct form is used to: â€Å"I used to go there every Saturday.† To form questions, use did: Did she use to have long hair? The negative form is usually didn’t use to, but in British English this is quite informal and is not usually used in writing. English Stack Exchange: Except in negatives and questions, the correct form is used to: â€Å"we used to go to the movies all the time† (not we use to go to the movies). However, in negatives and questions using the auxiliary verb do, the correct form is use to: â€Å"I didn’t use to like mushrooms† (not I didn’t used to like mushrooms). Finally, several readers wondered about the pronunciation of used to and use to. You’ll find a thorough treatment of British and American pronunciation of these forms at the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries site. Thanks to all of you for your comments. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Redundant Phrases to Avoid55 Boxing IdiomsUlterior and Alterior

Spring Summer Fall Winter Spring Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Spring Summer Fall Winter Spring - Movie Review Example The story is disintegrated into four parts where each part describes seasonality of the earth. These seasons show us how the Korean culture follows a systematic way of doing things. In each part, there is change of events as how the earth’s seasons revolutionize. The change in seasons shows the progressions and developments that occur in the Korean culture. Argumentation of the Movie The season spring is the supreme event that introduces the addressees to the story and takes the reader through the plot. The reader is introduced to an old monk who trains a youthful monk on the ways of Buddhist convictions. Training of the Buddhist convictions makes the reader understand that the Koreans are a religious society. The Koreans are a hard working society because the old monk labors through herding. The youthful monk has a complex time getting these skills because most of the time he is distracted by pleasure in torturing helpless creatures that are in the spring. This shows us that boys in the Korean society engage in mischief behavior like boys in any society. He decides to punish the young monk for his actions, and commands the young monk to tie a stone around his waist so that he can experience the suffering the animals undergo (Ebert 12). Punishing the young monk because of torturing helpless creatures shows us the Koreans like frogs and snakes. ... The Koreans also engage in romantic relationships at their teenage age, this is evident through the attraction of the young monk and the woman. The young woman is suffering from a disease that is not understood and she is brought to the old Buddhist for medications. This reveals that the Korean culture believes in traditional herbs for curing diseases (Ebert 22). The young monk and the woman continue with their intimate relationship and somehow her ailments are cured, these shows that expression of love in the Korean society is a form of medication. A period of fall is introduced to the reader, which is slightly superior to the season autumn. Koreans appreciate art and use it to communicate different messages, this is evidenced by the way the old monk engages in artistic work. He eventually notices a piece of newspaper reporting the killing of a young woman by his alleged lover and this brings a sense of violence in Korean culture. The old monk robotically suggests that the murdering was a due to jealousy of the lover. Korean culture argues that violent acts are associated with the civilized world. Infidelity is evident in the Korean culture because the young monk kills his wife for having an affair with another man. The young adult’s suffering is resultant of his actions, which are making him experience guiltiness. Koreans believes in the spirits because the old monk performs a ritual for purifying the young monk. The old monk tells the young adult to cut Korean characters on a tree with the knife he used in murdering the woman. There is organized law enforcement in Korean society as detectives arrive in the village to arrest the young adult and ferry him to a penitentiary (Ebert

Discuss South Africas apartheid policy of 1948. How was it initiated Essay

Discuss South Africas apartheid policy of 1948. How was it initiated Provide historical information of the time from the passing of this policy until gaining independence in 1979 - Essay Example In 1948 the National Party, which represented primarily the interests of Afrikaners, used the idea of ​​apartheid as their program and won the elections (Black South Africans already did not have the right to vote). All South Africans were divided by race into White, Colored, Black and Indians (Asians). Different groups had different rights; of course most of them belonged to Whites. Government introduced separate education and health care, transport, social and recreational facilities, churches; mixed marriages were banned. Even shops and beaches were â€Å"for whites only† and â€Å"for others.† Development of the policy of apartheid led to creation of Bantustans (Bantoestans in Afrikaans), the areas densely populated by indigenous Black South Africans; in fact those were reservations. The South African government created ten Bantustans in South Africa and ten in the South-West Africa (Namibia), which was under the control of South Africa. In fact, Bantustans were totally dependent on South Africa, their independence was not recognized by any country in the world. South Africa’s black population was forcibly resettled in the Bantustans. South Africa’s policy openly declared that the ultimate goal of creating Bantustans would be a situation in which no man with black skin color could be a citizen of South Africa and, accordingly, would not have any rights in this country. Due to condemnation and rejection of apartheid by the countries members of the British Commonwealth in 1961 South Africa left the Commonwealth and became an independent republic of South Africa. In 1994, after the end of apartheid South Africa’s Commonwealth membership was restored. Apartheid caused a strong resistance in South Africa itself. A number of organizations, primarily the ANC (African National Congress), organized numerous protests.

Linguistics - The English Language (750words paper) - Cohesion Essay

Linguistics - The English Language (750words paper) - Cohesion Exercise - Essay Example By repeating it the reader must continue to read because they want to understand why the watch is so important. This is also the idea of repetition because the word is repeated over again. They also use synonyms for the missing watch and the watch itself like "bare wristed arm", "unique timepiece", and "threatening to tarnish". This last one indicates that the watch was silver and overtime would tarnish. There are also incidences of exophoric expression. In the first paragraph, "It is standard tourist advice" says that "it" is something the reader should immediately understand, and most tourists and people who live in the city will agree that this is a situation that everyone knows -- that they should look out for pickpockets. The word "pickpocket" immediately sets off in the readers mind a situation that is "seedy" and negative. This first paragraph sets the stage for the later cataphoic reference in that the watch is lifted from the president. The words "standard tourist" seems to imply that although tourists know this informant "the president" may not. The second paragraph starts off with "film" rather than saying something like "there was a security film" so the reader is not given what type of film, but it is another exophoric reference because the reader will know that some type of film could capture this situation. The use of the words "mobbed" and "plunging into an adoring crowd" seem to be juxtaposed to each other. We think of a "mob" as something out of control and at the same time he is "plunging into" the situation which makes it more positive. This creates a contrast between the words "plunging into" and "mob" so that it almost seems like someone being moved along in a crowd at a rock concert. In fact, the writer actually uses the metaphor phrase, "Mr. Bush†¦was received like a rock star†¦" in paragraph five. This was set up previously to make an endophoric connection. The article implies that the

Consumer Perceptions of Private Label Brands in China and UK

Consumer Perceptions of Private Label Brands in China and UK CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF PRIVATE LABEL BRANDS IN CHINA COMPARED WITH THE UK Summary In China there are fewer studies of private label brands (PLBs) that take up less market share than generic brands and national brands. However, there is a successful development of PLBs in the UK. Therefore, this thesis aims to explore the difference of consumer perceptions on PLBs between China and the UK with national brands as a standard. The literature review will review theories like brand equity/image, PLBs and double jeopardy; PLBs development compared with national brands in China and the UK; the influencing factors of consumer purchase behaviour and previous researches of consumers perceptions about PLBs in China and the UK. The main objective of this part is to ascertain the difference of consumers perceptions between PLBs and national brands in the UK. Primary research will take the form of a non probability convenience sampling method to randomly select 200 members of the public from two shopping malls of Xidan and Wangfujing and several large-scale supermarkets in Beijing. Questionnaires will be used for data collection, and data is analysed by Snap statistical programme. The finding shows that there is a significant difference of PLBs perception between China and the UK. Before the evaluation of brand image, the awareness of PLBs in China is understood and just less than half of respondents know the own-label biscuits. With reference to the literature reviewed on consumer perception in the UK, it can get the result that Chinese PLBs are perceived lower than British PLBs on the all attributes except â€Å"cheap† and â€Å"good value†. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 The topic of research The aim of this thesis is to better investigate how private label brands (PLBs) are perceived by consumers in China, and compare it with the UKs. 1.2 Principle research question To understand how Chinese consumers perceptions of private label brands differ from the UKs. 1.3 Overall research objective The primary purpose for this research is to discover the main difference of consumers assessment of private label brands between China and the UK. This thesis will explore if there are significant differences between Chinese consumers evaluation on PLBs and the UKs, and analyse the relevant factors that cause the distinctness of consumers evaluation roundly on the basis of prior research in this subject scope. 1.4 Individual research objectives In order to achieve the principle objective of this study, it will intend to fulfil the following objectives: To identify the actual development of PLBs in China and the UK To establish the influence factors of consumer purchase behaviour in China and the UK To determine consumers perception of PLBs and national brands in the UK To determine consumers perception of Chinese PLBs and national brands To ascertain the different brand perceptions of PLBs in China and the UK 1.5 Report Structure This thesis contains eight chapters. Chapter2 to 4 are based on a literature review about theories and relevant knowledge of marketing background. Chapter2 outlines the theories about branding, and then chapter3 introduces the private label brands and their development in the UK and China. Chapter4 refers to consumer perception of PLBs review between two countries based on analysing the determining factors of purchase. The research method is explained in chapter5 with some specific designing scheme. The results of surveying Chinese biscuit category is presented, interpreted and analysed in chapter6, and discussed relating with the UKs market of literature review in chapter7 before conclusion and recommendations are given in chapter8. Chapter 2: Branding Chapter 2 introduces the definition of branding with its importance in the retail market, and moves to realize â€Å"brand image† and â€Å"brand equity† as well as the shift between them. In addition, the Double Jeopardy (DJ) Effect is identified finally. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate Chinese consumers perceptions of private label brands (PLBs) in comparison to UKs. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the background knowledge about â€Å"brand† first. 2.1 The conception of branding A brand was defined as â€Å"a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors† (p.404, Kotler, 2000). Aaker (1996) indicated that brand was used for suppliers to reflect the consumers purchase information and make communicate with customers easier, so that it is helpful to build a long-term relationship of belief between buyers and sellers. Wileman and Jary (1997) had realized that retail branding was playing an important role in the modern retail market gradually. Managers and executives also perceived that retail branding could be used to increase benefits as a strong vehicle in the competitive retail industry (Carpenter, et al. 2005). The reason is that the relationship between a product and consumers is personified by the brand name (organizations name) on the product itself, like Microsoft and Nescafe (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2003). The difference between a brand and a commodity is shown below in figure1, which describes the process of decline from brand to commodity. Following the disappearance of brand characteristic, a reduction in the differentiation of price and product/image is demanded to achieve the likeness of product offerings in the particular category. Thus the â€Å"added values† is the main difference between a brand and a commodity. The result proved the strong power of added values in the blind (brand cancelled) and open (brand revealed) test of Coke and Pepsi preference (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2003). 2.2 Brand image Brand image is explained as the integrated effect of brand associations (Biel, 1992). Also, Faircloth et al. (2001) cited Engel et al. (1993) as claiming that brand image refers to consumers perceptions of brand tangible and intangible association. Keller (1993) stated that brand image, a part of brand knowledge, belongs to the perceptions about a brand that is reflected by the brands attribute, benefit, and attitude association in the memory of consumers. Besides, consumers brand image is derived from the accumulative effects of marketing mix actions of companies (Roth, 1994). Wulf el al. (2005) has argued that image is one prerequisite for the presence of brand equity. Brand image in the consumers memory network that is decisive to make decision, provides preferred brand reminding and evaluation (Holden, 1992), and so it can contributes the positive effect on brand equity (Yoo et al. 2000). Furthermore, Winchester and Fletcher (2000) argued that measuring brand image was one of the most important research projects undertaken by a company, because it could help firms to understand their products perceptions in consumers memory. For example, retailers have the cheaper brand image than the manufacturers in most of consumers memory. Also, they suggest that consumers consider retailer brands as â€Å"me too† products compared with manufacture brands (IGD, 2003). Thus it demonstrates that retailers are trying hard to build up a strong image for their own brands to shoppers. The enhancement of brand image will be beneficial to drive the sales, brand equity and increase the gross margin of private label products (Quelch and Harding, 1996). Therefore, brand image is an important determinant of consumers perception about private label brands. 2.3 Brand equity Brand equity, like the concept of brand, has been identified as having multiple meanings. For instances, people have debated the concept of brand equity both in the accounting and marketing literature for several years (Wool, 2000). The original concept of brand equity is the added value that a brand name offers to the fundamental product (Quelch and Harding, 1996; Wulf el al 2005). Wood (2000) also cited Feldwick (1996) as claiming a classification of different meanings of brand equity as: â€Å"- the total value of a brand as a separable asset when it is sold, or included on a balance sheet; a measure of the strength of consumers attachment to a brand; a description of the associations and beliefs the consumer has about the brand.† (p. 662, Wood, 2000) According to the statement of Wood (2000), brand equity rests on financial accounting no longer, but extends to the measure of brand strength (brand loyalty) and the description of brand image. Additionally, Aaker (1996) identified the major asset categories of brand equity to include brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality and brand associations (brand image). It reflected the value supplied by a product or service to a firm and/or customers in the various different ways. If the name and symbol of the brand change, the assets or liabilities will be affected and even lost due to the link between both sides. To brand awareness, the strength of a brands presence is mentioned in the consumers minds, ranging from recognition to recall to â€Å"top of mind† to domination. Recognition is more important than others due to the perception obtained from the past exposure. Also, recall can be a deciding factor of the purchasing of products. Otherwise, Chou (2002) also insisted on two categories of definition of brand equity—the customer-based and financial brand equity. The customer-based one is defined as the different effect of brand knowledge on consumers response to the purchase of brand (Keller, 1993; Lassar, et al. 1995), and the financial one refers to the intangible asset of the value of brand name to the firm (Chou, 2002). Through understanding the multiple concepts of brand equity, it can deduce that brand equity has attracted more attention in the marketing literature over the last decade, because it reflects if a brand would be repurchased by consumers. As Shapiro (1982) has demonstrated, certain brand equity offered genial value even though the appearance of products is uncertain. Nowadays Broniarczyk and Gershoff (2003) still emphasise the importance of brand equity; also, as one of the most valuable assets, it should be maximised to manage brands for the company (Keller and Lehmann, 2003). High brand equity can increase the opportunity on consumer choice of a common sales promotion (Simonson et al., 1994) and reduce the negative debates of consumers for a price increase (Campbell, 1999), because consumers lean to buy the brand more than the real product. Consequently, brand equity is also a factor to evaluate consumers perception of own brands. 2.4 The Double Jeopardy Effect In recent years, more authors (Sharp et al. 2002; Ehrenberg and Goodhardt, 2002) have been interested in understanding, developing and reinforcing the concept of Double Jeopardy (DJ), which represents a natural constraint on customer loyalty, which cannot be increased by marketing inputs much or for long unless a significant benefit increases the brands penetration (Ehrenberg and Goodhardt, 2002). The DJ effect is that â€Å"small share brands have fewer customers, but these customers buy the brand less often than the larger brands get bought by their customers† (p. 17, Sharp et al. 2002). A conceptual model of the DJ effect is showed in the figure2, which illustrates if a small firm would have higher turnover of their customer base if they lost the same number of customers as a large firm. The DJ effect is fit for the discussion of national brands and PLBs. Bigger brand will be known by more customers, and have more opportunities to be purchased and receive more responses than smaller brand. It will be an essential theory to support the last result of investigation about the comparison between own labels and national labels. Chapter 3: Private Label Brands This chapter attempts to understand private-label brands, their development in UK and China and the reason for focusing on them. National brands will be also mentioned as the scale for the validity of comparison between Chinese and UKs own labels. 3.1 The definition of private label brands â€Å"Retailer brands are designed to provide consumers with an alternative to manufacturer brands, to build customer loyalty to a retailer or improve margins.† (p.11, IGD, 2003) They are particular to a definite retailer, and may have a same or different name of the retailer but exclude other retailers name (IGD, 2003). The terms â€Å"own label† and â€Å"own brand† are always used together; also private label, retail brands or distributor brands are in common used (Fernie and Pierrel, 1996). Own brands can help retailers reduce the direct impact of price competition, since retailers carry their own brands instead of national brands that are sold in the most of the stores (Carpenter, et al. 2005). Furthermore, according to IGD (2003) study, doing own brands can provide competitively priced products, increased profitability and loyalty due to the special store, establishes store image, drives innovation and targets specific consumer groups. 3.2 The development of PLBs in UK Based on more previous researches about UKs PLBs, it will specify them as the base to compare with Chinese growing PLBs. 3.2.1 The history of development The generation of own brands in the UK can date back to the end of the nineteenth century (Key Note Market Review, 2001). Until mid-1960s, manufacturers perceived that the development of store brands could be a direct threat for them (Ogbonna and Wilkinson, 1998). After that, own brands rose to penetrate into grocery markets gradually (Fernie and Pierrel, 1996), because supermarket had to implement a new strategy under the tough economic crisis (Ogbonna and Wilkinson, 1998). The growth of own labels in the UK had been rapid during 1980s, and slowing down in the 1990s (Laaksonen, 1994). After 1980, the UKs retailing had a big metamorphosis to change their own-label products from previous low-price/low-quality/poor-packaging to current high quality, competitive price and good packaging (Burt and Davis, 1999; Key Note Market Review, 2001). Especially from 1990, more retailers began to provide own brand lines in stores and penetrated towards the grocery field (Veloutsou et al., 2004), and even innovated in product categories to be consistent with branded-products, such as the expansion from grocery to clothing (Quelch and Harding, 1996). Fernie and Pierrel (1996) illuminated that Marks Spencer, Sainsburys, Tesco and Safeway had developed their own brands, which competed successfully with other brands in the UK. Otherwise, there were more private labels on the shelves of supermarkets than ever before (Quelch and Harding, 1996). The main reasons for growth of own-label products include lower pricing (60%-85% of branded products), improved quality and higher profits for retailers (Ashley, 1998). Through the review of historical evolvement of PLBs, the current bloom of PLBs development in UK that is built on the basis of constant change can be seen. Also, it can be a good explanation for the condition, in which customers choose more own brands of supermarket rather than manufactures brands. 3.2.2 Current development At present, private label brands have taken up a significant share of nearly 29% in the UK food market. It is expected to increase further in 2009. Especially since 2008, own label has been gaining popularity following accelerating economic downturn. As consumers have begun to feel the pitch, so they have bought own-label products instead of branded products to save money. Thus the competition between own-labels and brands is reinforced. There is the highest own-label consumption in the FMCG sectors, like milk and frozen vegetables, or some products without emotional appeal. However, manufacturer brands still account for the majority of sales in the most of grocery categories (Mintel, 2009). Table1 shows the share of brands and own-labels in the following different categories. From this table, it can see that own label is the most dominant in the category of ready meals; and it has the least share in the crisp category. Also, more share own labels account for, more increasing opportunities they have. In addition, UKs supermarkets recognise that consumers have a wide range of product needs, so they segment the market by providing the brands that cater for the best, healthy, valuable, kids and organic requirements as table2 shows. 3.2.3 The feature of development The development of PLBs, a competitive strategy adopted by retailers, is necessary for them within the current retail market of high competition in the UK (Carpenter et al. 2005). Own brands are developing fast and winning a better share of the food market with definite advantage in the supermarket product ranges, because retailers can offer their private label products with high-quality and low-price (Wulf et al., 2005). Also, own-brand products exceeding 40% of market share have expanded their presence across markets—from low-priced, value-for-money items to the premium and lifestyle arenas so as to cater for consumers concern about healthy eating (Drewer, P. 2006). Therefore, it can fetch up the limitation of national brands that segment the market less, and target desired consumers more narrowly. For instance, figure3 shows Sainsburys Be Good to Yourself range of lower fat which is one kind of â€Å"healthier† own-label ranges; and Asdas value (Smartprice), healthy (Good for You) and Premium (Extra Special). Furthermore, the feature difference of own brands has been gradually shortened from national brands in terms of aspects such as packaging, size, and label (Choi and Coughlan, 2006). In figure4, Sainsbury instant coffee products are taken as an example of private labels with reduced feature differentiation as national labels inside FMCG sector. Some of the UKs retailers such as Sainsburys and Tesco have set up own brands focusing on quality and taste due to more consumers regards on flavour and aroma. Production methods have become diversified, and manufacturers have been found around the world to get various products with exotic flavours. For instance, the recipes of multiple ready-meal foods are derived from characteristic foods of different countries, like Waitrose chicken chow mein, which is developed from Chinese stir-fried noodles. Thus it is common for retailers to compete by developing premium own brands (Fenn, 2007), yet the majority of retailers changed their attention from premium ranges to the promotion of value ranges in 2008 (Mintel, 2009). 3.2.4 Marketing support The increase of own-label products is supported by the gradually concentrated nature of the retail market. Retailers control own brand marketing, which has obtained higher promotional support than national brands since there are better space and location for private labels on supermarket shelves (Cataluna et al. 2006). Retailers have got bargaining power in the market and more confidence to invest in their own brands, which bring higher profits than generic brands (Fenn, 2007). In addition, own-label food and drink has been supported strongly in the competitive market, although the main retailers began to promote the potential of saving money on PLBs purchase in 2008 and early 2009. For example, own-label brands are promoted principally in the main retailers like Morrisons. Marks Spencer also spent a third of its total budget on MS brands in 2008 (Mintel, 2009). Table3 shows the market support on foods in the form of media advertising expenditure. Generally, an increasing trend is shown for the retailers spending on foods in this table. However, depending on the retailers spending share, it can ascertain that branded manufacturers are still the biggest spenders on advertising for food and drink. They use the â€Å"Reassurance† and â€Å"tradition† as the key themes of promotion to fight against PLBs (Mintel, 2009). 3.2.5 The biscuit category Own-label biscuits take up a fifth of the UK market, where it has remained the share stably over previous 5 years. The biscuits category has increased substantially since 2002, although there is an unhealthy high sugar content in the most biscuits. The benefits can be obtained from defying all advice of nutrition, because consumers regard biscuits as a reward for their efforts on healthy eating most of the time. Moreover, the development of biscuit market is likely to be influenced by three key factors: requirement for healthy foods, indulgent products and convenient products. The indulgent demand can benefits the branded biscuits, as consumers believe premium-branded products more than PLBs (Kidd, ed. 2007). Figure5 shows the UK biscuits market shares in 2007. From this figure, it can see own labels account for more share than any one manufacturer brand, but it is less than the total share of main large manufacturers. In short, UKs PLBs market has been described and compared with manufacturers brands specifically, so that it can be as the firm foundation for the later comparison with Chinese PLBs market. 3.3 The development of PLBs in China Private label in China is still in an emergent stage, where many retailers had increased the place of own label development in 2004, but most do not have their own brands until they have greater scale in the market. According to IGDs estimation, own brand only takes up 2% of sales at Wal-mart and less than 6% at Carrefour, which is the strongest retailer in China. Although the foreign retailers have a long history to sell private label brands, this is a big challenge for them to sell in China, where own brand is a new concept for the Chinese consumers. They just believe the value and quality of local branded products. Thus retailers need to prove their own products are not only cheaper, but also provide better value to consumers (IGD, 2005b). Auchan, Carrefour and Wal-mart will be chosen as the example of private label development, because they have wider range of own label products than others. â€Å"Pouce†, â€Å"Auchan† and â€Å"First Price† ranges were introduced by Auchan in 2003. And they were developed across both food and non-food categories by the end of 2004. In Carrefour, own labels can be found in most categories, especially strong in non-food. Its private label brands include â€Å"Great Value†, â€Å"Equate† and â€Å"Kids Connection†. Wal-mart is developing their own brands including â€Å"Simply Basic†, â€Å"Equate† and â€Å"Great Value† in China, where the quantity is more limited than other developed international markets (IGD, 2005b). But actually, most of supermarkets usually just focus on the value with low price, and use the name of supermarket as their own brands name to attract consumers attention, such as â€Å"Ito-yokado†, â€Å"Dia%† and â€Å"Tesco†. 3.4 Why the focus on PLBs Veloutsou et al (2004) indicated that all grocery retailers have been entangled by private brands in Great Britain in the last decade. Also, the growth of private labels is one of the most obvious successes to the retail stores (Drewer, P. 2006); own brands have been seen as the strategic weapon to provide retailers with more powers and opportunities to distinguish themselves from national brands and build store image (Juhl et al. 2006). Nevertheless, there is a completely different situation in China, where the study of PLBs is less than the UKs and is strongly encouraged (Song, 2007). PLBs is undeveloped with low sales account in China, even if some foreign retailers (e.g. Carrefour, Wal-mart) have launched their own brands (IGD, 2005b). Consequently, there is a need to expose why PLBs have little market in China, and understand the shortage of Chinese PLBs development through comparing consumers different perceptions between China and the UK. Chapter 4: Consumers Perception of PLBs in China and UK This chapter will evaluate private label brands and national brands based on a cognizance of factors determining purchase. A generality of different viewpoints about consumers perceptions on brands will be discussed and some factors influencing the PLBs purchase will be presented. 4.1 Determinant of Purchase behaviour Consumers purchase can be influenced by environment, personal preference and psychological factors. Customers who live in diverse regions have their own experience about private-label products (Veloutsou et al 2004). Individual consumers often choose certain brands that they know to be guaranteed due to their habits, instead of spending more time to re-evaluate the brands with different attributes when purchasing (Ehrenberg, 2004). Furthermore, consumers preferences are different following the change of age (IGD, 2005a). For example, young people high on the new things more than old people. From the psychological aspect, â€Å"the right customer mindset can be crucial to realizing brand equity benefits and value† (p29, Keller and Lehmann, 2003). During the decision making process, purchase can be influenced directly by several factors. Veloutsou et al (2004) cited Omar, Burt and Sparks (1995) as claiming that many consumers always consider their products characteristics, quality and perceived value instead of the prices of products when consumers make purchasing decisions. However, the price cannot be excluded from factors of decisions, because most of consumers go shopping after they have a budget in mind (Hogan, 1996). Additionally, a generalized private-label attitude is discovered to influence purchase behaviour; factors include: â€Å"consumer price consciousness, price-quality perception, deal proneness, shopping attitudes, impulsiveness, brand loyalty, familiarity with store brands, reliance on extrinsic cues, tolerance for ambiguity, perceptions of store brand value, and perceived differences between store brands and national brands† (p347, Collins-Dodd and Lindley, 2003). 4.2 Consumer perception in China Due to the limitation of consumption per capita, the market was driven by price instead of brand loyalty in China (IGD, 2005b). According to China Management Newspaper (2008) reported, it is a fact that consumers who realise the supermarket own labels account for rather low percentage of total population. Moreover, â€Å"low price† and â€Å"high quality† are the main motivations to drive consumers purchase. Thus national brands with better quality can attract more consumers, although they have higher price than own labels. This results from the increase of Chinese consumers purchase power and the improvement of living level in recent years. Moreover, PLBs and national brands were considered as less difference on price (Chen, 2009). Thus it can be deduced that â€Å"low price† strategy of own brands in China would be successful due to less brand loyalty. However, following the improved standard of living, people would increase their demand from low price to high quality, which could be a challenge for the PLBs. 4.3 Consumer perception in UK 4.3.1 Comparison of PLBs with national brands Following the quality improvement of PLBs, Richardson (1997) found that store brands could be compared with national brands from the aspect of quality and consumers preferred to buy store brands where they usually shopped. As Quelch and Harding (1996) discovered that this was similar for consumers to perceive and judge the manufacturer and retailer brands in the orange juice private-label test, because consumers had a low involvement activity on grocery shopping. Nevertheless, â€Å"If all retailers stock manufacturers brands, they can only differentiate on price or sales promotions; with own labels/brands, they can offer further differentiation in the market place.† (p49, Fernie and Pierrel, 1996) They supported that own labels/brands could bring retailers more differentiation in the market place than manufacturers brands that just differed on price or sales promotions from each other. However, there is a different understanding based on consumers mind. Dick et al. (1996) considered that private labels were less famous than national brands, which have a distinct identification with a particular manufacturer. Richardson (1997) also supported the unification of store brands without the speciality of national brands. In the research of Harris (2007), he also demonstrated a significant difference of brand image evaluation for national brands and store brands. He established that PLBs have the advantage of â€Å"cheap† and â€Å"good value† to compare with national brands, while national brands were used more with higher quality/superiority based on attributes than store brands. However, after breaking down PLBs into three relative positions (premium, standard and value), he discovered that premium private labels were overpriced more without better value for money than national labels; customers buy more value private labels than national labels due to their cheapness. This implicates that consumers prefer the high quality of national brands and the good value of value PLBs at the same time. Therefore, he identified the characteristic of â€Å"worth more† regarded by consumers mostly. The brand association strengths are summarized in the following figure7 from his study. Furthermore, his researching results (see Appendix3) will be used as the reference of British consumer perception of PLBs to compare with Chinas later. In addition, according to Mintel research (2009), it has been a long-term trend for more consumers thinking that own labels are better than national brands. 4.3.2 Evaluation of PLBs To the quality/value thinking, other authors have had same ideas. Quelch and Harding (1996) predicted that consumers would choose PLBs readily rather than the higher-priced name brand, if there were more quality PLBs in the market. Richardson (1997) cited Richardson et al. (1994) as claiming that store brand market share could be increased by successfully communicating a quality rather than a low price strategy. Moreover, according to the IGDs research, PLBs have become one of the important factors for shoppers to choose the supermarket they shop in. The satisfaction of quality with lower price has attracted more consumers. The proportion of main reasons is â€Å"45% lower price, 45% better value than branded equivalent, 26% the same as branded, 24% a good reputation for own brand (IGD, 2003). Furthermore, consumers are not confused about the increasing number of own-label brands, but the segmentation is beneficial for them to choose products that are fit for themselves. The clear d ifferentiation among brands is also the key for retailers to success (Mintel, 2006). Chapter 5: Methodology On the basis of the relevant literature review about the market analysis of PLBs and national brands, especially the UK market, this has been analysed for the final discussion to compare with Chinese PLBs. This chapter will look for the most appropriate approach to implement the needed research and achieve the objective of this thesis. 5.1 The objective of this study Perceptual variables related to consumers perception are investigated in this study. It needs to finish the following objectives: The difference of consumer perceptions between PLBs and national brands in the UK (achieved in literature review) The difference of consumer perceptions between PLBs and national brands in China The difference of consumer perceptions of PLBs in China and the UK Based on the understanding of the UKs markets and perceived PLBs compared with national brands by consumers in the literature review, the Chinese situatio

Sir Francis Drake :: essays research papers

Sir Francis Drake Late in 1577, Francis Drake left England with five ships, ostensibly on a trading expedition to the Nile. On reaching Africa, the true destination was revealed to be the Pacific Ocean via the Strait of Magellan, to the dismay of some of the accompanying gentlemen and sailors. Still in the eastern Atlantic, a Portuguese merchant ship and its pilot - who was to stay with Drake for 15 months - was captured, and the fleet crossed the Atlantic, via the Cape Verde Islands, to a Brazilian landfall. Running down the Atlantic South American coast, storms, separations, dissension, and a fatal skirmish with natives marred the journey. Before leaving the Atlantic, Drake lightened the expedition by disposing of two unfit ships and one English gentleman, who was tried and executed for mutiny. After rallying his men and unifying his command with a remarkable speech, Drake renamed his flagship, previously the Pelican, the Golden Hind. In September of 1578, the fleet, now three ships, sailed through the deadly Strait of Magellan with speed and ease, only to emerge into terrific Pacific storms. For two months the ships were in mortal danger, unable to sail clear of the weather or to stay clear of the coast. The ships were scattered, and the smallest, the Marigold, went down with all hands. The Elizabeth found herself back in the strait and turned tail for England, where she arrived safely but in disgrace. Meanwhile, the Golden Hind had been blown far to the south, where Drake discovered - perhaps - that there was open water below the South American continent. The storms abated, and the Golden Hind was finally able to sail north along the Pacific South American coast, into the previously undisturbed private waters of King Philip of Spain. The first stop, for food and water, was at the (now) Chilean Island of Mocha, where the rebellious residents laid a nearly disastrous ambush, having mistaken the English for their Spanish oppressors. After this bad beginning in the Pacific the tide turned, and for the next five and a half months Drake raided Spanish settlements at will, among them Valpariso, Lima and Arica, and easily took Spanish ships, including the rich treasure ship "Cacafuego," leaving panic, chaos, and a confused pursuit in his wake. During this time, he captured and released a number of Europeans, whose subsequent testimony survives. The plundering was remarkable for its restraint; neither the Spanish nor the natives were intentionally harmed, there was very little violence, and there were very few casualties.

In this play, suicide is an act forbidden by religion Essay

â€Å"To be, or not to be† cries a torn Hamlet in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet. This is not the first time that Hamlet reflects upon his existence and thinks about committing suicide. In this play, suicide is an act forbidden by religion and society that one may take into consideration only after stricken with unbearable grief. In Hamlet’s case, he is stuck between living a horrible life that may not seem worth living, and taking his own life to end the cruelty of it, which he claims he would if God had not made it forbidden. Subsequently, Hamlet fuels his fire to live and not follow the path of suicide by remembering his duty as a person, which for him is to avenge his murdered father before it is too late. Before we can understand Hamlet’s popular predicament to be or not to be as a whole, we must make sure that we define the concepts that are key in his situation to place ourselves in Hamlet’s depressing shoes. For one, suicide is a broad, varying act that has different meanings to different people in different times. For the people of Hamlet’s setting, it was an atrocious, intentional act that only the horrid sinners would commit against the almighty Biblical God. Even after death, the people still looked down upon the dead that did not pass naturally into the afterlife by holding a funeral that only genocidal dictator would be worthy of; one that involved throwing rubble into the pit of the dead instead of pious flowers and ornaments. Also, though, what must be considered is the situation a person might be in. For example, if you live a life that involves lying in a dreadful hospital bed with very little consciousness and no sense of elation, one might argue, from a Christian viewpoint, that it is not immoral to kill yourself. Whether or not someone believes in a supreme being, one generally has morals. Morals are a set of rules or schemas that people follow and live by which they create, edit, and alter throughout their lives. In Hamlet, we see that almost everyone holds a heavy, negative view against suicide. The play leads us to think that suicide is something that is unnatural and undeniably immoral. When Ophelia dies, many people believed it was suicide, while others assumed it was an accidental death (Act IV, scene vii). Depending upon which side they took, their culminating feelings towards Ophelia was created based on their initial assumptions. The gravediggers or clowns that spoke during Ophelia’s funeral procession question whether she will receive a proper, Christian burial, or if she will be treated like a bag of bones and skin, essentially, and be buried in an unfavorable fashion. Though the situation pointed towards suicide, Ophelia received a funeral that was Christianesque mainly because of her royal blood (Act V, scene i). This specific example from the play shows us how immoral suicide, to the people of the play, really was. Where do the roots of morals lie? The answer exists in religion. The characters of Hamlet all consider religion and the laws of it to be of utmost importance. In Hamlet, Christianity is the only religion mentioned and is followed by practically everyone. Considering most people were very religious, we can infer that they followed the rules very closely and criticized those that did not, even if it was they. In one of Hamlet’s soliloquies, we learn that one of the few things preventing Hamlet from ending his miserable life is the commandment of God. â€Å"Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!† If it were not against the will of God, Hamlet would have considered suicide even more and maybe even committed the treacherous act. Christianity condemns suicide (Act I, scene ii). The people of the play follow Christianity rigorously. Therefore, the people of the play look down upon suicide mainly because of their religious views.