STORY 21
Zach: Good morning. OK, so I was asked to compile our sales figures for the last two years. I made a few charts, and we can go over these.
ザック：おはよう。えっと、過去２年間の営業実績をまとめるよう言 われてたんだけど。いくつかチャートを作ってみたんで、ざっ と振り返ることができるよ。
Katie: OK, thank you for doing this, Zach. This should be interesting.
ケイティー：ありがとう、ザック。興味深いわ。
Zach: So, as you can see from this chart, our biggest month last year was May.
ザ：このチャートからわかるとおり、昨年いちばん売上が多かったのは５月だ。
Jason: And why was that?
ジェイソン：それはどうして？
Zach: Well, our spring/summer collection last year was very popular.
ザ：う〜ん、ウチの昨年の春／夏コレクション、とっても人気があったからだよ。
Katie: We did a very successful promotional campaign for that collection.
ケ：あのコレクションのキャンペーンは、とてもうまくいったわね。
Zach: Yes, exactly.
ザ：ああ、そうとも。
Jason: We used some of the top models in our advertising for that collection. I remember the photo shoot went really well.
ジ：宣伝でトップモデルを何人か使ったし、撮影もとてもうまく行ったし。
Katie: I think our designs that season were very popular as well. We hired some new clothing designers last year, and their fresh ideas helped us create a style that was really new and that got us a lot of attention.
ケ：その時のデザインも、評判が良かったのよ。昨年は新しいデザイナーを起用したんだけど、彼らのフレッシュなアイデアから、まったく新しいスタイルを生み出すことができたわ。そのおかげでいっぱい注目を集めたの。
Jason: Was that the first collection that those new designers worked on?
ジ：その新しいデザイナーが仕事をしたのって、昨年のコレクションが初めて？
Zach: Yes, it was. Now let's compare last year to the previous year. We can see that sales for May, June and July were much higher last year than the year before. Sales at other brands were also very good last spring, so I think it was a good time all around for the apparel industry.
ザ：そうだよ。さて、昨年と一昨年を比べてみよう。５月、６月、７月の売上は、昨年の方が一昨年を大きく上回ってる。他のプランドの売上も、昨年の春はとても良かったから、アパレル業界全体にとって、その頃はちょうどいい時期だったのかも。
Jason: Was there any reason for them to be lower two years ago?
ジ：一昨年、売上が悪いのは、何か理由があるの？
Zach: Yes, as you may remember, the economy was bad in general. The fashion and luxury sectors were especially hard hit. This was an industry-wide decline.
ザ：うん、君も覚えてるとおり、景気全体が良くなかったんだ。とりわけ、ファッション関係や高級品なんかが大打撃を受けた。業界全体が冷え込んだんだ。
Jason: I see.
ジ：そっか。
Katie: And what were our other peak months last year?
ケ：昨年、他にピークの月は？
Zach: Well, our sales were high in November and December, due to Christmas sales. This is true every year.
ザ：えーっと、11月と12月も売上が多いね。クリスマスの売上があったからだね。これは毎年言えることだけど。
Katie: And how did those two months compare to the previous year?
ケ：その２つの月を一昨年と比べるとどう？
Zach: They were almost exactly the same.
ザ：ほとんど同じ。
Jason: But didn't you say that the economy had been bad two years ago?
ジ：でも今、君、一昨年は景気が悪かったって言わなかったっけ？
Zach: Yes, that's true. The economy had been bad two years ago in the spring and summer, but by the end of the year, it had started to recover.
ザ：うん、一昨年は春と夏、景気が悪かったんだけど、年末までには回復し始めたんだ。
Jason: Oh, yes. I remember.
ジ：ああ、そうだったね。
Zach: Let's see, going back to last year, although our sales were good for November and December due to Christmas, they were lower than usual in August and September.
ザ：じゃあ昨年に戻ると、ウチの売上は、11月と12月はクリスマスで良かったけど、８月と９月は例年よりも低かったね。
Jason: Why was that?
ジ：それはどうして？
Zach: Well it was very hot last summer. Usually, people start shopping for autumn clothes in August. But since it was so hot last year, it was difficult to get people into that mindset to shop for autumn.
ザ：え一っと、去年の夏は暑かったからね。例年みんな、秋物は８月に買い始めるんだけど、昨年はとても暑かったから、秋物を買おうという意識を持たせるのは難しかったんだ。
Katie: I also think there were some problems with the autumn/winter collection last year.
ケ：私は秋／冬コレクションにも、問題があったと思うわ。
Jason: What do you mean?
ジ：どういうこと？
Katie: We had a very popular line for spring and summer. But then in autumn, I think the designers went a little too far. The clothes were very stylish, but maybe too stylish. They were not practical. Our brand is known for being stylish, but also somewhat casual. I think that season, we were trying to be a luxury brand, and our long-term customers did not like that change.
ケ：春／夏コレクションはとても人気が出たけど、秋はデザイナーたちが、ちょっとやリ過ぎたと思うの。服そのものはとてもスタイリッシュたったけど、ちょっと度が過ぎたかなと思うの。ちょっと実用的じゃなかったかも。ウチのブランドはスタイリッシュってことで知られているけど、いくらかカジュアルでもあるのね。そのシーズンは、高級ブランドみたいになろうとしたために、昔からのお客さんには好まれなかったみたい。
Zach: Katie, how much do you know about our autumn/winter collection for this year?
ザ：ケイティー、今年の秋／冬コレクションについては、どれくらい知ってるの？
Katie: I've seen the preliminary designs. We are returning more to our usual style.
ケ：仮のデザインは見せてもらったわ。いつものスタイルに戻ろうとしてるわ。
Jason: Do you think that will help our sales for autumn/winter this year?
ジ：そうすると、今年の秋／冬コレクションの売上は、伸びそうかい？
Katie: Yes, I think so.
ケ：ええ、そう思うわ。
Zach: But it may not be enough. We may need to do a very aggressive campaign in August to boost sales.
ザ：でも、それだけじゃ十分じゃないかもしれないな。売上を伸ばすには、８月にもっと積極的なキャンペーンをやる必要があるかもな。
Katie: I will look into that.
ケ：検討してみるわ。
Jason: And I will start to think about ideas for photography and design to present the new line.
ジ：僕は新商品を売り出すための、写真とデザインのアイデアを練り始めるよ。
Zach: Thank you. It sounds like we have some good ideas that will help us out this year.
ザ：ありがとう。今年は売上アップにつながりそうな、いいアイデアが浮かんだみたいだね。
Katie: Yes, but we'll have to work together to make this a success.
ケ：そうね。でも、うまく成功させられるように、私たち、力を合わせなきや。
Zach: OK, let's do that.
ザ：オーケー。力を合わせよう。