to sue : intenter un procès The verb to sue is the action of making a claim against someone, usually for money, because that person has harmed you or your interests in some way. Look at these examples: I broke my leg falling in the street, so I’m suing the local authorities for compensation When [...]
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VAT : TVA VAT stands for ‘value added tax’. It is the tax that consumers pay when they buy a product or a service. VAT rates can vary according the product or service being sold. In France, a recent law was passed allowing bars and restaurants to reduce their VAT to 5% instead of the [...]
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Trade fair : salon (professionnel) Trade fairs are organised so that companies can show their products to journalists, investors and consumers. A company has a stand where visitors can learn about the company and its products. In the automotive industry, car manufacturer show off their new models at a ‘motor show’. The Detroit Motor Show [...]
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Takeover bid : OPA (offre publique d’achat) This term comes from the phrasal verb ‘to take over’ (prendre le controle) and ‘bid’ (offre, enchérir) Examples: Mittal Steel made a successful takeover bid for the French steel company Arcelor. I find it disgusting that the Mittal family, one of the richest in the world, can be [...]
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sale : vente the sales : les soldes on sale : en vente / en soldes The related verb is “to sell“ examples: Sales for last year were up by 10% (ventes) The sales are starting on Tuesday, I’m gonna look for some bargains(soldes) I bought this shirt for 10€ – it was on sale [...]
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Retail : vente en détail Retail is the word we use to describe the business of selling products to the public from the company’s premises, in other words, a shop. We call large chains of retail outlets (like Célio, Claire’s Accessories etc) “high street retailers” as they are present in the high streets (rue principale) [...]
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Wholesale : vente en gros Wholesaler : grossiste A wholesale business is a business that sells products to other businesses, and not directly to the public. For example, a shop keeper goes to a wholesaler to buy stock for his shop. A business that operates like a shop, but only sells to professionals is called [...]
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Bonus : prime A bonus is a payment made in addition to one’s basic salary. It is often used as a reward for good performance. A bonus is not the same as commission which is money earned as a percentage of sales made. Only sales staff, therefore, make commissions, whereas any employee can earn a [...]
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Supplier : fournisseur A supplier is an individual or a company that supplies another company with products or raw materials. Almost no company can do everything itself, so it calls on the services of others to obtain what it needs. Some companies are in the business of assembling rather that manufacturing. A good example is [...]
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copywriter : rédacteur publicitaire Copywriting is the activity of writing texts for advertising. Copywriters may write adverts that appear in newspapers or magazines or the scripts for commercials on television or radio. The word ‘copy’ can be applied to any text in a business context, be it promotional articles, web pages, sales letters etc. Share [...]
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AIDA is an acronym, a word made of the first letters of a group of words or a phrase in order to shorten them. AIDA is used to describe the steps a salesman should take in order to achieve a sale. The letters of AIDA stand for these words: Attention Interest Desire Action A good [...]
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shareholder : actionnaire A shareholder is someone who owns shares in a company. Mr.Jones has become a major shareholder in the company, and is demanding changes in the way the company is run At the annual general meeting (AGM) there were a lot of complaints from the smaller shareholders about not being consulted when it [...]
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