单项选择题

Department Store

A mainstay of retailing in the United States is the department store, a large-scale retailing instituting that has a very broad and deep product assortment(分类), tires not to compete on the basis of price, and provides a wide array or customer services.
Traditional department stores offer a greater variety of merchandise and services than does any other type of retail store. They feature both"soft goods" —such as apparel, sheets, towels, and bedding (寝具)—and "hard goods" —including furniture, appliances, and consumer electronics. Department stores also attract— and satisfy—consumers by offering many customer services. The combination of destinctive, appealing merchandise and numerous customer services is designed to allow the stores to maintain the manufacturers’suggested retail prices. That is, department stores strive to charge" full" or "nondiscounted" (不打折扣的) prices.
Department stores face mounting problems, however, Largely due to their prime locations and customer services, their operation expenses are considerably higher than those of most other kinds of retail business. Many manufacturers’brands that used to be available exclusively thorough department stores are now widely distributed and often carry discounted prices in other outlets. And the quality of personal service, especially knowledgeable sales help, has deteriorated in some department stores.
Intense horizontal competition is also hurting department stores. Other types of retailers are aiming at consumers who have long supported department stores. Speciality stores, off-price retailers, and even some discount houses have been particularly aggressive in trying to lure shoppers sway from department stores. To varying degrees retail chains compete against department stores.
Consequently, many department stores have modified their target markets or elements of their marketing mixes. The May Department Stores Company has targeted middle-income consumers, rejecting high-priced European designer lines and instead concentrating on fashionable apparel with moderate prices. Penney’s dropped three lines of hard goods—home electronics, sporting goods, and photographic equipment. Penney’s, Ward’s, and Sears are all converting their very large stores into a collection of limited-me "superstores".
Some department stores are also trying to be more price-competitive. Most notably, in 1989 Sears abandoned its practice of promoting temporarily reduced prices and adopted a strategy of "everyday low prices". With this policy, prices will always be lower than or as low as competitors.
In this passage, "horizontal competition" refers to ______.