单项选择题
Here’s a case study for would-be MBAs to consider: the success of H Mart, an international supermarket chain based in New Jersey (the "H" in H Mart stands for Han Ah Reum, which means "one arm full of groceries" in Korean). The first H Mart opened in Queens, New York in 1982, as a corner shop. Now there are stores in 11 states, Canada and Britain. A new one recently opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an affluent city outside Boston.
The future looks bright for Asian supermarkets like H Mart. Earnings of Asian-American households outpace the American average. Their spending exceeds all other groups, too, according to Geoscape, a consultancy. And they spend more of their money on groceries than the average America household. But Asian delicacies can be hard to come by: few Americans are likely to see durian or bamboo shoots in their local shop. Some specialty ingredients are only to be found at a premium (高价) in up-market grocery stores, or miles away, in ethnic markets in older Asian neighborhoods.
Americans have developed greater appetite for cooking and eating Asian foods, too. In 2012 non-restaurant sales of Asian foods topped $1.5 billion, according to Mintel Group, a market-research firm. Though Latin foods are a bigger market, the popularity of Asian foods is growing faster. Once strange-seeming imports like seaweed and sashimi are now fashionable eats. Though the rate of growth is expected to fall, sales are likely to keep rising.
Yet most Asian grocers have not made efforts to reach new customers, says Jeffrey Cohen, an analyst at IBIS World, an industries watcher. Many shops are located in minority enclaves, and do little to market themselves to other Americans. Cramped car parks and dingy interiors fend off customers used to the bright fluorescence (荧光) of mainstream supermarkets. Ingredients labeled with poorly-translated English can leave shoppers baffled.
A few Asian grocery chains have caught on, opening stores in more diverse suburbs, paying attention to cosmetic niceties (细节) and marketing more widely. Other than H Mart, there are Californian chains such as 99 Ranch Market and Shun Fat Supermarket, which have been expanding to the American southwest. The former was even featured in a humorous You Tube music video—"Asians Eat Weird Things"—which has attracted more than 900,000 hits. Those weird things may not seem so weird after all.
A. Americans’ dislike to Asian foods.
B. Asians’ unwillingness to do business with Americans.
C. The poor shopping environment and confusing English introduction of the goods.
D. Americans’ dislike to the English introduction of the goods.