每日英語 #158: Pop-up Stores 快閃店

2024/10/22閱讀時間約 8 分鐘

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Pop-up Stores 快閃店

When the economy is bad for the average business, it can mean opportunities for a small number of other ones. “Such is the case” (that is the case; that is the situation) for “commercial property owners” (those who own buildings that are rented to businesses) in some “recessions” (bad economic times). Many shopping centers have empty spaces because so many stores have “gone out of business” (closed down).

當經濟對普通企業不利時，這對少數其他企業來說可能意味著機會。“這就是情況”（這是事實；這是情況）對於一些“商業房地產業主”（擁有租給企業的建築物的人）來說，尤其是在某些“經濟衰退”（經濟不景氣時）。許多購物中心因為很多商店“倒閉”（關門歇業）而出現空置空間。

Property owners are therefore looking for ways to make money, and have discovered that they can rent these spaces for short periods of time to seasonal business. A “seasonal business” is one that can only survive certain times during the year.

因此，房地產業主在尋找賺錢的方法，並發現他們可以將這些空間短期租給“季節性業務”。“季節性業務” 是指那些只能在一年中的特定時期生存的業務。

For example, October 31st each year is Halloween in the United States. Many parents want to buy “costumes” (clothes worn by actors or children pretending to be someone else) for their children. Stores can only really sell these costumes during the few weeks before Halloween; afterwards, no one will want to buy them until next year.

例如，每年10月31日是美國的萬聖節。許多父母想為孩子們購買“服裝”（由演員或孩子穿著以假裝成某人）。商店只能在萬聖節前幾週真正銷售這些服裝；之後，沒有人會想購買它們直到明年。

Selling Halloween costumes is therefore called a seasonal business, because a costume store would want to rent a “retail” (shop) space at a “mall” (a place with many stores) only for a short amount of time.

因此，銷售萬聖節服裝被稱為季節性業務，因為服裝店只會想在“購物中心”（有許多商店的地方）租一個“零售”（商店）空間一小段時間。

These short-term stores are now being called “pop-up stores.” “To pop up” means to appear suddenly. Many holiday stores, mostly for Christmas and Hanukkah in December, are now “popping up” at mall stores that were empty a few months ago, and that will be empty again in January, when the pop-up stores close.

這些短期商店現在被稱為“快閃店”。“To pop up” 的意思是突然出現。許多節日商店，主要是為了12月的聖誕節和光明節，現在在幾個月前還空著的購物中心商店“湧現”出來，而到一月當快閃店關閉時，它們又會再次空置。

One of the most popular pop-up stores this fall is Toys “R” Us, a large company that sells toys and games for children.

今年秋天最受歡迎的快閃店之一是玩具反斗城，一家銷售兒童玩具和遊戲的大公司。

It isn’t clear if these pop-up stores will continue to exist after the U.S. economy “recovers” (gets better, healthier), since retail mall owners prefer that their “tenants” (people or companies renting from them) have “leases” (contracts agreeing to rent a space) longer than just a month or two.

目前尚不清楚這些快閃店在美國經濟“復甦”（變好，更健康）後是否會繼續存在，因為零售購物中心業主更喜歡他們的“租戶”（向他們租房的人或公司）有超過一兩個月的“租約”（同意租用空間的合同）。