Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
There is a place where Christmas lives all year
long. It is called Bronners CHRISTmas Wonderland in
Frankenmuth, Michigan.
The family-owned business calls itself the worlds
largest Christmas store. The late Wally Bronner
started the business in nineteen forty-five.
Wayne Bronner, Wallys son, is president and chief
executive of what is now a multi-million dollar
corporation. He learned the business from an early
age. Some of his best memories are traveling to
other countries with his father to find new products
for the store.
Bronners sells more than fifty thousand holiday
products from seventy nations. Half of the products
cost less than ten dollars.
Wayne Bronner says demand for small objects to hang
on Christmas trees has expanded over the years.
People put more time, effort and money into
decorating their homes with these ornaments, lights
and religious scenes. Bronners is famous for its
nativity scenes which show the birth of Jesus
Christ.
Michigan has the nations highest unemployment rate.
Bronners has been affected by the recession, too.
But not in reduced sales. Wayne Bronner says: "Even
though people are spending less, were having more
people visit here. And as a result weve actually had
a sales increase.
Bronners success is also linked to community
cooperation and investment. Frankenmuth is a town of
five thousand people in eastern Michigans farm
country. The town was settled by Bavarians in the
eighteen hundreds. It has kept its traditions alive
in buildings and restaurants.
Bavarian cultural themes and Bronners huge store
bring three million visitors a year. The town is the
most popular place for tourists in the state.
Bronners business is aimed at a single day of the
year. But that is not too different from other
businesses.
Wayne Bronner says: About half of our business is
done in the last quarter of the year, in the last
three months. And actually when you contrast that
with most retailers, that follows the same pattern.
Wayne Bronner says the familys long-term planning
and willingness to reinvest profits has grown the
company into what it is today.
Still, it does not hurt to build a business on a
holiday celebrated worldwide. Currently, about two
percent of sales are overseas.
But Wayne Bronner sees room for growth, especially
through the Internet.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
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