シャドーイング練習: Why Retailers Are Shrinking Their Assortments - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

練習モードを選ぶ

各モードは全画面の練習ルームで開きます。

85 文

文が短すぎたり長すぎる場合は、Editをタップして調整してください。

Retailers across the board are slashing assortments.

You may notice when a product is no longer carried at your favorite store or online.

And when companies start talking about it on their earnings calls, you know it's happening at a wider scale.

SKUs, or stock keeping units, are unique codes assigned to every product to keep track of inventory.

Let's say you want to buy this jacket.

Its SKU number might indicate the manufacturer, product type, color, and size, with a series of numbers and letters.

Companies like Dollar General, BJ's Wholesale Club, Lululemon, and Under Armour are either planning to cut

or have already cut skews at their stores in an effort to improve their financials.

But how can intentionally reducing the number of products, and in some cases even intentionally shrinking revenue, ultimately help a business turn things around?

amount.

Public companies typically want to show investors growth, quarter after quarter.

And one of the ways brands can grow sales is by adding more products.

But what happens when those products don't sell?

Well, it can lead to discounting, which in turn hurts profitability.

That product can also end up at off -price stores like TJ Maxx, which can hurt a brand's reputation.

If you have zero discounting, you're not taking enough fashion risk.

If you're not taking enough fashion risk, why do you exist?

And so you absolutely need to discount.

But discounting needs to be fixing mistakes.

It needs to be done quickly.

It needs to be done somewhat invisibly.

And then we need to move on.

There's a reason I believe the off -pricers are such compelling business models.

TJ, Ross Stores.

These businesses allow companies, allow big brands to sell product invisibly.

When a brand isn't selling its products at full price, that means less profit.

It's one of the reasons Lululemon has been struggling lately.

From 2024 to 2025, the company grew sales by about $500 million, yet its operating profit fell by about $300 million.

The company acknowledged the negative impact of markdowns in recent earnings calls.

It said it cut North American SKUs by 15%.

You can reduce assortments and then try to make up for that revenue by selling more of your signature items.

Or a brand can acknowledge that its revenues need to shrink too.

The goal here is to increase the price of your remaining products, in turn selling less of them, but making more profit on each one.

Lulu has a long way to go.

And simply cutting skews, simply saying we need to have better product is not the answer if you're too large.

The absolute best product can still be dilutive if there's too much of it in the market.

And Lulu last year did $6 .5 billion of American sales.

3 to 4 billion dollars in revenue is where companies generally hit a healthy saturation level.

It's a level where they can be large and still cool.

Nike is an exception to this rule.

One of the reasons why is because of its ability to sell distinctively different brands, like Jordan.

While the company doesn't specifically break out its U .S sales, it did around 20 billion dollars in North America in 2025.

Nike is in the midst of a massive downturn, and while it's almost certainly not going to bring domestic sales down to that $3 -4 billion level,

it's actively working to clean up its product offerings.

We made meaningful progress across the business through rebalancing the product portfolio, driving momentum and growth in performance,

while reducing classic footwear franchises by more than $2 billion.

For big box stores like BJ's and small box stores like Dollar General, the goal of assortment reduction is different.

These retailers carry thousands of individual brands

so removing certain products is more of a defensive move it simplifies inventory management

and allows stores to refine what they're offering from a brand perspective

if you were of something the more expensive it can be

when you shrink a box when you take a retailer

and say i'm going to focus more on curation you're getting smaller

but you're trying to re -establish why someone's walking into your box in the first place

and so it does get better but it doesn't necessarily help your bottom line as much, it's more protecting.

In an earnings call from June 2025, Dollar General said the elimination of 1 ,000 SKUs from the

previous year opened up more shelf space for its best -selling products.

By March 2026, the SKU reductions reached over 1 ,500 products, which the company said provided benefits to the overall supply chain.

The team is looking at continued SKU rationalization, albeit probably more surgical in nature as we move forward

but it is still our ultimate goal to grow sales at or above the rate of inventory growth overall.

Reducing assortments is much easier said than done.

Box stores risk losing customers to competitors with more offerings.

BJ's actually acknowledged that a previous attempt to cut SKUs was unsuccessful.

We didn't prosecute that opportunity in the right way.

We just cut SKUs, which cut sales, and then we added some SKUs back and

so really what we're doing is removing unnecessary choice think about traditional soda we don't carry cans

and two liters of the same product anymore For individual brands, on the other hand, cutting revenue can be intentional.

Under Armour's stock is down significantly over the past five years.

Its revenue has also fallen by nearly a billion dollars, and its operating income, a key measure of profitability, has turned negative over the past couple of years.

Under Armour shrunk their skews by 25 % over the past few years and plans to cut another 25%.

In an August 2026 earnings call, the company acknowledged that its problems would not be solved by chasing unhealthy sales volume

or short -term revenue today we're managing for quality fewer products with greater purpose tighter execution

and a clearer reason to buy this mandate to the organization is incredibly straightforward real will sell

so much more of so many less products at a much higher full retail price under armor feels like it has

tried many times it's had multiple fits and starts of acknowledging that it may be a better business as a smaller business, and those are the words that management says,

so far in the results, it seems very much a working process.

But it's hard.

You can't shrink in a half measure because it's very hard to do, and the worst thing you could do is try and give up.

Cutting products can also make a brand less accessible.

If, for example, you cannot afford to shop at a store paying full price but frequent their clearance section, the company may lose you as a customer as they work to reduce markdowns.

And that may be deliberate, despite how difficult it may be to turn away that additional revenue, because your discounted purchase wasn't a very profitable sale for the company in the first place.

It's hard for a company ever to say we need to shrink anything, but it's dramatically harder to say we need to shrink revenues.

For brands, the more people you get, the less exciting the story becomes.

For more people you get, the less specialized the product becomes.

And so, so frequently we find that brands hit a peak, a healthy peak, extend past the peak by forcing it, and then find their way back down pretty harshly.

アプリをダウンロード

流暢に話すために必要なすべて

AI発音採点文ごとに採点

IPA練習すべての音をマスター

単語学習自分の単語帳を作る

単語ゲーム遊びながら覚える

QRをスキャン

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

同じチャンネル

FOR YOU

このレッスンの語彙とスピーキングのポイント

このスピーキングレッスンは、動画「Why Retailers Are Shrinking Their Assortments」を教材にしています。繰り返し出てくる語は次のとおりです：product, brand, Sku, revenue, sale。この動画には、シャドーイング用の文が47文、単語が1233語あります。音声の長さは7:01です。話す速さは1分あたり約176語で、日常会話に近い自然なペースです。単語の84%は英語の頻出3,000語に含まれます。残りは練習の前に確認しておきましょう。

この動画の重要語彙

動画に出てくる覚えておきたい単語15語を、発音と意味つきで紹介します。

単語	発音	意味
discount 名詞	/ˈdɪskaʊnt/	割引, 値引き
acknowledge 動詞	/əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/	承認する, 認める
earnings 名詞		収入, 稼ぎ
inventory 名詞	/ˈɪn.vən.tɹi/	在庫
retailer 名詞	/ˈɹiteɪlɚ/	小売商人
reduction 名詞	/ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/	還元
intentionally 副詞	/ɪnˈtɛn(t)ʃənəli/	態と, 意図的に
reputation 名詞	/ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/	評判, 名声
chase 動詞	/t͡ʃeɪs/	追いかける, 追跡する
solve 動詞	/sɒlv/	解決する
exception 名詞	/əkˈsɛpʃən/	除外
indicate 動詞	/ˈɪndɪˌkeɪt/	示す, 指す
jacket 名詞	/ˈd͡ʒæk.ɪt/	ジャケット
execution 名詞	/ˌɛk.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən/	実行, 執行
frequent 形容詞	/ˈfɹiː.kwənt/	頻繁な

動画に出てくる句動詞

単語	意味
break out 動詞	脱出する
clean up 動詞	掃除する
give up 動詞	降服する

この動画の文法

話し手がよく使っている文型を、動画の実際の表現とともに紹介します。

文型	動画での表現
受動態 be + 過去分詞 — 誰がするかより、何が起きるかに焦点を当てる	be done · would not be solved
現在完了形 have/has + 過去分詞 — 過去の出来事が今も関係している	have already cut · has also fallen

注意したい発音

話し手はyou're, doesn't, don'tなど、短縮形や弱形を17回使っています。聞こえたとおりの短い形で発音しましょう。

「sh」と「zh」の音: reduction /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/, intentionally /ɪnˈtɛn(t)ʃənəli/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, exception /əkˈsɛpʃən/, execution /ˌɛk.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən/
長い単語（アクセントの位置に注意）: intentionally /ɪnˈtɛn(t)ʃənəli/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, execution /ˌɛk.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən/

日本語話者が苦手な音：

/r/ と /l/ の区別 — /l/ は舌先を歯茎につけ、/r/ はどこにもつけない: retailer /ˈɹiteɪlɚ/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, profitable /ˈpɹɑ.fɪ.tə.bl̩/, deliberate /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/
/v/ — /b/ にならないように、上の歯を下唇に当てる: inventory /ˈɪn.vən.tɹi/, solve /sɒlv/, defensive /dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/, actively /ˈæktɪvli/, investor /ɪnˈvɛs.tə(ɹ)/
/f/ — 「フ」ではなく、上の歯と下唇で出す: defensive /dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/, fewer /ˈfjuː.ɚ/, franchise /ˈfɹænt͡ʃaɪ̯z/, frequent /ˈfɹiː.kwənt/, manufacturer /ˌmænjʊˈfæktʃəɹə/

この動画での練習方法

まず声を出さずに動画を最後まで聞き、知らない単語をメモします。
まず0.75倍速で一文ずつシャドーイングし、慣れてきたら通常の速度に戻します。
自分の声を録音して元の音声と比べます。discount, acknowledge, earningsなどの単語に特に注意しましょう。

シャドーイングとは？英語上達に効果的な理由

シャドーイング（Shadowing）は、もともとプロの通訳者養成プログラムで開発された言語学習法で、多言語習得者として知られるDr. Alexander Arguelles によって広く普及されました。方法はシンプルですが非常に効果的：ネイティブスピーカーの英語を聞きながら、1〜2秒の遅延で声に出してすぐに繰り返す——まるで「影（shadow）」のように話者を追いかけます。文法ドリルや受動的なリスニングと異なり、シャドーイングは脳と口の筋肉が同時にリアルタイムで英語を処理・再現することを強制します。研究により、発音精度、抑揚、リズム、連音、リスニング力、そして会話の流暢さが大幅に向上することが確認されています。IELTSスピーキング対策や自然な英語コミュニケーションを目指す方に特におすすめです。

シャドーイングのやり方: ステップ別の完全ガイドを読む →

シャドーイング練習: Why Retailers Are Shrinking Their Assortments - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

練習モードを選ぶ

アプリをダウンロード

The Race To Power AI Is Reshaping America's Electric Grid

How Cheap Mortgages Are Backfiring On Homeowners

Watch AI Dock A Boat

Why 7-Eleven Failed In Indonesia

How AI Is Killing The Value Of A College Degree

Why Corporate America Is Spending More On Security

Inside Bracket22, A Trading Firm Powered By Al Agents

Why The Airline Business Is Broken

Why Hyundai’s Investing $26B In The U.S.

Why Even High Earners Are Living Paycheck To Paycheck

How Walmart Is Beating Everyone In Groceries

Inside The Real Estate Rush Behind AI

How Working For Google, Amazon, And Microsoft Lost 'Dream Job' Status

How Walmart Is Hoping Its New Tech Will Help Shoppers And Employees

How Chinese EVs Won Brazil — And Left U.S. Automakers Behind

Why Airline Ticket Prices Are Unlikely To Go Down

Where Did Americans’ Savings Go?

How Chinese Luckin Is Taking On Starbucks In the U.S.

How Amazon Delivers On One-Day Shipping

Why Timeshares Aren’t Worth It

Inside Gap Inc.’s Plan To Rewrite Its Story for Gen Z | Behind The Business

my low-consumption habits & tips

Don't think Fed should be hiking here, says 3Fourteen's Warren Pies

11 Affordable Menswear Pieces Worth Buying Right Now

Why “Buy one, get one free” isn’t a great deal

Why Small Luxuries Thrive During Recessions (The Lipstick Effect)

Business Ethics Mistakes That Cost Companies Millions

🚨 WHY YOU ARE GETTING POORER - Cost Of Living Crisis Accelerates

If Companies Are Desperate For Workers... Why Can Nobody Find A Job?

The Stock Market Is Being Used as a Dumping Ground

Why The U.S. Can’t Copy Japanese 7-Eleven | AB Explained