Read and translate the text

When you describe your company, you may choose to give a brief, informal introduction or a full, formal presentation, depending on the context. The five headings below cover the important areas to include in a full presentation.

Start with the name and main business activity of your company, and the sector in which you operate (e.g. the consumer goods sector, the business-to-business sector). Say where the head office is located. Briefly mention the company's origins, cover key milestones (including any major restructuring) and its size and structure today.

'Size' might include the number of employees, or things like the number of stores. A technical indication of company size is your market capitalization (market cap). 'Structure' might include reference to a business group that owns several companies, or to subsidiaries, or to separate divisions (e.g. organized by product categories).

At this point you may want to briefly describe the organization chart (organigram) of your company. Be careful: this can be very boring!

Give an overview of your product range, including any competitive advantages. Note that nowadays there is little difference between the words 'product' and 'service' (e.g. you can have 'financial products').

Talk about the countries in which you operate. Also talk about your typical customers (for a standard product) or clients (when the product is specially tailored). This may include a reference to the market segment in which you operate

Key numbers include your annual turnover, your net profit after tax, and your market share. For an international company, break down the revenue according to regions or countries. It's also interesting to know which lines contribute most to your revenue.

Is the overall market growing or shrinking? Why? What new technologies or social trends are shaping your market? What are your company's plans for the future? Finally, you may want to talk about your own job.

2. Find a word in the text above that matches each definition below.

1 Events that mark an important stage in a process __________________________________

2 Organizing a company in a different way to make it more efficient____________________

3 (Two words; finance) the total value of a company's shares __________________________

4 Companies owned or controlled by other, larger companies _________________________

5 A short description that gives the main ideas without explaining all the details ___________

6 (Two words) things that help a company be more successful than its competitors_________

7 Made for a particular purpose or person _________________________________________

8 Considering something as a whole; including everything ____________________________

9 Becoming smaller___________________________________________________________

3. Match the words and translate the word combinations.

1 market product

2 product trends

3 a standard D

4 social share

5 R& range

6 distribution network

7 cost products

8 substitute turnover

9 annual advantages