【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 23-30
F: Wilson Groupe is a website that brings designer sample sales online. It is a pioneer in the USA. Alex shared with me his thoughts on founding Wilson with a trusted friend, raising over $50 million in venture funding, and bringing in a new CEO. Alex, why don't you kick us off by giving us a little introduction to Wilson Group?
M: Wilson. com is a members-only website that provides access to men's and women's luxury and contemporary fashion at incredible prices, usually about 70% off retail prices.
F: When did you get started?
M: We launched on November 13th, 2007. I still remember our first sale with designer Zac Posen, who is a friend of mine. I started the business with Mark May-bank, who is not only a very good friend, but also a classmate from Harvard Business School and a Harvard undergrad, so we've known each other for a very long time, which I think is really important when you're doing something entrepreneurial. You have to do it with people you really know and really trust. Today we have over 320 employees. Wilson operates throughout the US and we also have Wilson. jp.
M: We have complementary backgrounds, skill sets, and even personalities. Mark came from the world of e-commerce and had been part of the early team of eBay, and I came from the world of luxury and fashion. I was at Louis Vuitton and Bulgari.
F: Can you talk a bit about your experiences in the luxury and fashion world?
M: Right before Wilson Group I was working for Bulgari, running their 15 U.S. stores. I really understood the nuts and bolts of retail. Before that I was at Louis Vuitton and I did an MBA program that they had in their stores, so again, I was really close to what was happening at the retail level.
F: What's the big innovation that you brought into this business?
M: The thing with the sample sale model in New York is that it's often defined by inconvenient times and locations, and only a small number of people actually have access to these sales. So we really wanted to take the sample sale concept online and bring it to people across the country.
F: How active is the site today?
M: So, today we have over 1.7 million members and it's a totally different scheme. When we launched, we only focused on the women's market, but after about six months we realized we should test the sales for men. About 20% of our members at that time were men and were asking, "What about us?" The men's business has been incredibly strong from the beginning and our male customers are very engaged, and on average they start purchasing much faster than our female customers, which is kind of a surprise.
F: What actually inspires you to implement your business idea?
M: I love variety. The routine bores me and there is so much variety on a daily basis here at Wilson Group. I am constantly challenged by my peers and my colleagues—it's a very smart team that we have here. I would say that I have a lot of heart. I'm a very passionate person. When I believe in something or someone, it's very evident and I don't have much of a poker face and I really believed in this concept from the very beginning. We've hired the best in class in all the different functional areas, so that keeps me excited and wanting to jump out of bed and run to the office each day. I'm also constantly meeting new people, whether it's CEOs of retail companies or fashion designers or people in production or in sales in the different companies. So, variety is really what I think keeps me energized.
F: Is there a single attribute that is the key to entrepreneurial success?
M: Having quality people is so important. Make sure you're hiring the right people. We've been very lucky in terms of the talent we've been able to attract at Wilson Group. Our chairman, Kevin Ryan, was with us from the very beginning and was our first investor, and without him none of this would have been possible. And after a year into the business we hired Suzan Lyne, who was President of Martha Stewart and before that President of ABC entertainment. We're very grateful to have such leadership helping us grow.
23. 原文中有“Wilson．com is a members-only website”，意思是此网站只是针对会员提供服务的，所以C正确，B选项中designs属于未确定的信息，我们只知道Wilson．con是一个提供商品的网站，并不知道它参与设计商品，所以B不正确；原文中有“about 70% off retail prices”，可知网站提供打折商品，属于减价销售，所以A不正确。