“Going up?(电梯服务用语，意为“上楼吗？”)” After a tough week for department stores it feels as if that sales aspiration is as dated(过时的，老式的) as the singsong(拖腔拿调的，节奏单调的) phrase in the opening credits of Are You Being Served?(英国经典情景喜剧《你被服务了吗？》) Simpsons of Piccadilly, which inspired the fictional Grace Brothers department store in which the 1970s TV sitcom was set, is long gone, and several of its modern equivalents are now fighting oblivion(被遗忘，湮没).
“要上楼吗？”在百货商店艰难的一周之后，这句销售用语感觉就像《你被服务了吗？》片头中那句拖腔拿调的话一样过时。曾启发这部上世纪70年代情景喜剧中虚构的格雷斯兄弟百货商店的皮卡迪利·辛普森百货早已不复存在，而它的几家现代同行如今正在与被人遗忘作斗争。
The boss of John Lewis, Peter Ruis, clearly decided it was time to exit the elevator(离开电梯，暗指离职) this week, announcing his abrupt(突然的，唐突的) departure from the UK’s biggest department store chain in a surprise statement. Days later, Harvey Nichols, the luxury Knightsbridge store that was once a byword(代名词，典型例子) for 1990s chic, was bought out of administration(从破产管理中收购) for a knock-down price(极低价格，跳楼价) by the owner of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group(迈克·阿什利的弗雷泽斯集团).
约翰·刘易斯的老板彼得·鲁伊斯本周显然认定是时候“下电梯”了，他在一份令人意外的声明中宣布突然离开这家英国最大的百货连锁店。几天后，位于骑士桥的奢侈品商店哈维·尼克斯——曾是上世纪90年代时尚的代名词——被体育直销的老板迈克·阿什利的弗雷泽斯集团以极低价格从破产管理中收购。
It was only nine months ago that Ruis was talking about possible expansion of the 36-store chain and a burst(一阵，迸发) of investment was seen to have revived sales. Since then, trading has been tough, not helped by blistering(酷热的，极快的) summer weather during which shops on hot high streets have lost out to(输给，败给) online specialists, while the high cost of living has put spending on big-ticket items(大件商品，高价商品) such as sofas and beds on hold(暂停，搁置).
就在九个月前，鲁伊斯还在谈论可能扩张这家拥有36家门店的连锁店，而且一轮投资似乎已经重振了销售。自那以来，交易一直艰难，酷热的夏季天气更是雪上加霜，在炎热的商业街上，实体店输给了线上专业零售商，而高昂的生活成本使人们推迟了沙发和床等大件商品的消费。