薮下研究室

Reading Drill No.7

　When Alemu started SoleRebels, other Ethiopian shoe companies were struggling to compete with cheap imports from China.  Alemu decided to concentrate instead on the export market, as she believed that customers would pay good money for uniquely designed products.  She found a supplier who could deliver old truck tires and tire tubes, and hired local people to make the shoes, using skills passed down through generations. Again and again, Alemu sent e-mails and samples to U.S. stores and websites.  (     ), shops such as Whole Foods and Urban Outfitters agreed to stock the shoes.  As word spread, individual customers began buying directly from the SoleRebels website, with the shoes usually arriving from Ethiopia within a week, but business really took off when Amazon.com signed up as a customer.
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