Practise IELTS Listening with "Seminar: A Business Case Study on Brightleaf Tea". Listen to the audio and answer the questions.

cutting the product range to about twenty teas

a supplier failure or bad harvest would leave nothing to sell

The written analysis must be no more than ______ words.

The analysis is due on the Friday of week ______.

It must be uploaded to the portal by ______.

Seminar: A Business Case Study on Brightleaf Tea

<h3>Part 3</h3>
Dr Fairhurst: So, this week's case is Brightleaf Tea — a small company whose sales have fallen for three years running. You've both read the file. Meera, what strikes you as the core problem?
Meera: For me it's the product range. They sell over ninety different teas, which sounds impressive, but most of them barely sell at all. It confuses customers and it ties up money in stock.
Josh: I'd argue the bigger issue is that nobody's heard of them. Their marketing budget is tiny — they've relied on word of mouth, which just isn't enough anymore.
Dr Fairhurst: Both are real weaknesses. But let's be disciplined — the case asks for the single most urgent problem. What does the financial data actually show?
Meera: Well, looking at the numbers, their cash flow is the frightening bit. They're profitable on paper, but they're running out of cash because so much is locked up in unsold stock. If that continues, they could go under even while showing a profit.
Dr Fairhurst: Exactly — and that's the classic trap. Profit is an opinion; cash is a fact. So the most urgent problem isn't marketing, tempting as that is to say — it's cash flow, and it's driven by that bloated product range. Now, recommendations. Each of you propose one, and let's see if they fit together.
Josh: My recommendation is to cut the range hard — drop it from ninety teas to maybe the twenty best-sellers. That frees up cash immediately and simplifies everything.
Meera: And I'd suggest they move some sales online. At the moment they only sell through a handful of shops. A simple website could reach the whole country without the cost of more premises.
Dr Fairhurst: Two sensible ideas that actually reinforce each other — a leaner range is far easier to sell online. Now, one caution, Josh. Cutting the range that aggressively carries a risk. Can you see it?
Josh: I suppose you might drop a tea that only a few people buy, but those few are extremely loyal — and you could lose them altogether.
Dr Fairhurst: Precisely. A niche product can have loyal, high-spending fans. So cut, but check the data on customer loyalty first, not just the sales volume. Now, the case also mentions their supplier. What did you make of that relationship?
Meera: They buy from a single supplier in one country, which felt risky to me. If that supplier fails, or there's a bad harvest, Brightleaf has nothing to sell.
Dr Fairhurst: A key insight — that's supply-chain risk, and over-reliance on one supplier is a genuine vulnerability. I'd want a second supplier lined up as a backstop. Right, for your written analysis, I want a clear structure. Start with the problem, then the evidence, then your recommendations, and end with the risks of each. And keep it to two thousand words — discipline, again.
Josh: Two thousand words. And when's it due?
Dr Fairhurst: The Friday of week nine. Upload it to the portal by five o'clock. And do use the financial figures in the appendix — I want to see analysis, not just opinion.
Meera: Understood. Thank you — that's really helped me see which problem matters most.

Seminar: A Business Case Study on Brightleaf Tea

Audio

Questions

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

Who makes each recommendation?

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

Complete the sentences below.