trade customers

[unpakwon]

Could you explain the following in bold?

1. My six months in Nashville also brought my first, deeply felt appreciation of the importance of our trade customers. I found I enjoyed being with them and with the consumers I met in their stores.

Does the above mean something like "corporate customers," not individual customers?

2. By the year 2000, Palmolive had cut Dawn's lead to less than four percentage points.

Does this mean "Palmolive got the lead over Dawn by less than 4 percentage points," or "the gap between Palmolive and Dawn was narrowed by less than 4 percentage points, with Dawn in the lead?"

Thank you.

[DavidAllon]

trade customers are paying customers

the answer to your second question:
"the gap between Palmolive and Dawn was narrowed to less than 4 percentage points, with Dawn in the lead" this means that before 2000 Dawn's lead was more than 4 percent.

[Anglika]

Could you explain the following in bold?

1. My six months in Nashville also brought my first, deeply felt appreciation of the importance of our trade customers. I found I enjoyed being with them and with the consumers I met in their stores.

Does the above mean something like "corporate customers," not individual customers? Yes - the shop keepers or the middlemen who trade in something.

2. By the year 2000, Palmolive had cut Dawn's lead to less than four percentage points.

Does this mean "Palmolive got the lead over Dawn by less than 4 percentage points," or "the gap between Palmolive and Dawn was narrowed by less than 4 percentage points, with Dawn in the lead?" The second - Palmolive's sales have improved and they are now only 4 per cent behind Dawn.

Thank you.

.

[unpakwon]

OK. Thank you all.