competitive edge
飽和状態になりつつあるコンビニ業界。それでも、業界トップ３のチェーン店は売り上げを伸ばしているそうです。
記事に登場する"competitive edge"は「競争力」という意味です。
edgeを調べると"something that gives you an advantage over others"と定義されていました(LDOCE)。(Sy)
以前こちらでも扱われております。
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20100921/1285012821
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20101114/1289745559
Convenience stores target niche markets
Industry giant Seven-Eleven saw its daily sales increase by about 40,000 yen per store to about 660,000 yen, while Lawson's daily sales rose about 30,000 yen to about 540,000 yen. FamilyMart marked a daily sales increase of about 20,000 yen to about 520,000 yen.
Seven-Eleven has clearly outpaced its rivals, adding about 3,000 stores over the past five years.
Lawson added about 1,200 stores during the same period while FamilyMart increased its outlets by about 2,000, leaving both operators with a sense of crisis about the situation.
To gain a competitive edge, Lawson is seeking to appeal to health-conscious customers in a bid to be known as the "fresh" convenience store.
