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French to English translations [Non-PRO] Marketing - Retail / Supermarket chains
French term or phrase:combat militant
Hi everyone,
This is from a marketing presentation about famous French retailers. This particular section looks at E.Leclerc's brand philosophy and how it's been the foundation for the chain's success:
... grâce à la puissance de la mission d’enseigne et aux valeurs partagées autour du *combat militant*
Further down there is an extract related to Leclerc's corporate culture, with the slogan "Les combats changent, le combat continue !"
Now, I'm not really sure what they're getting at here. To me, it seems a bit odd for a supermarket chain to be promoting a culture of 'combat militant' - but at the same time, I'm not entirely sure what they mean by it.
If any of you could shed some light, I'd be very grateful. It's been a very long day and my brain has given up.
Explanation: Or something like that, to suit your text.
Leclerc sets themselves up as a defender of consumer rights, claiming that things can be sold more cheaply if supermarkets are allowed to do what they like, largely through deregulation. An example of this is pharmaceuticals: Leclerc wants to sell common OTC pharmaceuticals from their shelves, as is done in England, claiming this is not so much in the interests of Leclerc shareholders as the interests of the common people. Same applies to books which they claim they can sell more cheaply than bookstores, again, for the benefit of the reader.
Militant here has the meaning of someone devoted to a struggle, not (necessarily) someone using force and violence to achieve that end. In that respect it tones down "combat" which DOES suggest violence.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 23 mins (2011-01-28 00:25:30 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
As is said there, use of militant is aimed at rallying people to the company which purports to be defending their best interests by combating the standard practices aimed at robbing the poor.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 28 mins (2011-01-28 00:29:56 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Apart from supermarketeering strategy, are you on to a lucrative niche market? Do football clubs pay their translators/interpreters as royally as they pay their players?
I've gone with Bourth's suggestion, as the text keeps coming back to the idea of dedication, defending Leclerc's brand mission, etc. Many thanks for all of your suggestions though, they all helped enormously. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
I'm not sure at the moment how we can get round "militant", used adjectively as it is here. But you could maybe use "fight" for "combat" (in the sense of "fighting for consumer rights", as Alex suggested below). Think you may have to translate "combats" and "combat" differently in your second example (e.g. "the battles/issues/causes change, the fight continues").
Hi, thank you for the link. I agree with you on the whole marketing warfare thing. I just need to be careful not to turn a supermarket's mission statement into some sort of terrorist doctrine!
Explanation: Or something like that, to suit your text.
Leclerc sets themselves up as a defender of consumer rights, claiming that things can be sold more cheaply if supermarkets are allowed to do what they like, largely through deregulation. An example of this is pharmaceuticals: Leclerc wants to sell common OTC pharmaceuticals from their shelves, as is done in England, claiming this is not so much in the interests of Leclerc shareholders as the interests of the common people. Same applies to books which they claim they can sell more cheaply than bookstores, again, for the benefit of the reader.
Militant here has the meaning of someone devoted to a struggle, not (necessarily) someone using force and violence to achieve that end. In that respect it tones down "combat" which DOES suggest violence.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 23 mins (2011-01-28 00:25:30 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
As is said there, use of militant is aimed at rallying people to the company which purports to be defending their best interests by combating the standard practices aimed at robbing the poor.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 28 mins (2011-01-28 00:29:56 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Apart from supermarketeering strategy, are you on to a lucrative niche market? Do football clubs pay their translators/interpreters as royally as they pay their players?
xxxBourth Local time: 21:00 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 56
Grading comment
I've gone with Bourth's suggestion, as the text keeps coming back to the idea of dedication, defending Leclerc's brand mission, etc. Many thanks for all of your suggestions though, they all helped enormously.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you Bourth, that's a very helpful reply indeed
2 days11 hrs confidence:
standing up for rights
Explanation: Or "defending a cause".
Then you could say "different causes, same defenders" or "different rights, same stance" for the second part.
Emma Paulay France Local time: 21:00 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 53
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +2
