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Petusek Posted 10 years ago
Letter Writing

'business friends'

Hello everyone,

I've just come across an odd salutation at the beginning of a formal business letter:

Dear business friends,

Apparently, a company is inviting their 'business friends' to attend the opening of a new retail shop.

Can 'business friends' be different from 'business partners' ? Is the former ever used? I actually think the author may have meant the latter.

Google search results suggest that this phrase is almost exclusively used by non-native speakers of English, so it might turn out be some sort of foreignism. What do you think?

Many thanks for your opinions!

P.
  

Top answer

I don't think I've ever seen 'business friends', but it seems an innocuous term to me. A business partner is someone you do business with.

— Clive

  • I don't think I've ever seen 'business friends', but it seems an innocuous term to me.
  • A business partner is someone you do business with.
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9 Answers
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I don't think I've ever seen 'business friends', but it seems an innocuous term to me.

A business partner is someone you do business with.
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CliveI don't think I've ever seen 'business friends', but it seems an innocuous term to me.A business partner is someone you do business with.
Thank you, Clive.

In my native language, too, the equivalent of English 'business partners' is often transformed into something whose literal translation would be 'b
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As I said, 'Dear Business Friends' sounds OK to me.
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In the opposite direction, the most formal/businesslike and concise alternative that I can think of is colleagues.
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However, 'colleagues' usually refers tp people who work together in the same company.
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CliveHowever, 'colleagues' usually refers to people who work together in the same company.
Maybe so.

In the scientific community (my experience), colleagues can include anyone in the same or similar field, regardless of title or institution. Annual science conferences are opportunities for colleagues to catch up with each other.
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Yes, people in the professions (doctors, lawyers, etc) often speak of their colleagues,
But in this thread we are dealing with someone who is opening a store.
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Indeed. I believe Clive is right. I guess 'business partners' (or, here, the somewhat odd 'business friends', which occurs in English texts written by some non-native speakers of English, especially native speakers of my own native language) is supposed to mean distributors, suppliers, perfume producers etc. (at least that's the kind o
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I offered colleagues as a more formal alternative to business partners, in contrast to the somewhat casual business friends.
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