關注社會:靠網店佔領中國市場
It is no secret that it is no longer that cheap to make things in China. But now, it is becoming expensive to sell there, too.
中國的製造業成本已經不再那麼低廉，這並非什麼祕密。但現在，中國市場的銷售成本也變得越來越高。Neiman Marcus, the US multi-brand luxury retailer, plans to enter China via e-commerce rather than traditional bricks-and-mortar. And it is not the only one. A report due to be published on Friday shows that the spiraling cost of doing business in the country is driving other foreign companies with new products away from traditional retailers and into the arms of e-commerce firms.
銷售多個品牌奢侈品的零售企業奈曼-馬庫斯(Neiman Marcus)，計劃以電子商務方式進軍中國，而不打算在那裏建立傳統的實體店。奈曼-馬庫斯並不是唯一一家這樣做的企業。上週五發布的一份報告顯示，受中國營商成本飛漲的影響，一些手中擁有新產品的外國企業正在遠離傳統零售商，轉而投入電子商務企業的懷抱。The problem for retailers looking to get into China may be two-fold. Listing costs are high — but brand recognition may not travel online. The Neiman Marcus news was greeted with scepticism by local retail analysts. Shaun Rein of China Market Research in Shanghai said: "nobody knows who Neiman Marcus is in China."
希望進入中國市場的零售商面臨兩重問題。一方面，開店的成本很高；另一方面，若只在網上銷售，恐怕難以樹立品牌知名度。中國當地的零售業分析師對奈曼-馬庫斯的做法持懷疑態度。位於上海的中國市場研究集團(China Market Research)的雷小山(Shaun Rein)表示：“在中國，沒人知道奈曼-馬庫斯是誰。”
Rumours have been swirling for years about Neiman trying to get retail space on the Shanghai Bund for a large new store. Most analysts see it as essential for foreign brands — especially luxury brands — to have bricks and mortar shops to bolster their credibility in a country where seeing is still believing.
數年來一直有傳言稱，奈曼-馬庫斯試圖在上海外灘搞塊零售店面，開一家新的大型門店。多數分析師認爲，對外國品牌、尤其是奢侈品品牌來說，開設實體店是至關重要的，這樣做可以提升可信度，畢竟這仍是個講究“眼見爲實”的國家。"Customers really need to be able to see and touch the product and feel the brand heritage in a physical environment," said Rein. "Luxury sales are booming online but people still tend to equate e-commerce with cheap," he said, adding "I don't think it's possible for a foreign brand to come in and sell at high prices just online".
“顧客們真的需要能夠看到、摸到產品，在現實環境裏感受品牌的底蘊。”雷小山說，“奢侈品的在線銷量增長很快，但人們仍傾向於認爲電子商務等同於廉價。我認爲，若只靠網上銷售，外國品牌是不可能進入中國市場並賣出高價的。”But the costs of physical retail space may force a rethink. According to the report by Data Driven Marketing Asia, the marketing consultancy, the cost of listing one new product "with an established supermarket chain can be as high as $27,000".
但實體零售店的成本可能會迫使外國品牌重新做出考慮。營銷諮詢公司數達企業管理諮詢（Data Driven Marketing Asia，簡稱DDMA）發佈的報告顯示，一種新產品在“成熟連鎖超市”上架的成本或“高達2.7萬美元”。This adds to steep rises in labour, rental, logistics and marketing costs. Distribution costs increased 200 per cent over the past five years. Warehousing cost was up 23 per cent last year, while the cost for advertising on CCTV, the national broadcaster, has risen almost 50 per cent since 2007. And retail rents in China's largest cities are forecast to increase by an average 12 per cent this year, according CB Richard Ellis. The cost of employing more experienced white-collar staff in the more affluent parts of China has risen almost 60 per cent over the past three years.
此外，勞動力、場租、物流和營銷成本也在急劇上漲。過去五年間，分銷成本上升了200%。倉儲成本去年提高了23%。而在中國中央電視臺(CCTV)做廣告的成本自2007年以來已提高了近50%。世邦魏理仕(CB Richard Ellis)稱，預計中國最大型城市的零售店鋪租金今年將平均上漲12%。過去三年裏，在中國較富裕地區僱傭較有經驗白領的成本提高了近60%。Sam Mulligan, China Director at DDMA, said: "Over the past three years, these costs have started to become prohibitive. When we work with customers on a new market entry, once we get to formulating a retail strategy, the metrics fall out of the window."
DDMA中國總經理薩姆?穆里根(Sam Mulligan)說：“過去三年裏，這些成本已開始變得令人望而卻步了。我們在與客戶討論進入市場的新嘗試時，一到制定零售戰略這一步，就感慨各項成本高得離譜。”As a result, companies are shying away from traditional retailers. Yihaodian, the online grocer in which Walmart recently raised its stake to 51 per cent, is trying to grab that business by offering a one-stop-shop service for new market entrants. It helps them register their brands, deals with import formalities, transport, logistics and advertising.
因此，企業開始避開傳統零售商。在線零售商“一號店”正在努力抓住這個商業機遇，手段是爲新進入市場的企業提供一站式店鋪服務。一號店會幫助它們註冊品牌、處理進口手續、運輸、物流和廣告等事宜。沃爾瑪(Walmart)最近剛把在一號店的持股比例提高到51%。Yihaodian has already seen a steep increase over the past six months in requests from foreign companies that want to bring new products into the Chinese market. The online retailer saw the number of products available in its store jump to 180,000 in the fourth quarter of 2011 from just 50,000 a year earlier.
想將自己的新產品引入中國市場的外國企業，紛紛請求進駐一號店。最近六個月，這類請求的數量大幅增長。2011年第四季度，這家在線零售商的網店中出售的產品已激增至18萬種，而一年之前只有區區5萬種。譯者:王柯倫
