雅詩蘭黛欲深入中國中小城市 領先對手搶佔競爭優勢

Estée Lauder realized years ago that there is more to China than Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and made sure to build a presence in smaller (though still big) cities in the world’s fastest growing luxury market. The beauty products company has a bricks-and-mortar presence in 90 cities in China now, something CEO Fabrizio Freda told Fortune in an interview will give it an edge over rivals and sustain its growth even as China as a whole is maturing as a market for high-end beauty products.

數年前，雅詩蘭黛（Estée Lauder）就先知先覺地意識到，在中國這個全球發展速度最快的高檔化妝品市場，北京、上海和香港等一線城市並不是全部，其他較小規模（與其他國家城市相比依然很大）的城市還有很大的開拓空間，因此該公司堅持將業務推進到二三線城市。在接受《財富》的採訪時，弗雷達指出：目前，公司已在中國90多個城市鋪設實體門店，隨着中國整體發展成爲高檔化妝品的成熟市場，這將使得公司在業內具有競爭優勢，並將維持增長勢頭。

Still, the company, famous for brands ranging from M.A.C. to Lauder to La Mer, lowered its annual profit forecast on Tuesday and warned investors of slowing trends in China caused by a bunch of factors, such as a crackdown on corruption that has curbed gift giving, turmoil in Hong Kong and a drop in travel by the Chinese. Earlier this week, rival beauty company L’Oréal reported that global sales in its luxury unit rose 4.9% last quarter, slower than the 7.5% pace a quarter earlier, raising concerns that the China juggernaut is losing some steam.

然而，作爲擁有M.A.C、雅詩蘭黛（Lauder）和海藍之謎（La Mer）等多個著名品牌的行業巨頭，該公司在週二發佈的全年盈利預測中對投資者發出警示：由於中國政府大力反腐導致禮品消費減少、香港的亂局以及中國的旅遊人數減少等一系列因素，中國市場的增速趨緩。本週初，競爭對手歐萊雅（L’Oréal ）公佈，其高檔化妝品業務上一季度的全球銷售額上升4.9%，相比第二季度的7.5%大幅下降，由此引發了對中國這一重大市場需求下降的擔憂。

Freda told Fortune why he thinks China, and Russia, which is facing its own issues, will long be important growth markets for Estée Lauder.

弗雷達向《財富》講述了，爲什麼他認爲雖然中國和俄羅斯市場目前出現一些問題，但從長期來看仍然是雅詩蘭黛銷售增長舉足輕重的市場。

What is behind the slowdown in China sales?

中國市場銷售放緩的原因何在？

“China is slowing down as a luxury market but is still growing very solidly as a luxury cosmetics market, I would like to clarify. The reason (China) growth has slowed down is first, because the affluent group of consumers in the high end and middle class has reached a certain level of saturation (in the biggest cities).”

“我要澄清的是，雖然中國市場的奢侈品銷售趨緩，但高檔化妝品市場仍在持續增長。（中國）市場銷售放緩，原因之一是（一線大城市）精英和中產階層的富裕消費者已達到一定的飽和狀態。”

“So the growth now comes mainly from the new consumers, while growth in consumption by the affluent consumer has normalized.”

“因此，銷售增長主要來自於新增消費者，富裕消費者的消費增長已經趨於常態化。”

What has been the impact of some of the Chinese government’s actions on luxury and the events in Hong Kong?

中國政府針對奢侈品的舉措，以及香港的佔中事件，對公司業務有哪些的影響？

“This anti-corruption campaign in the last 12-18 months has reduced the amount of gifting in China of luxury goods, including to a lesser extent, prestige cosmetics. So the consumption for personal use remains very solid, but the gifting habit has decreased.”

“過去12-18個月的反腐運動已經令中國奢侈品的禮品數量減少，而其中高檔化妝品受到的影響相對較小。也就是說，個人消費仍然相當穩健，但是用於贈禮的奢侈品消費減少了。”

“The political turmoil in Hong Kong has reduced the number of visas, particularly for short-term travel. The combination of this has reduced the number of Chinese traveling and, by extension, those exposed to luxury goods. Many of these people live in tertiary cities where luxury goods do not exist and can only buy them when they travel.”

“香港佔中事件導致了簽證數量的減少，尤其是短期旅行的簽證。結果令中國大陸的旅遊人數減少，進而導致奢侈品的消費下降。很多生活在三線城市的消費者買不到奢侈品，只能在旅行時購買。”

Estée Lauder was one of the first Western brands to branch out in China beyond the five or so biggest cities and is now in 90 cities there—what impact is that having on your China growth?

雅詩蘭黛是首批在這五個一線城市開設分店的西方品牌，目前在90個城市已設有銷售點—— 這對你們在中國的業務增長有何影響？

“This was a very important move. When you go deep into populations and you go into cities which are very big but much less international and less exposed to the rest of the world, you become more local.” [Some 70% of the company's online sales in China are from cities where this is no distribution yet, something Freda said bodes well for its expansion.]

“這是非常重要的舉措。當我們深入接觸中國的廣大消費者，深入一些比較大的，但國際化程度沒那麼高、和外界接觸比較少的城市時，才離本地化更進一步。”[公司在中國70%的線上銷售來自於還沒有經銷店的城市，弗雷達預見這一業務的前景非常理想。]

“I still believe that the luxury cosmetics market in China will remain in the long term one of the most vibrant and interesting opportunities in our industry.”

“我仍然相信，長期來看，中國的奢侈化妝品市場依然是業內最具活力的市場，存在大量的機會。”

You warned of the impact of sanctions on the Russian market—what are your prospects there?

您對俄羅斯市場遭受制裁提出警告—— 您怎麼看俄羅斯的前景？

“Russia is obviously a volatile market. But we are doing very well there because we have a diversified portfolio of products there and of retail partners.”

“俄羅斯的確是一個比較動盪的市場。但是我們在俄羅斯的業務非常好，因爲我們的產品和零售合作伙伴都是多元化的。”

“Russia is softening because the economy is softening. But in the long-term, I still believe Russia will be a superlative market because women there are enthusiastic beauty consumers.”

“俄羅斯的業務正隨其經濟增長放緩而趨緩。但長期來看，我仍然看好俄羅斯的奢侈品市場，因爲俄羅斯的女性非常熱衷於購買化妝品。”