外資零售商在中國處境艱難
From fast food to smartphones, from luxury goods to groceries, the way China shops — and what mainland shoppers want to buy — is changing rapidly. The changes are leaving foreign supermarket and hypermarket chains struggling to keep up by revamping store formats and selling more groceries online, retail analysts say.
從方便食品到智能手機，從奢侈品到日品雜貨，中國的店鋪模式以及大陸消費者想買的東西都在快速變化。零售業分析師表示，外國超市和特大型超市連鎖企業很難跟上形勢的變化，即使是在他們調整經營模式並在線上銷售更多商品的情況下。
On Wednesday Walmart announced a plan to turn round its declining sales in China by boosting store numbers by more than 25 per cent, renovating existing shops and introducing a new online shopping app.
週三，沃爾瑪(Walmart)公佈了一份旨在扭轉中國銷售下滑勢頭的方案，途徑是將門店數量增加25%以上，改造現有門店和引入一款新的在線購物app。The US chain has been hit by food safety scandals in China, along with rapidly intensifying competition from other big hypermarket chains and from new online grocers.
這家美國連鎖企業在中國受到了多起食品安全醜聞的打擊，同時其所面對的來自其他特大型超市連鎖店以及新的在線零售商的競爭也在快速加劇。
The sector’s woes are not limited to foreign brands either. A new report by OC&C strategy consultants finds that “nearly all the major players among China’s big-box grocers … have experienced near-consistent negative growth since 2010.” Growth during that period has come almost entirely from new store openings, OC&C said.
零售業的困境不僅限於外資品牌。一份由OC&C諮詢公司的戰略顧問撰寫的最新報告發現，“自2010年以來，中國幾乎所有的大賣場型零售商……都出現了近乎連續的負增長。”OC&C表示，同期增長几乎完全是通過新開門店實現的。Competition from online grocers is one of the biggest threats to brick and mortar sales at chains such as Walmart, Carrefour and Auchan’s SunArt Retail, retail analysts say. Consumer tastes in China change more rapidly than in many established markets, and in the past year or two, online grocery sales have exploded.
零售業分析師表示，沃爾瑪、家樂福(Carrefour)和歐尚(Auchan)的母公司高鑫零售(SunArt Retail)等實體零售連鎖企業面臨的最大威脅之一就是來自在線零售商的競爭。中國市場的消費者品味變化比許多成熟市場要快，在過去一兩年裏，在線零售商的銷售額出現了爆發性增長。OC&C says online sales rose nearly 50 per cent in 2014, year on year, compared with a paltry 6.7 per cent for hypermarkets and supermarket sales (including new store openings). Many consumers are shifting their buying to convenience stores too, retail analyst say, prompting grocers including Walmart and Carrefour to try new, smaller formats for their stores in big cities.
OC&C表示，2014年在線零售業的同比增長幅度接近50%，而超市和特大型超市（包含新開門店）的增長僅爲6.7%。零售業分析師表示，許多消費者也開始轉到便利店去購物，促使沃爾瑪和家樂福等廠家開始在大城市嘗試新的小型門店。Walmart already has one of the strongest ecommerce presences in China, through its 51 per cent stake in Yihaodian, the popular online grocer.
沃爾瑪通過持有熱門在線零售商一號店(Yihaodian)51%的股權，在中國市場的電商規模已名列前茅。
