雙語閱讀｜優衣庫：紮根亞洲立足基本款

2022年07月04日04:39:30 熱門 1788

WHEN ASKED what guides his vision of UNIQLO, Tadashi Yanai, its founder and chief executive, pulls off the shelf the 1987 autumn/winter collection catalogue of Next, a mass-market British retailer. All of the clothes are so classic, he says, that they could be worn today. While Inditex of Spain, which owns Zara, and Hennes & Mauritz of Sweden, the world』s two largest clothing retailers, slavishly follow fashion trends, UNIQLO, the main brand of the third-largest, Fast Retailing, of Japan, sticks to timeless basics.

在問到優衣庫創始人兼CEO柳井正是什麼指導他的優衣庫願景的是什麼時，他從書架上取下了英國時裝零售巨頭Next在1987年發佈的秋冬時裝目錄。他表示，目錄中所有的衣服都是經典，現在也不過時。西班牙INDITEX（屬下有Zara品牌）以及瑞士的H&M這兩大時裝零售巨頭都在盲目地追隨潮流之際，日本第三大零售商迅銷集團旗下的主打品牌優衣庫，卻始終如一地堅守跨越時光的基本款。

Mr Yanai has a solid base at home from which to expand into his Western competitors』 main markets of Europe and America. But instead his priority remains Asia. He wants to turn UNIQLO into the world』s largest clothing retailer by becoming the first Asian 「SPA」 or speciality store retailer of private-label apparel. 「Asia is the engine of growth today,」 he says, pointing to the millions of consumers across the region who are reaching the middle class. UNIQLO will open its first shop in India this year and is considering whether to expand into Vietnam and other countries (it has already opened networks of shops in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand).

柳井正立足日本國內市場，繼而打入其歐美競爭對手的主要市場。不過，柳井正仍主攻亞洲市場，希望將優衣庫打造成全球最大的服裝零售商，並期盼通過成為亞洲首家自有品牌專業服裝零售商來實現此願望。柳井正說道：「現今的亞洲是業務增長的引擎」，而亞洲有數以百萬計的消費者正在步入中產階級。今年，優衣庫將在印度開設首家分店，並正考慮將市場擴大至越南以及其他國家（優衣庫在印度尼西亞、新加坡和泰國已設有網店）。

The success or not of UNIQLO』s overseas operations matters greatly to investors at home. Fast Retailing』s shares—Mr Yanai owns just over 20% of the firm—have been rising since 2015, largely, analysts reckon, owing to its international expansion and improved logistics. At home the firm is closing stores because the population is shrinking. Fast Retailing』s operating profit in the year to August 2018 was ¥236.2bn ($2.15bn), the bulk of which is made up by UNIQLO. Last year UNIQLO』s international revenue overtook its domestic sales for the first time and its foreign operating profit almost equalled its Japanese equivalent.

優衣庫海外經營的成功與否，對日本國內投資者至關重要。有分析師認為，自2015年以來，迅銷集團的股價一直呈上漲趨勢，這很大程度是由於其國際市場擴張以及物流的改善。柳井正擁有優衣庫20%多的股權。由於日本人口數量減少，優衣庫正在關閉其國內門店。截止到2018年8月，迅銷集團的營業利潤達到了2 362億日元（即21.5億美元），大部分利潤來自於優衣庫。2018年，優衣庫的全球收益首次超過了日本國內收益，海外營業利潤幾乎與日本國內的營業利潤持平。

UNIQLO has a strong Asian foothold by way of China, home to over half its overseas shops. China contributed around 70% of total international revenues last year. This success has surprised some, and not only because of ill-feeling towards Japan from many Chinese because of the latter』s wartime record. China is not an easy place to work, and, in clothing at least, Chinese consumers tend to revere brands. But even the label-obsessed need plain bits and bobs for layering or co-ordination. Chinese consumers are after quality, and UNIQLO』s special fabrics, especially its Heattech range for cold weather, function well. Above all analysts point to the company』s savvy Japan-educated Chinese executives who understand both the culture of the Japanese business and that of China.

中國是優衣庫在亞洲的一個堅實的立足點，擁有幾近二分之一的海外門店。2018年，中國的收益大約佔了70%的國際總收益。許多人對此頗感驚訝，原因不僅是日本入侵中國的歷史讓很多中國人都對日本抱有敵意。能在中國站住腳並不容易，至少在服裝行業上，中國的消費者都趨於崇尚品牌。不過，即便是一些痴迷於品牌的人，為了穿衣協調，偶爾也需要簡單的搭配。中國消費者追求質量，而優衣庫的特殊面料，尤其是Heattech保暖衣系列，抵禦寒冷天氣的效果非常好。除此之外，分析人士還指出，該公司的中國管理層在日本受過教育，博聞廣識，且對兩國的商業文化都很了解。

But the rest of Asia may be harder to crack. For one thing, a warm climate in several countries means that UNIQLO cannot rely on its cold-weather products as a main driver of sales. It may have to tweak its formula, which could be risky, says Takahiro Saito, a fashion-retail analyst and author of a book comparing UNIQLO and Zara.

不過，佔領其他亞洲國家的市場可能會更難。一方面，一些國家的溫暖氣候意味着優衣庫不能靠冬季產品作為銷售主力。時尚零售分析師、曾著書比較優衣庫和Zara的齊藤隆浩（Takahiro Saito）稱，優衣庫必須轉變產品方案，但這或許會有很魘風險。

Though they are very different markets, Europe and America offer a cautionary tale. UNIQLO in America struggled outside the big cities of the east and west coasts. Growth in the heartlands remains elusive for UNIQLO both there and in Europe. In part that is because the same business model exists there already with firms such as Gap, says Mr Saito. But UNIQLO could do better at explaining what it does. Well thought-out partnerships with ambassadors, such as tennis player Roger Federer, and collaborations with designers, like Jil Sander, are starting to help.

儘管歐洲和美國是不同的市場，卻都讓優衣庫得到了教訓。優衣庫打算在美國東西部沿海大城市中尋找出路。優衣庫很難在美國中部以及歐洲地區提升銷售。齊藤稱，一方面的原因歸咎於當地已有同樣的成型企業模式，比如GAP。不過，優衣庫還是能做得更好。與網球運動員羅傑·費德勒（Roger Federer）等品牌大使深化合作，與同吉爾·桑達（Jil Sander）等設計師的合作，均開始奏效。

Mr Yanai, an ardent fan of globalisation unlike many Japanese executives (the firm』s working language is English and many employees, even in Japan, are foreign), is confident that he can guide UNIQLO through the changes needed. He also talks of expanding into shoes as well as dresses and skirts, where UNIQLO currently has only slim offerings.

與許多日本高管不同，柳井正是熱忱的全球化支持者。（優衣庫的工作語言是英語，有很多外籍員工，在日本國內也是不少）。他堅信能指引着公司做出所需的改變。他還提到要除了上衣和裙子，還要擴展到鞋類。不過，前兩類物品在優衣庫僅有S碼。

The backlash against globalisation is the biggest risk to UNIQLO』s Asian plans, he says. It could limit free movement of goods and people, disrupting both supply chains and workers. Still, a Japanese firm that has managed as much foreign success as UNIQLO should be able to cope.

這可能會限制貨物和人員的自由流動，擾亂供應鏈和員工。儘管如此，像優衣庫這樣在海外市場取得成功的日本企業應該有能力應對。

編譯：方雪卿、許家寶、喜笑田、郝佩璇

編輯：翻吧君

來源：經濟學人（2019.02.03）

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