经济学人 | 这杯咖啡心里苦
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咖啡，对于很多上班族来说都是提神醒脑的必备品，但是对于咖啡生产商雀巢公司，日子却并不如咖啡一般香醇美好……
”A Life less sweet
如蜜生活甜意减
【1】Large food companies have long been among the world’s most solid, with reassuringly consistent returns even in hard times. None would seem steadier than Nestlé, based in the Swiss town of Vevey, on a lake near snowy peaks. For its 150th anniversary in 2016 it opened a new museum filled with corporate heirlooms: the first written notes about a new product called milk chocolate, laid out in black cursive; an old tin of Nescafé, used by soldiers as a stimulant in the second world war; and an early can of Henri Nestlé’s infant formula, which in 1867 saved the life of a premature baby.
solid：固体的；坚固的；坚硬的
reassuringly：(语言或动作）令人放心的，令人欣慰的
consistent：(行为、态度等)一贯的，一致的，始终如一的
anniversary：周年纪念日
heirlooms：传家宝，祖传遗物
lay out：（整齐地）铺开，展开
cursive：草书，手写体
stimulant：刺激的，激励的；使人兴奋的
infant：婴儿，幼儿
premature：过早的；太早的；提前的
大型食品公司长期以来都属于世界上最坚实的企业之列，即使在艰难时期也有令人安心的稳定回报。似乎没有哪家企业比总部位于瑞士雪山湖畔韦威镇(Vevey)的雀巢公司更稳固了。2016年雀巢成立150周年之际，其新揭幕的博物馆展示了众多“传家宝”：有关新产品“牛奶巧克力”的首份书面记录，用黑色草体书写；一罐陈年的雀巢咖啡，在二战时士兵们曾用它来提神；还有一罐早期的亨利雀巢婴儿配方奶粉一一它在1867年挽救了一名早产儿的生命。
【2】It has come a long way since then. It sold goods worth nearly $90bn in 189 countries in 2015. Of the 30,000 cups of coffee sipped around the world each second, Nestlé estimates, one-fifth are cups of Nescafé. But the industry it presides over is in upheaval. On January1st a new chief executive, Ulf Mark Schneider (pictured), took over. He is the first outsider to get the top job since 1922, and his background—running a health-care firm, not selling chocolate bars or frozen pizza—suggests the main source of worry for the business.
sip：小口地喝，抿
preside：主持，主管
upheaval：突变，剧变
chief executive：首席执行官
outsider：（某个团体或组织）外部的人
自那以后，雀巢已有长足发展。2015年，该公司在189个国家的销售额近900亿美元。雀巢估计，全球每秒有三万杯咖啡被人们捧到嘴边，其中五分之一是雀巢咖啡。但是，其主导的行业正经历巨变。1月1日，雀巢新首席执行官乌尔夫·马克·施奈德（Ulf Mark Schneider，见图）上任。他是自1922年以来首位担任这一最高职位的外部人士，而他之前管理医疗保健企业（而不是卖巧克力棒或冷冻披萨）的工作背景是导致人们忧虑雀巢前景的主要原因。
［3］More and more consumers are snubbing packaged food’s sugar, salt and unpronounceable preservatives. Meanwhile, swarms of smaller firms, emboldened by the ease of peddling goods online, are touting supposedly healthier options.
snub：冷落，怠慢
unpronounceable：不能发音的，不易正确发音的
preservative：防腐剂，保护剂
swarm：一大群，成群
embolden：鼓励，使有胆量
peddling：沿街叫卖，兜售
tout：招揽，
包装食品中的糖、盐以及各种名称拗口的防腐剂正受到越来越多消费者的冷落。同时，大批小公司借助网络销售之便，推广据称更为健康的食品。
［4］As super-sized companies swat at such tiny attackers, another foe is gaining ground. 3G, a Brazilian private-equity firm, likes to buy big, slow-growing food and drinks companies and slash their costs. Targets have included Kraft and Heinz, two giants which 3G helped merge into one group in 2015, as well as several of the world’s biggest brewers.
swat：拍，击，打(昆虫等)
slash：大幅削减
giants：大公司；大企业
brewers：啤酒制造者
巨头企业在大力回击这些小型袭击者之时，另一个敌人也开始抢占地盘。巴西私募股权公司3G喜欢购入增长缓慢的大型食品及饮料企业，并削减它们的经营成本。其目标包括卡夫及亨氏两大巨头（2015年，3G促成这两家企业合并为一个集团），还有几家全球最大的啤酒公司。
［5］Nestlé is not immune to such pressures. In recent years it has often missed its goal of 5-6% sales growth. Excluding acquisitions, its numbers have not met investors’ expectations in 11 of the past 17 quarters. In the most recent quarter, the firm registered organic sales growth of 3.2%.
immune：不受影响的免疫的
acquisitions：获得，合并，收购
expectation：预料
register：注册，登记
organic：有机的，统一的
面对这些压力，雀巢也未能幸免。近年来，该公司经常达不到销售增长5%至6%的目标。不包括收购，在过去17个季度中，该公司有11个季度的增速没有达资者预期。最近一个季度，雀巢的有机销售增长率为3.2%。
［6］Changing consumer tastes explain some of these shortfalls. So does a shifting retail landscape. Managing a giant portfolio of brands, from KitKat and Nespresso to DiGiorno pizza and Purina dog food, has become harder. Mr Schneider will have to master online ways to market and deliver its well-known brands. The firm needs to coax customers to pay more for premium products as ordinary ones get commoditised, and discounted by firms such as Germany’s Lidl and Aldi.
shortfalls：不足，亏空，差额
retail：零售，零卖
portfolio：证券投资组合
coax：哄骗，劝诱
premium：优质的，高端的
commoditised：商品化
之所以增长乏力，消费者口味改变是部分因素，零售业大环境的转变也是原因之一。要管理包含KitKat巧克力、Nespresso咖啡、DiGiorno比萨、普瑞纳狗粮在内的庞大品牌组合已变得愈加艰难。施奈德必须掌握线上手段来营销和传达公司的知名品牌。在普通产品被德国连锁超市Lidl及Aldi等公司变成日常商品又折价销售的情况下，雀巢公司需要劝诱客户为高端产品支付更高的价格。
［7］The firm can still boast impressive staying power—its global market share across its entire range of products has remained near 20% for the past decade. François-Xavier Roger, Nestlé’s chief financial officer, points out that the group’s sales growth in the first nine months of 2016 was among the fastest of the top ten biggest food and drink companies. Yet a detailed examination of its position by Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, shows that when growth from acquisitions is excluded, it lost share in all but three of its top 20 product categories between 2007 and 2015.
boast：吹嘘，夸耀
decade：十年，十年间
exclude：排除，不包括
category：种类，类别
雀巢仍能以其持久的实力为傲一一过去十年间，其全线产品的全球市场份额一直保持在接近20%。首席财务官弗朗索瓦-泽维尔·罗杰(Francois-Xavier Roger)指出，雀巢集团在2016年前九个月的销售增长是全球十大食品饮料企业中最快的。但市场研究公司盛博(Sanford C．Bernstein)对该公司的详细研究表明，除去收购带来的增长，2007年至2015年间，集团最大的20个产品品类中仅有3类的市场份额未下跌。
［8］Such results are likely to attract particular censure from investors because of Nestlé’s past heavy emphasis on growth and market share, which sometimes came at the expense of the firm’s profits. Shareholders in the firm are waiting to see whether Mr Schneider will shake things up. Some want him to sell off businesses that seem most at risk of long-term decline, such as frozen food, as shoppers look for fresher fare.
censure：责备，指责，谴责
【例句】The ethics committee may take a decision to admonish him or to censure him.
道德委员会也许会决定对他进行训诫或是严厉批评。
emphasis：强调，着重
shake up：彻底调整，重组，改革(组织、机构、行业等
fare：费用，票价
这种业绩很可能会惹来投资者的指责，毕竟雀巢过去强调增长和市场占有率，有时还不惜为此牺牲利润。2015年，它的营业利润率为15%，优于其法国对手达能公司的13%，但远低于卡夫亨氏的21%。雀巢的股东们正在观望施奈德能否改变现状。有人希望他卖掉业绩最有可能长期下滑的业务，例如冷冻食品，因为消费者如今偏好更新鲜的食品。
Food for life?
生命之食
［9］For now, Nestlé is defiant. “We started 150 years ago having a product that actually— there’s symbolism there—saved the life of a child,” says Paul Bulcke, the outgoing chief executive. He and his colleagues say that investment in health and related innovation will produce strong growth at the company for years to come. Still, few observers would call Nestlé a health company. Many of its products are perfectly healthy, including bottled water and coffee. Many are not—milk chocolate and ice cream, to name but two.
defiant：不服的；挑衅的
symbolism：象征主义
outgoing：即将离职的；快要卸任的
executive：总经理，主管
innovation：改革，创新
to name but two：仅列举其二
目前来看，雀巢并不服气。“我们始创于150年前，当时的一款产品实际上救了一个孩子的命，这是有象征意义的。”即将离任的首席执行官保罗·薄凯(Paul Bulcke)说道。他和同事们表示，投资于健康及相关创新会为公司未来带来强劲增长。然而，少有观察者会认为雀巢是一家保健公司。它有很多非常健康的产品，包括瓶装水和咖啡。但也有许多产品并不健康，在此只举两例：比如牛奶巧克力和冰激淋。
［10］The firm has a research institute devoted to studying food’s role in the management and prevention of disease—for example, better understanding nutrition’s ability to promote brain health. It may bring growth but probably only in the long term. Nestlé has also partnered with young drugs firms, including one that is testing a treatment for ulcerative colitis.
institute：机构，学院，研究院
prevention：预防
nutrition：营养学，营养品
ulcerative：各溃疡（性）的
colitis：结肠炎
雀巢设有一家研究所．专门研究食物在管理和预防疾病中的作用，例如要更好地了解营养物质如何能够促进大脑的健康。这也许会带来增长，但可能要许久才能见效。雀巢也与一些新兴制药公司合作，包括一家正在测试某种溃疡性结肠炎疗法的公司。
［11］More immediately rewarding may be its efforts to make best-selling but unhealthy foods a bit more wholesome. In November the company said it had created hollow sugar crystals that taste sweet but contain fewer calories than the usual stuff. It will begin to put the new ingredient in its chocolate in 2018.
rewarding：值得的，有报酬的
wholesome：健康的，有益身心的
hollow： 空心的，空的
crystal：水晶，结晶，晶体
calories：卡路里
雀巢还努力将旗下畅销但不健康的食品改良得相对健康一些，这也许更有可能带来立竿见影的回报。去年11月，该公司表示已创制出一种空心的糖晶体，味道甜但含卡路里较常规糖晶体低。公司将在2018年采用这一新原料制作巧克力。
［12］It is also proud of changes to the millions of frozen dinners it sells every week in America. Shoppers had been avoiding the frozen-food aisle. Nestlé first tried discounts, and then in 2015 introduced new versions of its Lean Cuisine products, stripping out unpalatable ingredients and replacing them with organic ones. At Stouffer’s, another frozen brand, Nestlé decided to target men with easy, protein packed meals that are more nutritionally valuable. It worked—its frozen-food sales in America grew faster. In November 2015 they were 6% above what they had been a year earlier. But Bernstein’s Andrew Wood points out that the revival of frozen food now looks wobbly again.
version：版本
lean：清瘦的
unpalatable：难吃的，不可口的
protein： 蛋白质
revival：复兴，复活，再生
wobbly：摇摆的，不稳定的
雀巢另一项引以为豪的改变是冷冻快餐（在美国每周卖出数百万份）。之前，冷冻食品受到消费者冷落。雀巢先是尝试折价促销，然后又在2015年推出新版的“瘦身特餐”(Lean Cuisine)系列，以有机食材替换掉之前难吃的成分。对于旗下另一个冷冻食品品牌Stouffer，雀巢决定针对男性消费者推出富含蛋白质、更具营养价值的速食简餐。这些努力取得了成效一一其冷冻食品的销售在美国增长加快。2015年11月的销售额同比增长6%。但盛博的安德鲁·伍德(Andrew Wood)指出，冷冻食品的复兴如今似乎又变得摇摆不定。
［13］Nor is Nestlé ignoring 3G’s strategy entirely: it is trying to trim expenses. “We are very much in an investment position, not in a cost-cutting exercise,” says Mr Roger, “but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to be cost-efficient in what we do.” Whatever else Mr Schneider has on the menu for Nestlé, radical changes may be somewhat limited by the fact that so many of those who built the company into what it is now are sticking around.
trim：削减
radical：激进的，彻底的，根本的
sticking around： 逗留，待在原处
雀巢也没有完全忽视3G的战略：公司正努力缩减支出。“我们的战略是投资，而非削减成本。”罗杰说，“但那不意味着我们不想在经营中实现成本效益。”无论施耐德还将为雀巢准备怎样的菜单，彻底变革也许多少都会受到限制，因为令雀巢发展到如今这模样的人大多还留在公司内。
雀巢作为一个实力雄厚的大公司，自然不会轻易倒下，但亦无法避免受到市场变化的冲击。市场上合乎消费者需求的产品才能长盛不衰，各行各业都是如此。企业要保持生命力，需要不断改变提升自己，个人也是这样，生活中总是竞争，逆水行舟不进则退，然而这种挑战不也是人生的意义所在吗？
英文原文：
http://www.economist.com
讲解：霞姐 / Tiassa / Angel
编排 / 校对：Angel
本次文章翻译来源于经济学人商论，封面图片来源于素材公社
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