Nestlé：A life less sweet
雀巢：略顯苦澀的發(fā)展之路
As rivals nibble at its business, Nestlé’s new boss must find a formula for growth.
對(duì)于雀巢新任老總來說，為應(yīng)對(duì)生意上的激烈競(jìng)爭(zhēng)硕旗，尋求切實(shí)可行的發(fā)展方案迫在眉睫峰尝。
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.
長(zhǎng)久以來黍匾，大型食品公司總是以磐石之堅(jiān)的特質(zhì)著稱于世界胶惰。即便當(dāng)陷入困境之時(shí)焰檩，其仍舊可以取得穩(wěn)定可觀的收益多柑。而在此其中遥椿，雀巢可以算得上是最為穩(wěn)定的食品公司，其總部位于雪峰之旁掏父、日內(nèi)瓦湖畔的瑞士韋威鎮(zhèn)笋轨。
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.
2016年，迎來了雀巢150周年紀(jì)念日赊淑。為此爵政，雀巢公司全新打造了一個(gè)博物館，館內(nèi)收藏了公司歷史上所保留下來的老物件：比如牛奶巧克力的新產(chǎn)品說明陶缺，而這份說明則是第一份以黑草字體設(shè)計(jì)的手寫說明钾挟；還有老舊的雀巢咖啡罐，二戰(zhàn)期間士兵們?cè)嬘霉蘩锏目Х纫员３挚簥^的精神狀態(tài)组哩；以及用以盛放亨利·內(nèi)斯特所研制的嬰兒配方奶粉的陳舊奶粉罐等龙，1867年也因這奶粉挽救了一個(gè)早產(chǎn)兒的生命处渣。
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.
從此，雀巢走過了漫漫長(zhǎng)路蛛砰，取得了長(zhǎng)足的進(jìn)步和發(fā)展罐栈。2015年，雀巢在189個(gè)國家內(nèi)共計(jì)售出價(jià)值約合900億美元的商品泥畅。根據(jù)雀巢公司的估算荠诬，在全世界范圍內(nèi)人們每秒飲用掉的3萬杯咖啡之中，五分之一的咖啡來自雀巢位仁。
But the industry it presides over is in upheaval.
然而柑贞，雀巢所負(fù)責(zé)經(jīng)營的產(chǎn)業(yè)最近正面臨著巨大的變動(dòng)。
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.
1月1日聂抢，公司新任總裁阿爾夫·馬克·施耐德（如圖所示）正式接管雀巢钧嘶。而曾經(jīng)營過保健公司的施耐德是自1922年以來第一個(gè)擔(dān)任此職位的非本行業(yè)人士，也就是所謂的“門外漢”琳疏，不管巧克力棒亦或冷凍披薩都未曾接觸過有决。正因如此，外界會(huì)對(duì)其能否勝任此工作有所擔(dān)憂空盼。
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.
現(xiàn)如今书幕，包裝食品中所含糖、鹽以及不知所謂的防腐劑引起了人們?cè)絹碓蕉嗟姆磳?duì)揽趾。與此同時(shí)台汇，由于線上商品售賣的便利促使人們更愿意選擇那些規(guī)模更小的公司，因?yàn)樵谒麄兛磥磉x擇那些商品更加健康篱瞎。
From 2011 to 2015 big sellers of consumer-packaged goods, mainly food and drink companies, lost three percentage points of market share in America—a lot in the industry’s context—according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, a consultancy, and IRI, a data provider.
據(jù)波士頓咨詢公司和IRI數(shù)據(jù)供應(yīng)商提供的一項(xiàng)有關(guān)食品飲料行業(yè)背景的研究表明苟呐，2011年到2015年這五年間，一些主要的大型食品和飲料公司在美國損失了三個(gè)百分點(diǎn)的市場(chǎng)份額奔缠。
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.
正當(dāng)超大型的食品公司試圖對(duì)那些規(guī)模小的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者予以有力回?fù)糁畷r(shí)掠抬，來自巴西的私募股權(quán)投資公司吼野，3G校哎，作為異軍突起的另一競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手實(shí)現(xiàn)了很大發(fā)展。3G公司傾向于以低廉的成本收購那些規(guī)模較大瞳步、發(fā)展緩慢的食品飲料公司闷哆，例如兩大巨頭，卡夫食品公司和亨氏食品公司单起，在3G的有力影響下于2015年就已合并抱怔。此外，還包括幾個(gè)世界上最大的制酒公司嘀倒。
Other food companies are scrambling to make cuts of their own, lest they become 3G’s next meal. That has prompted a debate over whether such cuts wreck firms’ growth prospects even further, or whether, in fact, they are best off accepting that robust expansion is a thing of the past and wringing out profits.
在此形勢(shì)之下屈留，其他食品公司紛紛走上精簡(jiǎn)之路局冰，以防成為3G公司下一收購目標(biāo)。由此引發(fā)了有關(guān)此做法是否會(huì)破壞公司發(fā)展前景的爭(zhēng)論灌危，甚至于從長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)的角度來看康二，被視為已成過去式的強(qiáng)勁擴(kuò)張能夠榨取利潤的這一觀點(diǎn)是否真正值得這些公司所接受也倍受爭(zhēng)議。
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%.
面對(duì)如此巨大的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)壓力勇蝙，雀巢亦難以幸免沫勿，并受到了一定的沖擊和影響，就其近年來頻頻未能實(shí)現(xiàn)5-6%的銷售增長(zhǎng)便可得知味混。在過去的17個(gè)季度中产雹，不包括并購部分在內(nèi)，有11個(gè)季度的銷售數(shù)據(jù)未達(dá)到投資者的期望翁锡。而公司最近一個(gè)季度中所登記記錄的銷售額顯示蔓挖，雀巢公司僅僅完成了3.2%的有機(jī)銷售增長(zhǎng)。
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.
消費(fèi)者不斷變化的品味馆衔，以及零售業(yè)多變的形勢(shì)都說明了部分預(yù)期銷售量不足的原因时甚。從奇巧巧克力、奈斯派索咖啡到迪吉奧諾冷凍披薩哈踱、普瑞納狗糧荒适，管理一家擁有多品牌的大型公司變得愈發(fā)困難。
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.
因此开镣，施耐德上任后必須充分掌握并運(yùn)用線上方式來營銷發(fā)展旗下知名品牌刀诬。當(dāng)大量商品化的普通產(chǎn)品在類似于利德爾和阿爾迪這樣的德國大型折扣零售超市中打折出售之時(shí)，雀巢所需要做的就是引導(dǎo)廣大消費(fèi)者愿意花費(fèi)更多金錢來購買高端產(chǎn)品邪财。
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. Fran?ois-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.
必須要承認(rèn)的是雀巢公司的耐力之持久著實(shí)值得佩服陕壹。過去十年間，雀巢所有產(chǎn)品在全世界范圍內(nèi)所占市場(chǎng)份額已將近20%树埠。雀巢首席財(cái)務(wù)官弗朗索瓦-澤維爾·羅杰指出糠馆，公司2016年前9個(gè)月的銷售增長(zhǎng)速度在全球十大食品飲料公司中位居第一。
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. Some of its core offerings, such as bottled water and single-serve coffee, fared the worst. (Keurig, Nestlé’s arch-rival in coffee pods, slurped share in America.)
不過怎憋，一份來自調(diào)研公司桑福德伯恩斯坦有關(guān)雀巢公司所處態(tài)勢(shì)的詳細(xì)調(diào)查表明又碌，2007年至2015年，除去憑借收購所實(shí)現(xiàn)的銷售增長(zhǎng)之外绊袋，雀巢在其熱銷的前二十個(gè)產(chǎn)品種類中幾乎損失掉三個(gè)產(chǎn)品類別的份額毕匀。其中，瓶裝水以及單杯咖啡等一些核心產(chǎn)品所受影響最為嚴(yán)重癌别。（作為雀巢在紙包咖啡領(lǐng)域的勁敵皂岔，克里格響亮地占據(jù)了美國的市場(chǎng)份額。）
⑧Such 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.
由于雀巢以往十分注重銷售額的增長(zhǎng)以及市場(chǎng)所占份額的比例展姐，有時(shí)為此甚至要以犧牲公司的禮儀為代價(jià)躁垛。如此一來所造成的結(jié)果很有可能引起廣大投資者的苛責(zé)剖毯。
In 2015 its operating-profit margin was 15%, better than the 13% at Danone, a French competitor, but far below the 21% at Kraft-Heinz. 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.
2015年雀巢的營業(yè)收益率為15%，高于競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手法國達(dá)能集團(tuán)的13%教馆，卻遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于卡夫-亨氏公司的21%速兔。因此公司的股東們都在翹首以待，為的是看看新任CEO施耐德是否會(huì)大刀闊斧地進(jìn)行改革活玲。由于消費(fèi)者們更傾向于新鮮的食物涣狗，因此有些人希望施耐德能夠賣掉像冷凍食品這樣似乎長(zhǎng)期走危險(xiǎn)下坡路的業(yè)務(wù)。
Food for life?? 用以維持生命的食物舒憾？
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. Mr Schneider, who used to run Fresenius, a big German firm that offers kidney-dialysis products and other medical services, will certainly emphasise that message. Nestlé differentiates itself from 3G, with its keen focus on cuts. Mr Roger says he respects what 3G does, but that “they have a strategy which is very different from ours.”
當(dāng)下镀钓，雀巢面臨著巨大挑戰(zhàn)《朴兀“150年前丁溅，我們開始擁有自己的產(chǎn)品——事實(shí)上那更像是一個(gè)象征——拯救了一個(gè)孩子的生命，“即將卸任的首席執(zhí)行官保羅·巴爾克說到探遵。他和同事都認(rèn)為有關(guān)健康以及相關(guān)創(chuàng)新發(fā)明的投資會(huì)在未來的幾年里促使公司迅猛發(fā)展窟赏。就此信息，曾管理德國一家生產(chǎn)腎透析產(chǎn)品的大型醫(yī)療服務(wù)公司費(fèi)森尤斯集團(tuán)的施耐德先生當(dāng)然會(huì)十分重視箱季。相對(duì)于3G公司來說涯穷，雀巢因其對(duì)于市場(chǎng)份額的敏銳關(guān)注而顯得有很大區(qū)別。羅杰先生說：“對(duì)于3G公司所做之事藏雏，我表示尊重拷况，但‘他們的戰(zhàn)略同我們的相比有很大不同’【蚺梗”
⑩ 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. And for now, the purest forms of Nestlé’s focus on health contribute relatively little to its sales. A business unit called Nestlé Health Science, for example, sells nutritional products for medical needs, such as vitaminpacked drinks for the elderly and for cancer patients. It contributes less than 5% of revenue.
然而赚瘦，很少有觀察者會(huì)認(rèn)為雀巢是一家健康的公司。雀巢旗下有很多健康的產(chǎn)品奏寨，包括瓶裝水和咖啡起意。也有許多不健康的產(chǎn)品—— 牛奶巧克力和冰淇淋，叫得上名字的只有這兩個(gè)病瞳。目前揽咕，雀巢以最直接的形式展現(xiàn)出對(duì)于健康問題的關(guān)注，而這樣的一種方式在銷售量的增長(zhǎng)上并沒有什么效果仍源。一個(gè)名為雀巢健康科學(xué)的業(yè)務(wù)部門心褐，他們銷售滿足醫(yī)療需求的營養(yǎng)產(chǎn)品，比如專門為老年人及癌癥患者研制的維生素飲品笼踩。而此類產(chǎn)品所貢獻(xiàn)的收益比卻不及5%。
?The firm has a research institute devoted to studying food’s role in the managementand 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.
雀巢公司成立了一個(gè)調(diào)查研究機(jī)構(gòu)亡嫌，致力于研究食物在疾病管理和預(yù)防中的主要作用——例如嚎于，對(duì)于營養(yǎng)物質(zhì)提高大腦健康的功能有更好的了解掘而。這也許可以使疾病有所緩解和改善，但可能僅在長(zhǎng)時(shí)間內(nèi)有所效果于购。與此同時(shí)袍睡，雀巢也同一些新的藥品公司合作，包括測(cè)試潰瘍性結(jié)腸炎治療方法的公司肋僧。
? 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.
把更多心思放在那些銷量好但不健康的食物上斑胜，使其變得更加益于健康，這也許是最快獲益之法嫌吠。十一月份止潘，雀巢宣布公司最近研發(fā)了一款名叫空心糖晶的食物配料。相比以往同類食品配料辫诅，這款產(chǎn)品嘗起來雖然甜但卻含有更少的卡路里凭戴。2018年雀巢將開始在巧克力中應(yīng)用新的食物配料。
? 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, proteinpacked 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.
在美國每周售賣的數(shù)百萬冷凍餐食也因此發(fā)生了令人贊嘆不已的變化炕矮。顧客們過去一直避免走近冷凍食品通道么夫。對(duì)此雀巢最開始采取打折銷售的方法，之后在2015年首次推行新形式瘦身餐產(chǎn)品肤视，利用有機(jī)食材替換掉食物中不可口的食材档痪。雀巢打算通過旗下另一冷凍食物品牌斯托福所生產(chǎn)的富含蛋白質(zhì)營養(yǎng)價(jià)值的簡(jiǎn)餐來吸引顧客。這樣的做法的確行之有效——美國市場(chǎng)的食品銷售量有了快速增長(zhǎng)邢滑。2015年11月钞它，相比去年同期銷售額超過了6%。但是伯恩斯坦公司的分析師安德魯·伍德指出殊鞭，復(fù)興冷凍食物看起來又一次受到了挑戰(zhàn)遭垛，搖擺不定。
? 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.” One effort, which includes trimming waste at factories, is credited with saving about SFr 1.5bn ($1.5bn) a year. Last year Nestlé announced organisational changes, such as consolidating procurement, which will save about SFr 2bn each year from 2020.
雀巢并沒有完全忽視3G公司的戰(zhàn)略操灿，而是嘗試削減開支以此應(yīng)對(duì)外界競(jìng)爭(zhēng)锯仪。“我們所做的其實(shí)是一種投資行為趾盐，而非削減成本庶喜，”羅格先生說，“但這并不代表著我們不希望所付出的努力得到高的效益回報(bào)救鲤【每撸”在包括減少工廠浪費(fèi)在內(nèi)的努力下，雀巢相信一年可以節(jié)省大概1.5億瑞士法郎本缠。去年雀巢宣布公司組織內(nèi)部機(jī)構(gòu)整改斥扛，比如整合采購相關(guān)，從2020年起每一年大概節(jié)省2億瑞士法郎丹锹。
? 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. Mr Bulcke is expected to become its chairman. The outgoing chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, a former Nestlé chief executive, may become honorary chairman. Mr Bulcke, for one, seems sure that the company should maintain its strong emphasis on the long term. He taps his hand on the table, rattling some Nespresso cups, as he insists that growth is still the key.
無論施耐德先生在有關(guān)雀巢的整改策劃案上有何其他計(jì)劃稀颁，很多根本性變革促成現(xiàn)如今雀巢公司形式的建立芬失，這一事實(shí)在某種程度上會(huì)限制實(shí)現(xiàn)此次所期望發(fā)生的變化。此外匾灶，布爾克先生有望成為雀巢主席棱烂。即將卸任主席，前雀巢首席執(zhí)行官皮特·布拉貝克·雷特馬斯有可能成為榮譽(yù)主席 阶女。舉例來說颊糜，布爾克先生似乎十分確定公司應(yīng)該將眼光放長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)，更加重視長(zhǎng)期的一個(gè)穩(wěn)健發(fā)展秃踩。正當(dāng)他堅(jiān)定地認(rèn)為發(fā)展才是硬道理之時(shí)衬鱼，輕輕拍了下桌子，奈斯派索的杯子發(fā)出嘎嘎的聲音吞瞪。
本文英文部分選自 The Economist 2017-01-07馁启，P46 Business
本文中文部分是由作者逐字逐句翻譯而來，水平有限芍秆，還望同廣大翻譯愛好者給予一些意見和建議惯疙，大家一起討論一起進(jìn)步。
