評論
打印
Business
商業
Selling clothes online in Russia
俄羅斯服裝行業的電子商務
Fabric of society
服裝世界
Two Germans have a mission: to clothe the Russian middle classes
兩個德國人的使命：令俄羅斯中產階層人士穿上他們賣的衣服
ONLINE as well as offline, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Vente-Privee, a firm founded on the strange notion that French women might like fashionable clothes at deep discounts, has been paid this compliment more than most. Companies cut from similar cloth have appeared in one country after another. In 2008 two German men, Damian Doberstein and Oskar Hartmann, spotted that Russian women were missing out. "No one was telling Russian women, ‘You could look good for 70% less'," Mr Hartmann says.
無論在線上或是線下，模仿是最真誠的恭維方式。 Vente-Privee，（法國服裝折扣店）一間以法國女人可能喜歡深度打折的潮流服飾，這一奇特的理念而起家的公司，已經被眾多公司模仿。許多公司會把已經出現在多個國家的同類衣服下架。2008年，兩個德國人Damian-Doberstein （達米安.多倍斯坦因）和Oskar Hartmann（奧斯卡.哈曼特），發現俄羅斯女性被這些服裝網購公司所忽略了。哈特曼說，"沒有人告訴過俄羅斯女人，少花70%的錢也能穿得光鮮亮麗。"
They expect that their company, KupiVIP, will have sales of around $200m this year. Mr Hartmann says it breaks even. Given the fast growth of Russia's internet population and of a middle class eager for nice clothes but mostly a long way from nice shops, the two men think they could turn over $1 billion within five years.
他們預計他們的公司，KupiVIP，今年的營業額能夠達到約2億美元。哈特曼認為甚至會超過。隨著俄羅斯快速增加的網民數量以及中層人士對來自非名店的優質衣服需求的增加，這兩個人認為營業額能夠在五年內達到十億。
The pair want to fill more than just the smarter end of the female wardrobe. Besides their original business, which is still the biggest part of the group, they have an online full-price shop, ShopTime, aimed at both sexes and all shapes and sizes. They also run online shops on behalf of well-known brands, of which they expect to be servicing 23 by the end of the year.
他們不單單只想搶占高檔的女性服裝市場。除了他們最早的商務，現在仍是公司最大的商業版塊，他們還有一個線上原價店，ShopTime，主要出售男女服飾以及各種款色和碼數的服裝。他們也運營線上名牌的特許旗艦店，他們期望能在今年年底代理23個名牌服飾。
When he was in an e-commerce business in Germany, Mr Hartmann says, he outsourced "everything". In Russia, "we have to do everything ourselves", from the call centre to the photographing of models. To make sure that fashion-conscious Russians get the clothes they ordered, KupiVIP owns a fleet of 100 vans and leases a lot of others. It uses the post office to send clothes by air to the farthest-flung corners of the vast, icy, sparsely populated country.
哈特曼說，當他在德國做電子商務的時候，他把一切都給外包了。但在俄羅斯，"我們不得不自己做一切事情"，包括從電話服務中心到模特的拍攝工作。為了確保關注時尚的俄羅斯人能得到他們訂購的衣服，KupiVIP擁有一支100輛貨車的車隊以及租借了許多其他公司的貨車。公司用郵局把衣服空運到最遠角落的，巨大,寒冷且人煙稀少的國家。
Online retailers in Russia have to put up with other local traits. Most customers prefer to pay in cash on delivery, and about a quarter of goods are rejected at the door. That, says Mr Hartmann, who is as talkative as Mr Doberstein is taciturn, is just something companies have to deal with. "Never complain about the customer," says Mr Hartmann. Once a quarter, he makes sure he meets some of them, by making deliveries himself.
在俄羅斯做線上零售需要依據其他當地的特點進行調整。許多顧客偏愛貨到付款，而大約四分之一的貨物會被退回來。平時像Doberstein一樣健談的哈特曼談及此時也沉默了，他說道，這只是公司必須處理的事情之一。"永遠不要抱怨你的客戶"，哈特曼說。三個月一次，他總會通過自己的直接配送貨物，去見其中一部分客戶。
