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Business Retailing The beast goes on safari
商業(yè) 零售業(yè) 巨獸出擊
Can Wal-Mart make it in Africa?
沃爾瑪能在非洲得償所愿嗎？
FOUR billion dollars doesn't count as an "every day low price", but Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, hopes it has found a bargain.
對(duì)全球最大的零售商沃爾瑪來(lái)說(shuō)，40億美元可不是"天天平價(jià)"，但它還是希望自己撿到個(gè)大便宜。
That is how much ($4.1 billion to be precise) the Arkansas-based "Beast of Bentonville" has offered to acquire Massmart, a retailer with 288 stores in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
這只阿肯色州的"本頓維爾巨獸"，向Massmart開(kāi)出了41億美元的價(jià)碼，想收購(gòu)這個(gè)在撒哈拉以南地區(qū)的14個(gè)非洲國(guó)家、擁有288家門店的零售商。
On September 27th Massmart's management confirmed it is in exclusive negotiations to sell the South African-based firm to Wal-Mart.
9月27日，Massmart的管理層確認(rèn)了獨(dú)家業(yè)務(wù)談判，計(jì)劃將公司在南非的業(yè)務(wù)出售給沃爾瑪。
The deal is being overseen by Andy Bond (pictured right), who ran Wal-Mart's British arm, Asda.
掌管沃爾瑪旗下的英國(guó)阿斯達(dá)公司的邦德（見(jiàn)圖），負(fù)責(zé)這項(xiàng)談判的進(jìn)展。
As Massmart's shares initially traded above the offer price, it suggests some investors think there may be other bidders, and that Mr Bond might have to come up with some more money to clinch the deal.
由于Massmart的股價(jià)已經(jīng)高于收購(gòu)價(jià)，投資者猜測(cè)會(huì)有其他買家競(jìng)標(biāo)，這樣的話，邦德先生就不得不加大籌碼來(lái)搞定這一單。
This is the clearest sign yet that Africa is now near the top of the agenda for the world's leading businesses.
然而這是最清楚的一個(gè)信號(hào)：在全球主要業(yè)務(wù)的日程安排上，非洲正逼近榜首。
The continent still has its problems, but it is no longer "hopeless"—as this newspaper once described it—especially for anyone wanting to be part of a fast-growing consumer market.
這塊大陸雖然問(wèn)題猶存，但已經(jīng)不再是"前途渺茫"——本刊曾經(jīng)這樣描述過(guò)它，尤其對(duì)那些想要在快速增長(zhǎng)的消費(fèi)市場(chǎng)里分一杯羹的人。
Last year, while the global economy struggled with the aftermath of the financial crisis, Africa as a whole continued to advance and is expected to grow by at least 4.3% this year.
去年，當(dāng)全球經(jīng)濟(jì)在金融危機(jī)的余波中起伏掙扎時(shí)，非洲經(jīng)濟(jì)卻是一路向上，今年的預(yù)期增長(zhǎng)率至少在4.3%。
Some economies, such as Nigeria and Ghana, are racing ahead.
一些經(jīng)濟(jì)體在增長(zhǎng)競(jìng)賽中齊頭并進(jìn)，比如尼日利亞和加納。
As the middle class and urban working class expand rapidly, food consumption is expected to grow strongly, along with sales of other consumer products.
由于中產(chǎn)階級(jí)和城市工人階級(jí)迅速擴(kuò)張，預(yù)期食品消費(fèi)將有強(qiáng)勢(shì)的增長(zhǎng)，同時(shí)帶動(dòng)著其他的消費(fèi)商品。
There had been speculation that Wal-Mart would go for Shoprite, a rival African retailer, but Massmart offers a lot of products besides food, which is more in keeping with the expanding range of products that Wal-Mart sells elsewhere.
曾有推測(cè)說(shuō)，沃爾瑪要收購(gòu)另一家有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力的非洲零售商：Shoprite，但是Massmart會(huì)提供除食品以外的多類商品，這與沃爾瑪在其他地區(qū)的銷售增長(zhǎng)幅度保持得更加一致。
Massmart operates under nine different names, including Dion Wired (an electronics retailer) and Builders' Warehouse (a bit like Home Depot).
Massmart旗下有九家分號(hào)，包括Dion Wired（一家電子產(chǎn)品零售店）和Builders' Warehouse（類似于家得寶）。
Wal-Mart, which has built its recent success on world-class logistics, is said to be particularly keen on Massmart's low-cost distribution system.
業(yè)界認(rèn)為，最近成功建立起世界級(jí)后勤管理體系的沃爾瑪，會(huì)特別熱衷于Massmart低成本的分銷系統(tǒng)。
Initially, Massmart would be barely visible within Wal-Mart's global empire, which this year is expected to earn profits of around $14 billion on sales of $405 billion in more than 8,500 outlet under 55 different names in 15 countries.
起初，Massmart并不入全球帝國(guó)沃爾瑪?shù)难郏矩?cái)年沃爾瑪通過(guò)遍及15個(gè)國(guó)家、55家分號(hào)的8500多家門店，預(yù)計(jì)銷售額達(dá)到4050億美元，凈利潤(rùn)大約140億美元。
It is the growth potential of Africa that is appealing, especially as sales have disappointed of late in America, even though Wal-Mart has been well-placed to benefit from consumers trading down.
真正吸引它的，是非洲的增長(zhǎng)潛力，尤其在近期，即使沃爾瑪瞄好了"降級(jí)消費(fèi)"來(lái)從中盈利，它在美國(guó)的銷售額也沒(méi)有達(dá)到預(yù)期。
Critics of the deal point out that some of Wal-Mart's international adventures have gone badly, most notably its expansion into Germany, which it eventually abandoned.
收購(gòu)計(jì)劃的評(píng)論家指出，沃爾瑪?shù)囊恍﹪?guó)際冒險(xiǎn)進(jìn)行的很糟，尤其是在德國(guó)的擴(kuò)張計(jì)劃，最終是鎩羽而歸。
But there is a world of difference between the mature, highly competitive German market and using its global clout to shape an African market that is still in its infancy.
但是德國(guó)市場(chǎng)和非洲市場(chǎng)有著天壤之別，前者成熟且具有高度競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力，而后者尚在襁褓之中，沃爾瑪可以利用自身的全球影響力隨意地搓圓揉扁。
It will have to deal with unions, which have been agitating recently at Massmart, perhaps having got wind of Wal-Mart's potential offer.
收購(gòu)計(jì)劃還得應(yīng)付工會(huì)，也許是風(fēng)聞了沃爾瑪潛在的雇傭意向，Massmart的工人們開(kāi)始躁動(dòng)不安。
But outside America, Wal-Mart is not the ideological enemy of organised labour that it is at home.
其實(shí)在美國(guó)本土之外，沃爾瑪并不是勞工組織在意識(shí)形態(tài)上的敵人。
And it has thought sufficiently hard about social engagement—especially since it got green religion in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina—that it knows it will need to view South Africa's black-empowerment laws as an opportunity not a cost.
而且它確實(shí)很充分地考慮到了參與社會(huì)活動(dòng)，尤其是在美國(guó)卡特里娜颶風(fēng)的余波中，沃爾瑪產(chǎn)生了綠色宗教。沃爾瑪知道自己要把南非的"黑人權(quán)利"法律視為機(jī)會(huì)，而不是成本支出。
Massmart's management is reportedly negotiating with the expectation of being retained after the acquisition, which seems plausible given their local knowledge and impressive track record. Mr Bond is certainly no good ol' boy from Arkansas.
據(jù)報(bào)道，Massmart的管理層正在商談，希望兼并后保留原班人馬，看起來(lái)，他們熟悉本土，且有驕人的工作業(yè)績(jī)，這個(gè)提議是合情合理的。
But nor is Mike Duke, Wal-Mart's chief executive, who took the top job after heading its international operations.
但邦德先生顯然不是阿肯色州的好男孩，沃爾瑪?shù)腃EO麥克?杜克也不好相與。
The bid for Massmart is an attempt to gain a first-mover advantage by one of the world's most sophisticated companies, and it is likely to be seen as the moment when the beasts of the corporate world recognised that Africa is the next big growth market.
在完成了全球業(yè)務(wù)主管的任務(wù)后，麥克?杜克接管了沃爾瑪。對(duì)Massmart的競(jìng)價(jià)只是全球最復(fù)雜公司的一次嘗試，目的是獲取先動(dòng)優(yōu)勢(shì)。它更像是一個(gè)重要契機(jī)：公司界的巨獸視非洲為下一個(gè)巨型增長(zhǎng)市場(chǎng)。
And what if it all goes wrong, as it might?
如果這一切錯(cuò)了呢？
The great thing about being a big beast is that you can lose $4 billion and barely notice.
作為一只巨獸，無(wú)非就是損失了40億美元。
