評論
打印
Buiness
商業
Indian firms abroad
印度公司在海外
Under the radar
默默無聞
Godrej, an Indian conglomerate, goes global its own way
高德瑞治，一家印度大型聯合企業，用其特有的方式走向全球
THE world is used to big Indian firms planting flags in foreign fields.
這個世界正在習慣于大型印度公司在異地安營扎寨。
Now the subcontinent's medium-sized firms are venturing abroad, too, and often proving quicker and nimbler than their peers in other emerging economies.
現在這個南亞次大陸的中型規模的公司也正在向外國市場進軍，并且經常比其他新興經濟體國家的競爭對手顯得更為快速與敏捷。
Take the Godrej Group, a family-controlled conglomerate based in Mumbai.
就如高德瑞治集團，一家在孟買建立的家族掌控的大型聯合企業為例。
The firm began as a lockmaker in 1897.
這個公司在1897年是作為一家鎖制造商起家的。
While the Indian economy was closed it could not expand abroad much, so it diversified wildly: into soap, typewriters, forklift trucks, animal feed and talcum powder.
因為當時印度經濟很封閉，公司不能過多地在境外發展，因此公司經營范圍擴展得非常廣闊：肥皂、打印機、鏟車、動物飼料、爽身粉都有涉及。
When India opened up in the 1990s, it had to become less jumbled and to shape up, says Adi Godrej, the chairman.
當印度在20世紀90年代經濟對外開放的時候，高德瑞治必須減少混亂的營運方式并進行改進，就像安迪?高德瑞治主席所說：
We put our thinking caps on.
我們戴上了思想者的帽子。
After a false start experimenting with joint ventures with foreign firms, the group has settled on having clearly defined divisions,typically fully controlled.
繼一次與外國公司錯誤的合資計劃，該集團已經在有分歧的部分達成了一致，是典型的完全控制。
Together they have sales of $3.3 billion, with the largest being Godrej Consumer Products, a sort of mini-Unilever that cranks out soap, detergent, hair products and weapons for waging war on creepy-crawlies.
將最大的高德瑞治消費產品，例如大量制造的肥皂、洗衣服、護發產品以及殺蟲劑這種類似小型聯合利華的產品，總共算下來公司有33億美元的市值。這一部分已經在海外進行了短暫的嘗試。
This unit has led the foray overseas, with deals in Nigeria, Indonesia, Argentina, Britain and South Africa since late 2005.
從2005年末算起，該公司就與尼日利亞、印度尼西亞、阿根廷、英國及南非有貿易往來。
It has spent about $1 billion, says Mr Godrej, and now makes about a third of its sales outside India.
高德瑞治先生說，現在已經花費了大概10億美元，并且現在做成了在印度以外的大約三分之一的買賣。
In June it announced the acquisition of Darling Group, which sells hair extensions in 14 countries in Africa.
在六月份，公司宣布收購達令公司，這是一個在非洲14個國家銷售頭發相關產品的公司。
If a Western firm did this, it might be clobbered by fund managers for being too thinly spread.
如果一個西方公司這樣做，他也許會因為太草率地擴張公司而被基金經理批評。
Indian investors have been more open-minded: Godrej Consumer's shares have more than tripled since the end of 2007, valuing the firm at $3.2 billion.
印度投資者思想已經變得開放起來：高德瑞治消費者的股份已經是2007年底的三倍多，公司市值32億美元。
Mr Godrej says the key is to pick niche products with sizeable local market shares which pass under the radar of big global rivals.
高德瑞治先生認為關鍵就是在躲過大的全球對手監控下用相當大的當地市場份額來選擇產品用戶群。
Aware of its limited pool of managers and knowledge of new countries, Godrej grants the acquired firms autonomy.
了解到在新國家的管理者和知識領域的空缺，高德瑞治準予了獲得公司的自主權。
Its financial disclosure is surprisingly poor, but the deals have all boosted earnings, it says, and more are likely.
該公司財務狀況公開結果是異常不好的，但交易已經促進了收益，確實，并且很有可能就是這樣的。
Godrej will eventually face a universal problem: how to marry ambition with family control.
高德瑞治最終將要面對一個普遍的問題：怎樣將志向與家族控制結合在一起。
Two big holding companies sit above Godrej Consumer.
兩家大型控股公司擺在高德瑞治消費者面前。
Such fiddly holding chains can cause problems if the family is unwilling or unable to fund new investments or accept the alternative of losing control.
如果家族不愿意或者無能力去建立新的投資項目或者接受失去控制權的選擇，這樣繁瑣的控股程序會引來麻煩。
Godrej may be different, though.
雖然高德瑞治也許不同。
The holding companies are not mere shells, but maintain profitable operations in their own right, have manageable debt and are sitting on a vast plot of land in Mumbai that could eventually be worth billions of dollars.
控股公司并不僅僅是一個空殼，但為了他們個人的利益維持有益的運轉，擁有易控制的債務和孟買的一大片土地，這些最終都會價值數十億美元。
So the family probably has the resources to fund expansion without resorting to financial engineering.
所以家族大概有用于擴張基金的資源，而不需要采取金融工具的手段。
All that's left is for them to agree with one another.
他們唯一能做的就是互相認可。
Today Mr Godrej supervises the firm peacefully along with his brother and cousin, while employing a cadre of professional managers.
今天高德瑞治先生雇傭了一個專業的管理骨干隊伍，與他的兄弟姐妹一起穩定地管理公司。
The next generation is making its way up the ladder.
下一個時代就是朝這個路繼續向下走。
By tradition all family members on the payroll are expected to meet for lunch on Thursdays.
按照傳統，所有在公司的家庭成員都應該周四的時候一起吃午飯。
It's likely they will be more jet-lagged and stressed than in the past, but with luck there won't be any food fights for a while.
這很可能會使他們更加因為時差和壓力的原因而比以前更感到疲倦，不過幸運的是再也不會有食物引發的戰爭了。
