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Sports Direct
運動品牌直售
Game, set, match
大獲全勝
How Britain's biggest sports retailer flourished during the recession
且看英國最大的體育用品零售商如何在經濟疲軟的大勢中殺出一條血路
A SPORTSWEAR shop in Westfield, a vast shopping centre in east London, is not an obvious tourist attraction. But for Roy and Viv Robertson, from New Zealand, splurging in Sports Direct is one of the highlights of their stay. In addition to visiting their daughter, who works in London, the shop is “what we came for”, says Mrs Robertson, as her husband clutches a bag bulging with polo shirts and trainers.
在韋斯特菲爾德—倫敦東部的一家大型購物中心的一家運動服飾專賣店，并不是一個明確的旅游景點。但對于來自新西蘭的Roy 和Viv Robertson來說，在Sports Direct揮霍一番是他們此次在英停留期間的一件大事。除了拜訪他們在倫敦工作的女兒之外，Robertson夫人表示這家店“就是我們來這的目的”，而此時他的丈夫正提著裝滿POLO衫和運動鞋的包包。
Their surprising enthusiasm is widely shared. Sports Direct is hugely successful. Between 2009 and 2014 the sportswear market in Britain grew only slightly in value. Yet over the same period the revenue of Sports Direct, boosted by acquisitions, increased by around 40% to 2.2 billion. Small wonder the firm's idiosyncratic founder and deputy executive chairman, Mike Ashley, succeeded on July 2nd in securing a fat bonus for himself and around 3,000 eligible employees—albeit at the third time of asking and after a testy standoff with shareholders.
許多人也像他們一樣對此及其熱衷。Sports Direct無疑是成功的。在2009年至2014年間，英國的運動服裝市場僅有細微地增長。然而，在相同的時間內Sports Direct的收益因合并而有很大的增長，提高了約40％，直逼2.2 billion。雖然經過了三輪爭取和與股東們的緊張對峙，這位性格古怪的創始人兼執行副主席Mike Ashley還能在7月2號成功地為他和近3000名合格的員工爭取到一筆豐厚的獎金。
Sports Direct's success is all the more remarkable in view of the devastation that has occurred elsewhere in British retailing. Around 14% of retail lots are estimated to be vacant, according to the Local Data Company, a research firm. Yet Sports Direct has thrived, not least by taking the measure of the times with relentless discounting. Signs boasting “mega-deals” hang throughout its shops, which often resemble jumble sales. Lillywhites, a retailer acquired by Sports Direct in 2002, used to be a posh London department store stocked with the finest sporting goods. “Now it is ‘pile it high, sell it cheap',” sniffs Matthew Hopkinson, an analyst.
相較于英國其他零售業所出現的不景氣，Sports Direct的成功便更為突出。根據一個調查公司——地方數據公司，近14％的零售地段是空滯的。然而Sports Direct的成績不斷看漲，尤其是采取了偶爾打超低折扣的措施后。標志有“大甩賣”這種類似義賣活動的橫幅經常掛在其商店中。一個零售店Lillywhites在2002年被Sports Direct合并，這個曾用來囤積豪華倫敦百貨商店的優質運動商品。“現在它‘堆得高，賣的賤'，”分析師Matthew Hopkinson頗有怨詞道。
Another ingredient of Sports Direct's success is that it makes much of what it sells, under a variety of brands. Like Lillywhites, these tend to be tired but venerable names, such as Lonsdale and Dunlop, which have been revived through clever marketing. This allows Sports Direct to keep prices low but margins high. And unlike JJB Sports, parts of which the company bought after it entered administration in 2012, the chain is generally cannier about negotiating store leases, too. Unprofitable stores are shut down swiftly.
Sports Direct成功的另一個因素在于它賣的是什么。像是Lillywhites，這些老舊但應人尊重的品牌，再如Lonsdale和Dunlop，這些以精明的營銷方式重新復活的品牌。這都使得Sports Direct能保持低價格高利潤。不像公司在被接入管理之后并購的JJB Sports，其連鎖店在店鋪租約的談判上通常也是很精明的。無利潤可言的店鋪會被迅速關閉。
The group's remarkably lean supply chain is another advantage. Rather than use third-party firms, Sports Direct tends to look after most of its logistics itself, says Dave Forsey, the group's chief executive. This cuts down costs, reducing the number of hands goods pass through. And it helps boost online sales, which are growing.
該集團的一條非常精明的供應鏈是其另一個制勝法寶。該集團的首席執行官表示，相較于使用第三方公司，Sports Direct 更偏愛親自管理運營其物流。這降低成本，減少貨物經多方過手。并且它也有利于提高在線銷售，該銷售方式正不斷成熟。
Behind nearly all of this is Mr Ashley, who founded the business with a 10,000 loan in 1982. Also the owner of Newcastle United football club, he has a far higher public profile than most company founders. A video on YouTube which appears to show him drinking a pint of beer in less than a minute has been watched nearly 90,000 times. Analysts adore him: “He's a genius,” coos one.
這一切背后的操盤手便是Ashley先生，這位于1982年以10,000 的貸款創立該業務。他同時也是紐約斯卡爾足球俱樂部的老板，相較于其他的公司創立人他有更廣泛的公眾形象。YouTube上一則顯示他在一分鐘之內干掉一品脫啤酒的視頻已經被點擊將近九萬次。分析師們羨慕的低語：“他真是一個天才。”
Yet some doubt that the good times can continue, particularly if Mr Ashley were to take a step back from the business. As the economy recovers it will become harder to find good deals on retail sites, says Matt Piner of Conlumino, a consultancy. This may mean that any further expansion will have to be outside Britain.
然而這樣的好時候能否持續下去還是個問題，特別是若Ashley在其生意上退一步。隨著經濟復蘇，它將更難在零售方面找到好的交易，來自Conlumino的咨詢顧問Matt Piner說。這可能意味著任何更深遠的擴展將踏出英國的范圍。
But the firm also seems to be betting on a move away from its cheap and cheerful roots. It is sprucing up its shops, and later this year will be opening a series of concessions in Debenhams, a chain of department stores. The new flagship shop on Oxford Street in London is large and sleek, and sells brogues and more expensive T-shirts alongside tracksuits. This may attract new customers, which would be a better option than just trying to squeeze more cash out of existing ones. But it also brings the company into ever greater competition with big general fashion retailers. Unless it can keep down prices as it moves into this new market, loyal fans such as the Robertsons may become rarer.
但是公司似乎在試圖擺脫其廉價又曾輝煌的根基上賭一把。它裝飾自己的店鋪，于今年晚些時候在Debenhams—一個連鎖的百貨商場，給出一系列特許權。位于倫敦牛津街的新的旗艦店又大又洋氣，在專業的運動訓練衣褲的旁邊還擺出了皮鞋和更昂貴的t恤。這可能會吸引新客戶，相較于從現有客戶壓榨更多的現金，這樣的舉措無疑是個更好的選擇。但這也給公司帶來了與大型時裝零售店更大的競爭。除非它能在進入這個新市場的同時保持低價，否則那些像Robertsons的忠實粉絲會變得越來越少。
