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來源于《商業》版塊
Lego v Barbie in China
樂高和芭比娃娃在中國的競爭
Yellow brick road
黃磚路
Why the toy brickmaker has soared but America’s favourite doll has stumbled
為什么玩具積木越來越受歡迎，而美國最喜歡的娃娃卻命運多舛
Budding engineers cluster around a table-sized model of the China Art Museum, a landmark of Shanghai, adding helipads, carrot patches and other improvements with colourful bricks. Prising a child from Lego’s vast shop near People’s Square can be like unsticking two stubborn bits of Lego. Li Yang, visiting for a few days from Shenzhen, has been waiting for her daughter for two hours. Zhu Yunfei, watching his son, marvels at the variety: “Coming here to play with him is making up for my childhood,” he says. They drop by every week.
正在嶄露頭角的工程師們聚集在上海地標性建筑——中國美術館的一個桌子大小的模型周圍，用五顏六色的積木增加了直升機停機坪、胡蘿卜塊和其他改進。讓一個孩子離開人民廣場附近的樂高大型商店，難度好比拆下兩塊牢固的樂高積木。李陽從深圳來這里玩了幾天，她已經等女兒兩個小時了。看著兒子的朱云飛驚嘆于這種多樣性:“來這里和他一起玩彌補了我的童年，”他說。他們每周都會來。
Lego’s rise in China has been vertiginous. In 2017 it overtook Alpha Group, a local giant, to become the country’s leading toy company (not including video games). In the past two years it has opened 89 stores. It wants 50 more by December, which will bring it to 30 cities. Its first Chinese factory started moulding bricks in 2016. The toy industry is growing by 9% annually in the country, but the Danish firm’s Chinese arm notches up “very strong double digits”, says Paul Huang, its boss.
樂高在中國的崛起令人目眩。2017年，它超越了當地巨頭阿爾法集團，成為中國領先的玩具公司(不包括電子游戲)。在過去的兩年里，樂高已經開了89家店。到12月，還想再開50家，屆時30個城市都有店。樂高第一家中國工廠于2016年開始做積木。中國的玩具業正以每年9%的速度增長，但是這家丹麥公司的中國分公司卻取得了“非常強勁的兩位數增長”，其老板保羅·黃如此表示。
It has done so even as the brickmaker’s global business has looked shakier. In 2017 Lego cut 1,400 jobs and recorded its first drop in revenues and profits in over a decade. But last year both ticked up again, by 4% each. Lego has thus retained its status as the world’s biggest toymaker, snatched from Mattel in 2014—even as its American rival last year earned its highest revenues in five years from its Barbie dolls.
盡管這家積木廠的全球業務看起來更加搖搖欲墜，但在中國的業績卻蒸蒸日上。2017年，樂高裁減了1400個工作崗位，實現了10多年來的首次收入和利潤下降。但去年收入和盈利都再度上漲，漲幅均為4%。因此，樂高保住了全球最大玩具制造商的地位。2014年，樂高從美泰手中拿回了樂高的市場份額。即使去年，其美國競爭對手美泰因芭比娃娃達到了五年內的最高收入。
Newly affluent parents in China have helped Lego recover. “We have not maxed out there, by far,” says Niels Christiansen, whom Lego brought in as chief executive two years ago. As in the West, the educational merits of bricks appeal to Chinese parents. Last year 98% of those surveyed by Lego said that play was essential for their child’s well-being, even more than Americans and Danes.
中國新富階層家長幫助樂高重新輝煌起來。“到目前為止，我們還沒有達到極限，”于兩年前上任的樂高首席執行官尼爾斯·克里斯琴森表示。和西方一樣，積木的教育價值吸引了中國家長。去年，樂高公司的調查顯示，98%的中國家長認為玩耍對孩子的健康至關重要，甚至超過了美國人和丹麥人。
