经济学人157:将白银变为真金

 　　Business

　　商业报道

　　Retail¹ in Japan

　　日本零售业

　　Turning silver into gold

　　将白银变为真金

　　Stealth marketing² to the elderly

　　隐秘地老年市场营销

　　After a lifetime of saving, it's time to party.

　　多年储蓄，该享受了。

　　THE Ueshima coffee shops that dot Tokyo seem like any other chain.

　　分布于东京各处的上岛咖啡与其他连锁店似乎并无差异。

　　But look more closely: the aisles³ are wider, the chairs sturdier and the tables lower.

　　但仔细观察会发现：走道更宽阔、椅子更结实、桌子更矮小。

　　The food is mostly mushy rather than crunchy:sandwiches, salads, bananas—nothing too hard to chew.

　　大多数食物也更松软而不费劲：三明治、沙拉和香蕉—不需要辛苦地咀嚼。

　　Helpful staffs carry items to customers'tables.

　　和善的员工会把食物端到顾客桌上。

　　The name and menu are written in Japanese kanji rather than Western letters, in a large, easy-to-read font.

　　名称和目录都是使用日本汉字而非西方字母，并且使用一种易于阅读的大字体。

　　It is no coincidence that Ueshima's stores are filled with old people.

　　在上岛咖啡店内顾客多是老年人并非巧合。

　　Ueshima never explicitly⁴ describes itself as a coffee shop for the elderly.

　　上岛咖啡从不把自己描述为老年人咖啡厅。

　　But it targets them relentlessly—and stealthily.

　　但他们总是把老年人定为目标客户。

　　Stealthily, because the last thing septuagenarians want to hear is that their favourite coffee shop is a nursing home in disguise.

　　之所以要隐秘进行，原因在于古稀老人不怎么想听的一个说法—老年人最喜欢的咖啡店是私人疗养院伪装的。

　　Japan is greying fast: already a fifth of its people are over 65.

　　日本老龄化速度很快：年纪超过65岁的人已达人口的20%。

　　And the silver generation has gold to spare.

　　而且白银一代正好袋中多金。

　　The incomes of middle-class working folk have declined in the past decade, but seniors are sitting on a vast pile of savings⁵.

　　过去十年，中产工人阶级的收入持续下降，而老年人却坐在大笔储蓄上。

　　Almost a third of the nation's household wealth, some ￥450 trillion, is in the hands of those aged⁶ 70 and older.

　　该国居民财富的三分之一掌握在年过七旬的人手中。

　　In the West, the elderly pinch pennies, but Japan's seniors pay extra.

　　在西方，老年人精打细算，但日本老年人不介意多花钱。

　　At Ueshima a medium-sized coffee is ￥380, about 10% more than at Starbucks.

　　在上岛咖啡，一杯中号咖啡售价380日元，较星巴克贵10%。

　　Many firms tailor their services to silver shoppers without letting on, explains a marketing specialist.

　　一位营销专家解释说，许多公司悄悄地将白发顾客群定义为目标客户。

　　Consider the Keio department store.

　　比如京王百货，

　　On the outside, nothing warns you that it is a mecca for the mature.

　　在外部，没有任何标志提醒你这里是成年人的圣地。

　　But inside there are chairs for weary shoppers.

　　但在内部，到处都设有椅子供疲倦的顾客休息。

　　Signs are in large fonts.

　　各种标志也用大字体。

　　Many salespeople⁷ are in their 50s and 60s, since elderly customers trust such people more than whippersnappers.

　　许多销售人员年纪也是五十几岁或六十几岁，因为老年顾客相信他们多于轻狂的年轻人。

　　The food hall promotes good old-fashioned Japanese noodles more than newfangled foreign muck.

　　餐厅也提供的是老式的日本面条而不是国外新方法制成的垃圾食物。

　　The shelves are lower, so older people can reach them.

　　货架也比较低，这样老年人可以够得着。

　　Loyalty⁸ cards at Keio award points not according to what you buy, but according to how often you visit.

　　在京王会员卡点数不是依据你购买了什么，而是根据你购物的频繁程度。

　　Seniors have a lot of time on their hands, the marketer explains.

　　老年人不缺时间，那位营销专家说。

　　Marketing to the elderly is tricky⁹.

　　老年人市场的营销手段需要技巧。

　　The direct approach—say,calling your product the soap for the over-70s—does not work.

　　直接的方法是无效的，比如称产品为专业的老年人肥皂。

　　And traditional advertising¹⁰ fails.

　　传统广告手段也无法成功。

　　You can't use TV adverts¹¹: they forget them, groans¹² the 30-something executive.

　　你无法使用电视广告，他们记不住，一位三十几岁的主顾抱怨。

　　We show it again and again and again—and they still can't recall it, he sighs.

　　我们一遍一遍又一遍的展示，他们仍然无法回忆起，他叹气说。

　　Word-of-mouth is the only way.

　　口碑传播是唯一的办法。

　　Decades ago it was rarely profitable to market products to seniors, since by the time anyone had reached the age of 70 they probably had only a few years left to live.

　　数十年前老年人市场几乎无利可图，因为当时70岁以后的老年人岁月有限。

　　But Japanese people now live so long—life expectancy¹³ for women is 86; for men it is 80—that wooing them is lucrative¹⁴.

　　但现在的日本人寿命变长了，女性寿命预期为86岁，男性为80岁，于是老年人市场变得迷人了。

　　Some firms try to hook them in their 60s, to build brand loyalty early.

　　有些公司在60岁的年龄层就开始吸引顾客以提前培养他们的品牌忠诚。

　　Others approach them via their children.

　　还有些公司通过子女来获得老年顾客。

　　One cosmetics¹⁵ firm pitches its wrinkle-removal cream to middle-aged¹⁶ women, in the hope that they will recommend it to their mothers. Filial piety¹⁷ comes in many forms.

　　有家化妆品公司向中年妇女推销去皱霜，他们希望这些顾客可以向她们的母亲推荐自己的产品。毕竟孝心有多种表现方式。

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

4 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

7 salespeople   

n.售货员，店员；售货员( salesperson的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The shop usually employs additional salespeople for the Christmas toy trade. 这家商店通常雇一些临时售货员来做圣诞节玩具生意。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Under our new system, salespeople sit down with each of our dealers. 根据新的制度，销售人员应逐个地同承销商洽商。 来自辞典例句

8 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

9 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

10 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

11 adverts   

advertisements 广告，做广告

参考例句：

• the adverts on television 电视广告
• The adverts are not very informative. 这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。

12 groans   

n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• There were loud groans when he started to sing. 他刚开始歌唱时有人发出了很大的嘘声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was a weird old house, full of creaks and groans. 这是所神秘而可怕的旧宅，到处嘎吱嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

14 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

15 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

16 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

17 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。