华尔街日报评选2012年即将消失的品牌

 　　10.A&W餐厅

　　A&W All–American Food Restaurants. A&W Restaurants is owned by fast food holding company giant Yum! Brands which has had the firm for sale since January. There have been no buyers. The chain was founded in 1919. The size of company grew rapidly, and immediately after WWII 450 franchises¹ were opened. The firm pioneered the “drive in” fast food format².

　　A&W是全美饮食餐厅，以前曾经是饮食巨头Yum!的子品牌，但是在今年的一月分开始出售A&W。很遗憾的是至今仍然没有买家，这个连锁店创办于1919年，店铺增长非常迅速。在二战之后出售了特许加盟权。这个餐厅曾一度是司机快餐的领军者。

　　9. 索尼影音

　　Sony has a studio production arm which has nothing to do with its core businesses of consumer electronics and gaming. Sony bought what was Columbia Tri-Star Picture in 1989 for $3.4 billion. This entertainment operation has done poorly recently. Sony’s fiscal³ year ends in March, and for the period revenue for the group dropped 15% to $7.2 billion and operating income fell by 10% to $466 million. Sony is in trouble. It lost $3.1 billion in its latest fiscal on revenue of $86.5 billion. Sony’s gaming system group is under siege by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nintendo. Its consumer electronics group faces an overwhelming challenge from Apple. The company’s future prospects⁴ have been further damaged by the Japan earthquake and the hack⁵ of its large PlayStation Network.

　　索尼有一个影音制作的公司，但是这个公司的产品和索尼的主业毫无关系。索尼在1989年花了34亿美元收购了哥伦比亚三星影音制作公司。而这个影音工作室最近的表现非常糟糕，索尼的财政自然年在三月结束，而这一年索尼的盈利暴跌了15%只有72亿美元，而运营收入也跌了10%到4.66亿美元。索尼在上一年损失了31亿元，最后只营收了865亿美元。不仅如此，索尼的游戏业遭到包括微软和Nintendo的围攻。电子产品的销售则受到了苹果的猛烈攻势。而这个公司关于未来的展望还被日本近期的大地震所影响，同时旗下的Playstation还遭遇了黑客袭击。

　　8. 萨博汽车

　　Saab’s problem, which grew under the management of the world’s No.1 automobile⁶ manufacturer, was that it was never more than a niche⁷ brand in an industry dominated by very large players such as Ford⁸ and Chevrolet. It did not build very inexpensive cars like VW did, or expensive sports cars as Porsche did. Saab’s models were, in price and features, up against models from the world’s largest car companies that sold hundreds of thousands of units each year. Saab also did not have a wide number of models to suit different budgets and driver tastes. GM decided⁹ to jettison¹⁰ the brand in late 2008, and the small company quickly became insolvent¹¹. Saab finally found a buyer in high-end car maker¹² Spyker which took control of the company last year. Spyker quickly ran low on money because only 32,000 Saabs were sold in 2010. Spyker turned to Chinese industrial investors¹³ for money. Pang¹⁴ Da Automobile agreed to take an equity¹⁵ stake in the company.

　　萨博的问题在于，它被一个业界的汽车巨头控股，然而却从来没有逃脱作为一个亚品牌被主流品牌类似于福特和学弗兰压制的局面。它既不像VW一样造比较便宜的车，也不像保时捷一样造比较贵的车。萨博的定位和特点都和世界顶尖的，每年销售很多汽车的汽车制造商背道而驰。不仅如此，萨博也没有一个足够宽的产品线来满足不同的预算和口味需求。通用决定在2008年抛弃这个品牌，如果是这样的话，那么萨博将会立即资不抵债。萨博在去年找到了买家——skyker，但是skyker很快就因为萨博萎靡不振的销量而用尽了现金。随后skyker转向中国汽车工业寻求资金援助。庞达汽车公司于是就接管了萨博汽车。

　　7. 美国服饰公司

　　American Apparel posted a net loss in 2008 of $21 million. Comparable store sales have flattened¹⁶, which means the firm likely will continue to post losses. American Apparel is also almost certainly under gross margin¹⁷ pressure because of the rise in cotton prices. The retailer¹⁸ raised $14.9 million in April by selling shares at a discount of 43% to a group of private investors led by Canadian financier Michael Serruya and Delavaco Capital. It is a small, under-funded player in a market with very large competitors with healthy balance sheets. It does not help matters that the company’s founder¹⁹ and CEO, Dov Charney, has been a defendant²⁰ in several lawsuits²¹ filed by former employees alleging²² sexual harassment²³.

　　American Apparel在2008年发布了2100百万的亏损报告，同期的店面销售量也下降了，这基本就意味着这家公司还会继续亏损。American Apparel也必然会继续那一维持边际收益因为棉花的价格正在继续攀升。American Apparel通过售出股票在四月份募集了1490万美元，而股票也打了4折优惠才能售出，买家则是加拿大的Michael Serruya and Delacavo公司。这家公司也是一家资金实力不甚雄厚的公司，而且在金融市场中还要面对更多资金雄厚的大公司。不仅如此，公司的CEO Dov Charney由于骚扰女性员工陷入了官司也对公司的命运没有任何助益。

　　6. Sears超市

　　The company had a net loss of $170 million. Sears Holdings was created by a merger²⁴ of the parents of the two chains on March 24, 2005. The operation has been a disaster ever since. The company has tried to run 4,000 stores which operate across the US and Canada. Neither Sears nor Kmart have done well recently, but Sears’ domestic locations same store numbers were off 5.2% in the first quarter and Kmart’s were down 1.6%. Last year domestic comparable store sales declined 1.6% in the total, with an increase at Kmart of .7% and a decline at Sears Domestic of 3.6%. D’Ambrosio needs to pull a rabbit out of his hat soon. Shares are down 55% during the last five years.

　　Sears公司已经在今年亏损了1.7亿美元。其控股公司是在2005年经由一次合并而成的母公司，由此开始Sears的执行部分一直非常糟糕。公司尝试着去运营多达4000个遍布全美的公司。然而无论是Sears还是Kmart都没有做得很好，但是Sears和Kmart的本地店面都分别关闭了5.2%和 1.6%。去年本地店面的总体数量下降了1.6%，其中Kmart的店面却增长了0.7%，Sears的店面下降了3.6%。Sears的CEO需要施展他的魔术了，因为公司在过去三年的股价已经跌了55%。

　　5. 索尼爱立信手机制造商

　　In a period when smartphone sales worldwide are rising in the double digits²⁵ and sales of the iPhone double year over year, Sony Ericsson’s unit sales dropped from 97 million in 2008 to 43 million last year. New competitors like HTC now outsell Sony Ericsson by widening numbers. Sony Ericsson management expects several more quarters of falling sales and the company has laid off thousands of people. There have been rumors²⁶, backed by logic²⁷, that Sony will take over the operation, rebrand the handsets with its name, and market them in tandem²⁸ with its PS3 consoles and VAIO PCs.

　　在智能机每年都以两位数增长的时代，iphone每年的电话销售数量也以两位数增长。索爱的销售量从2008年的9700万每年跌落到去年的4300万。新的竞争者类似于HTC也在销售数量上完全超越索爱。公司的管理层估计公司的销售还会继续低迷几个季度而且计划裁掉更多的人。有人猜测索尼可能打算拿回运营权重新命名新品牌，然后将手机和PS3和Vaio搭配在一起卖。

　　4. Corn Pops爆米花制造商

　　The cereal business is not what is used to be, at least for products that are not considered “healthy.”  Sales of the brand dropped 18% over the year that ended in April, down to $74 million. That puts it well behind brands like Cheerios and Frosted Flakes²⁹ each which have sales of over $200 million a year. Private label sales have also hurt sales of branded cereals. Revenues in this category were $637 million over the same April-end period. There is also profit margin pressure on Corn Pops because of the sharp increase in corn prices.

　　玉米类的生意不再像以前那么好做，至少不再那么健康了。在四月份截止的时候，这个品牌的销售量下降了18%变成了7400万。这个销售量的结果就是Corn pops 在销售量上已经落后Frosted Flakes和Cheerios了，这些公司的销售额都超过2亿美元。私人玉米花的售卖同样损害到了Corn pop的生意。与去年同期相比行业的收入应该达到6.37亿元。玉米的价格同样对于Corn pop的边际利润造成了影响。

　　3. Myspace社交网络

　　MySpace, once the world’s largest social network, died a long time ago. It will be buried soon. News Corp (NYSE: NWS) bought MySpace and its parent in 2005 for $580 million which was considered inexpensive at the time based on the web property’s size. MySpace held the top spot among social networks based on visitors from mid-2006 until mid-2008 according to several online research services. It was overtaken by Facebook at that point.

　　Myspace曾经一度是全球最大的网络社区已经在前一段时间彻底死了。新闻集团在2005年以5.8亿美元收购了Myspace，相比较于当时的网络状况而言已经是比较便宜了。根据若干个线上研究服务公司的统计从2006年中期到2008年中期Myspace拥有全球最高的点击量。这个位置在2008年被Facebook替代。

　　2. Soap Opera杂志

　　The magazine’s future has been ruined by two trends. The first is the number of cancellations of soap operas. Long-lived shows which include “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” have been canceled and replaced by talk show, which are less expensive to air. The other insurmountable challenge is the wide availability of details on soap operas online. Some of the shows even have their own fan sites.

　　这份杂志的未来主要受限于两个趋势。第一个趋势是大部分连续剧的解约。那些长期受欢迎的“All my children”和“One life to live”都已经被解约，之后被脱口秀所替代，这些节目更为便宜。另外一个无法被超越的原因在于有了越来越多的网上电视剧可以收看，这些电视剧甚至有了它们自己的粉丝！

　　1. 一代霸主诺基亚

　　Nokia is dead. Shareholders³⁰ are just waiting for an undertaker. The world’s largest handset company has one asset: Nokia sold 25% of the global total of 428 million units sold in the first quarter. Its problem is that in the industry, the company is viewed as a falling knife. Its market share in the same quarter of 2010 was nearly 31%. The arguments that Nokia will not stay independent are numerous. It has a very modest presence in the rapidly-growing smartphone industry which is dominated by Apple, Research In Motion’s Blackberry, HTC, and Samsung. Nokia runs the outdated³¹ Symbian operating system and is in the process of changing to Microsoft Window mobile OS which has a tiny share of the market.

　　诺基亚已经死了。股东们只是在等着有人来接手。到现在为止诺基亚还有一项资产：诺基亚占有今年第一季度全球手机销售量的25%，但是这个公司却被认为是个烫手的山芋。他的市场占有率在2010年同期还是31%。那些关于说诺基亚将再也没有办法独立运营的言论此起彼伏。这个言论有一个非常保守的估计就是现在的智能机市场已经被苹果、黑莓、HTC和三星所掌控。诺基亚的手机还在使用塞班系统，而正在协商中的微软系统只在市场中占有非常小的份额。

1 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

2 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

3 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

4 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

5 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

6 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

7 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 jettison   

n.投弃，投弃货物

参考例句：

• Sometimes you need to jettison unhealthy cargo.有时你必须抛弃不好的货物。
• We jettison an unworkable plan.我们放弃难实行的计划。

11 insolvent   

adj.破产的，无偿还能力的

参考例句：

• They lost orders and were insolvent within weeks.他们失去了订货，几周后就无法偿还债务。
• The bank was declared insolvent.银行被宣布破产。

12 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

15 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

16 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

17 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

18 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

19 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

20 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

21 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

22 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

23 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

24 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

25 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

26 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

28 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

29 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

30 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

31 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。