2019年经济学人 熊彼特企业管理专栏--外卖经济学(1)

 

Business

来源于《商业》版块

Schumpeter

熊彼特企业管理专栏

Foodoo economics

食物经济学

Meal delivery is anything but a tasty business

外卖绝不是一门美味的生意

Even those who recoil¹ at eating supper out of a soggy box, fear being mowed² down by curry-bearing cyclists or think the death of home cooking is a cultural abomination should admire Jitse Groen. The 41-year-old Dutchman, who cooked up the online food delivery business by founding Takeaway.com in his university bedroom in 2000, is not your usual tech billionaire. He keeps a low profile, views venture capital with distaste, earns a relatively³ unflashy six-figure salary and sometimes hops⁴ on the firm’s delivery bikes to help out. His main extravagance is a sharp Italian suit. So why did he, on July 29th, propose shelling out ￡8.2bn ($10.1bn) on shares for Just Eat, a large but struggling meals-on-wheels firm based in Britain?

即便是那些不敢在潮湿的盒子里吃晚饭、害怕被载着咖喱的自行车手铲倒，或者认为家庭烹饪的消亡是一种文化憎恶的人，也应该钦佩吉特斯?格伦。这位41岁的荷兰人不是常见的那种科技亿万富翁，2000年他在大学宿舍创建了Takeaway.com，策划了网上送餐业务。他保持低调，厌恶风险投资，工资相对不高，只有六位数，有时还会跳上公司的送货自行车帮忙。他的主要奢侈品是一套笔挺的意大利西装。那么，为什么他在7月29日提议出资82亿英镑(合101亿美元)购买Just Eat的股票呢? Just Eat是一家总部位于英国的大型但经营不善的上门送餐服务公司。

The answer says a lot about the voodoo economics of the food delivery industry. It is a hotly competitive business, attracting the world’s biggest moneybags such as Amazon, Alibaba and Soft- Bank. Balancing the needs of diners, cooks and couriers is fiendishly complicated. Most startups lose platefuls of money. Yet they have received more than $30bn from spellbound venture capitalists in the past five years. And they are likely to get more. 

答案在很大程度上说明了食品外卖行业的巫毒经济学。这是一项竞争激烈的业务，吸引了亚马逊、阿里巴巴和软银行等全球最大的钱袋子。平衡食客、厨师和送餐员的需求极其复杂。大多数创业公司都会损失很多钱。然而，在过去5年里，他们已经从被迷住的风险投资家那里获得了300多亿美元。而且可能会得到更多。

1 recoil   

vi.退却，退缩，畏缩

参考例句：

• Most people would recoil at the sight of the snake.许多人看见蛇都会向后退缩。
• Revenge may recoil upon the person who takes it.报复者常会受到报应。

2 mowed   

v.刈，割( mow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The enemy were mowed down with machine-gun fire. 敌人被机枪的火力扫倒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Men mowed the wide lawns and seeded them. 人们割了大片草地的草，然后在上面播种。 来自辞典例句

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 hops   

跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• The sparrow crossed the lawn in a series of hops. 那麻雀一蹦一跳地穿过草坪。
• It is brewed from malt and hops. 它用麦精和蛇麻草酿成。