2019年经济学人 熊彼特企业管理专栏--外卖经济学(4)

 

Moreover, potential growth may be overstated. Subsidies¹ make true demand hard to gauge². When delivery charges and service fees eventually rise, which they will have to if profits are to materialise, some customers may flee. In the meantime, cheap money lets firms undercut rivals but distorts incentives³. The war of attrition could get even worse if giants like Amazon muscle in, as it has tried to do by buying a stake in Deliveroo (the deal is stalled at present because of antitrust concerns). Alibaba, Amazon’s Chinese counterpart, uses Ele.me as a loss leader helping⁴ drive traffic to its profitable e-commerce sites.

此外，潜在的增长可能被夸大了。补贴使得真实需求难以衡量。当快递费和服务费最终上涨时，一些客户可能会留不住。而要实现利润，快递费和服务费将不得不上涨。与此同时，廉价的资金让企业以低于竞争对手的价格收购，却扭曲了激励机制。如果像亚马逊这样的巨头介入，这场消耗战可能会变得更糟，因为亚马逊试图通过购买Deliveroo的股份来做到这一点(由于反垄断的担忧，该交易目前处于停滞状态)。亚马逊的中国竞争对手阿里巴巴的饿了么虽然亏损但能起到领导作用，帮助推动其盈利的电子商务网站的流量。

Delivery businesses have ways to cut their losses. One is to diversify⁵ further, by delivering groceries, flowers, booze, and even people (as Uber does), as well as meals. Another is to provide cheaper meals by centrally supplying ingredients to restaurants, or building “ghost kitchens” that prepare food only for delivery. In “winner takes most” markets, the best way to drive up volumes and share of the proceeds is through consolidation⁶ across countries and cities. Mr Groen’s attempt to gobble up Just Eat marks the biggest foray so far. In the unappetising dog-eat-dog world of food delivery, it will still be a hard deal to digest.

快递公司有办法减少损失。一个方法是进一步多样化，送杂货、鲜花、酒，甚至送人(就像Uber那样)，还有送餐。另一种方法是通过向餐馆集中供应食材，或者建造“幽灵厨房”，只为外卖准备食物，从而提供更便宜的饭菜。在“赢者通吃”市场中，提高销量、提高收益份额的最佳方式，是通过国家和城市间的整合。格伦先生试图狼吞虎咽地吃掉“Just Eat”，这是迄今为止规模最大的一次尝试。在这个令人生厌的自相残杀的送餐世界里，这仍然是一件很难消化的事情。

1 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

6 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法