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日本品牌,路在何方?

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数年来,日本一直雄踞科技界霸主地位,然而随着近年来苹果、微软及其他品牌的崛起,日本本土品牌的形象正在降低,其企业所获利润也在大幅下降。曾经在世界人们心中颇具权威的日本企业品牌,能否走出阴霾呢?本期《无限播客》栏目,就让我们来听听专业人士的分析。

文中有不少经济类词汇和一些术语,有一定难度,大家可以好好学习一下。

Everybody gets excited about technology, but in Japan, they take it to another level.

Entire districts of Tokyo are devoted to robots, computers, 1)gadgets and huge electronics shops. But over recent years, the former dominance of Japanese brands in their own country has been challenged like never before by the new 2)behemoths of South Korea, China and the US.

The Japanese have been married to technology for decades and their brand loyalty is well-documented. But 3)whereas once these brands were nearly always Japanese, the 4)lucrative market of the Far East has been the target of a number of other firms―and this has had an effect on profits.

所有人提到科技都会热血沸腾,而在日本,这种热情则更为疯狂。

整个东京地区遍布着机器人、电脑、电子器件和大型电子商场。但最近几年,日本本土品牌的统治地位在自己的国土上遭到了来自南韩、中国和美国新兴大品牌前所未有的挑战。

几十年来,日本人对科技无以伦比的追捧和他们的品牌忠诚度广为人知。然而,就在日本人几乎把所有注意力都放在本土品牌的时候,其他公司却将眼光投向更具市场潜力的远东地区――这也影响了日本品牌的销售利润。

Although Canon is growing―5)attributing much of this growth to emerging markets like China and India―others are not 6)faring so well. Panasonic recently predicted an 7)annual 8)net loss of 4209)bn 10)Yen ($5.5bn,£3.5bn). Hitachi too has recently reported a 48% fall in 11)quarterly profit―though remains 12)in the black―and others have struggled just as much. Sony―one of the big Japanese brands―is expecting losses of more than $1 billion in the current 13)fiscal year.

While some of the problems can be credited to global economic problems, and the earthquake and 14)tsunami last year, some say that this could be a problem of Japan’s own making. “Sony’s Walkman used to be one of the most valuable brands in the world,” says self-confessed otaku―the Japanese word for geek―Steve Nagata, a consultant to firms who want to move to Japan. Nagata also thinks that the mistake is just one of several that Japanese firms have

尽管佳能的壮大基本得益于新兴市场――如中国和印度,但是其他公司却并没有经营得如此顺利。松下最近预计其年度净亏损将达4 2 0 0亿日元(约合55亿美元,35亿英镑)。日立集团最近的报告也显示其季度利润下降达48%,虽不至于出现财政赤字,但也一直在竭尽全力。而日本品牌龙头之一的索尼公司也预计在这个财政年,将会有超过10亿美元的损失。

虽然有些问题可归结于全球经济不景气和去年的地震和海啸灾难,但有人也认为,这是日本自身的原因。“索尼随身听曾经是全世界性价比最高的牌子,”自称御宅族(日语中指不爱出门的电脑高手)一员的永田史蒂夫这么说。他是一名顾问,专为外资企业进入日本市场提供专业意见。永田还认为这是许多日本企业一直犯

been making for years―born out of 15)complacency with its once dominant position in the market.

的毛病之一――沉浸在曾经的霸主地位沾沾自喜。

Globalisation

Japan was one of the first countries to 16)embrace 3G phone technology and flip phones, but has since stood 17)comparatively still. Japanese smartphone usage is at around 6% of the population, compared to US and UK figures of around 30%, according to research from Google a n d t h e 1 8 )M o b i l e Marketing Association. And Taiwanese, Chinese and Korean firms have been slowly taking over, lowering prices and working aggressively at increasing market share. This becomes even more difficult for Japan because the strength of the Yen makes everything more expensive to produce and export.

While government assistance has ensured Japanese firms have a market at home, as the technology sector has increasingly globalised, some see this now as more of a curse than a blessing. “When Japan was such a centre point for technology, they took a lot of measures to protect this incredibly lucrative Japanese market,” says Mr. Nagata, “But protection, in some ways, ended up cutting them off from the global market. They weren’t really paying attention to the fast growth and demands elsewhere and now lots of Japanese electronics makers are trapped, looking out wishing they had pieces of a now larger and more lucrative global market.”全球化

日本是最早使用3G电话科技和翻盖手机的国家之一,但从那以后却止步不前。据谷歌和移动营销协会的研究表明,日本智能手机的使用率约为6%,而在美国和英国,数字达到30%。台湾、中国大陆和韩国的手机品牌也慢慢显示出后劲,降低价格,强有力地逐步扩大市场份额。而日元持续坚挺导致生产和出口成本增加,也是日本企业更加举步维艰的原因。

尽管政府的支持保证了日本企业在本土拥有一定市场份额,但是随着科技全球化的加速发展,有些人认为这项措施不像祝福,倒像是一个诅咒。“当日本还是科技界核心的时候,它(政府)采取了很多措施来保护这个潜力巨大的本土市场,”永田先生说,“但是从某个角度讲,这种保护也让他们与全球市场隔绝。他们并未真正注意到其他地方的快速发展和需求。而如今,许多日本电子制造商陷入困境,而只能一味奢望在更大更有潜力的全球市场有自己的一席之地。” Loyalty culture

19)Innovations from Apple and, in the gaming space at least, Microsoft, mean that the US now has a 20)foothold in the Far East. And, just as it is difficult to change Japanese consumers’minds because of their loyalty, once they have stopped buying a particular brand, it is very difficult to get them back.

Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi are fighting back with a 21)merger of their small LCD businesses. In a public-private partnership,(品牌)忠诚文化

苹果和微软(至少在游戏领域)的研发产品意味着美国已经在远东站稳脚跟。而就如日本人由于忠诚之故很难改变他们的消费心理一样,一旦他们停止购买某个品牌的东西,也就再难让他们回头。

索尼、东芝和日立将各自规模不大的LCD业务合并在一起。这个 the creation of the world’s largest producer of touchscreen displays is hoped to make Japanese companies more competitive. But 22)bespoke hardware and expensive single-purpose gadgets―a market nearly unique to Japan―is no longer the 23)cash cow it once was. And it is easy to see how. As technology moves towards being increasingly mobile and increasingly affordable, the onceunique developments now risk being 24)undercut by a wave of cheap, user-friendly apps. For example, why would someone buy a bespoke device for $100 (£63) if an app with the same 25)functionality costs $3 (£1.90)?

以公私合伙关系的方式建立的全球最大的触屏产品制造商希望能增加日资企业的竞争力。但是,预订硬件和价格昂贵的单一目标器件――这些几乎为日本市场专门定制的产品――已经不像以前那么吃香。原因显而易见。随着科技往移动性越来越强,价格越来越可承受的方向发展,曾经独特单一的产品面对一众便宜易用的软件,也有被刷下的危险。举个例子说,一个人为何要花上100美元(约63英镑)买一个硬件终端,而不去买一个只需3美元(约1.9英镑)的拥有相同功能的软件?

The 26)inexorable march of globalisation seems to have hit Japan hard, casting doubts over what Japan’s own tech giants can do to stem the current troubles. But, as Mr. Stinger told The Wall Street Journal: “You have bad years, the 27)trick is to 28)weather them, learn from them, act graciously through them, and learn why and when you have to change.”

The fact remains that the Japanese are still passionate about technology. Japanese manufacturers just need to make sure they stay passionate about their brands as well.

这股不可阻挡的全球化进程似乎让日本遭受到了沉重的打击,也让人怀疑日本的本土科技巨头是否有能力带领日本走出现有低谷。但,正如史丁格先生在接受《华尔街日报》采访时所说的:“我们都会有艰难的时刻,诀窍就是经历它,从中学到东西,镇定自若地渡过,最终懂得你为何需要改变以及何时需要改变。”

日本人对科技的热情依然存在。日本企业只需做到自身品牌能牢牢抓住他们的心便可。