说到最近中国的超市市场,有一个很有意思的现象。Speaking of the recent supermarket market in China, there is a very interesting phenomenon.
很多外国的超市因为生意不好,都离开了中国,或者关了很多店。Many foreign supermarkets have left China or closed many stores because business was bad.
但是,有一个美国的超市却做得非常好,甚至还在不断地开新店。However, one American supermarket is doing very well, and is even continuously opening new stores.
这个超市就是沃尔玛旗下的山姆会员店。This supermarket is Sam's Club, which is owned by Walmart.
为什么别的外国商店都在后退,而山姆却在前进呢?Why are other foreign stores retreating, while Sam's Club is advancing?
主要的原因是,山姆非常了解中国人的习惯。The main reason is that Sam's Club understands Chinese people's habits very well.
它没有完全照搬美国的做法,而是做出了很多改变,来适应中国的市场。It did not completely copy the American way of doing things, but instead made many changes to adapt to the Chinese market.
这种做法,我们叫它“本土化”。We call this approach "localization."
简单来说,就是变得更像一个当地的商店。Simply put, it means becoming more like a local store.
我们先来看看它是怎么卖东西的。Let's first look at how it sells things.
在美国,山姆超市里的东西通常都很大,分量很重。In the US, items in Sam's Club are usually very large and heavy in portion.
比如牛排,在美国的店里,一块牛排可能有一公斤重。For example, steaks; in American stores, one steak might weigh one kilogram.
这是因为美国家庭的人口比较多,而且他们的冰箱非常大。This is because American families have more people, and their refrigerators are very large.
但是在中国,情况就不一样了。But in China, the situation is different.
现在中国的家庭越来越小,很多家庭只有两三个人。Nowadays, Chinese families are getting smaller, and many families have only two or three people.
根据最新的数据,中国平均每个家庭只有两点五个人。According to the latest data, the average Chinese family has only 2.5 people.
而且,中国家庭的冰箱通常没有美国那么大。Moreover, Chinese household refrigerators are usually not as big as American ones.
如果买了一块巨大的牛排,一次吃不完,冰箱也放不下,这就很麻烦。If you buy a huge steak, can't finish it at once, and can't fit it in the fridge, it becomes very troublesome.
山姆发现了这个问题,于是他们改变了牛排的大小。Sam's Club discovered this problem, so they changed the size of the steaks.
现在的包装只有几百克,非常适合中国的家庭。Current packages are only a few hundred grams, which is very suitable for Chinese families.
这就是一个非常聪明的改变。This is a very smart change.
除了改变大小,他们还卖很多中国人才喜欢的东西。Besides changing sizes, they also sell many things that only Chinese people like.
特别是在春节这样重要的节日里。Especially during important festivals like the Spring Festival.
他们会卖一些传统的礼物,比如坚果、人参,还有一些特别的装饰品。They will sell some traditional gifts, such as nuts, ginseng, and some special decorations.
这些东西在美国的店里是肯定看不到的。You definitely won't see these things in American stores.
但是在中国,这些东西非常受欢迎,经常很快就卖完了。But in China, these things are very popular and often sell out very quickly.
这说明,山姆真的很尊重中国客人的喜好。This shows that Sam's Club really respects the preferences of Chinese customers.
另外,山姆的开店策略也在变化。In addition, Sam's Club's store opening strategy is also changing.
以前,它只在像北京、上海这样最大的城市开店。Previously, it only opened stores in the biggest cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
但是现在,大城市的店已经比较多了,竞争也很激烈。But now, there are quite a few stores in big cities, and competition is fierce.
所以,山姆开始去一些小一点的城市开店。So, Sam's Club has started to open stores in some smaller cities.
比如在江苏省的一些城市,虽然不是最大的城市,但是那里的人也很有钱。For example, in some cities in Jiangsu Province, although they are not the biggest cities, the people there are also quite wealthy.
随着经济的发展,这些地方的人收入增加了。With economic development, the income of people in these places has increased.
他们也想要买高质量的东西,也愿意花钱办会员卡。They also want to buy high-quality items and are willing to spend money to get a membership card.
这给山姆带来了很多新的机会。This has brought many new opportunities to Sam's Club.
我们再来比较一下山姆的竞争对手。Let's compare Sam's Club's competitors again.
它的一个主要对手是开市客,这也是一家美国的会员制超市。One of its main rivals is Costco, which is also an American membership-based supermarket.
但是开市客在中国的店比较少。But Costco has relatively few stores in China.
这是因为开市客喜欢自己买地,然后自己盖房子开店。This is because Costco likes to buy its own land and then build its own buildings to open stores.
这样做虽然有好处,但是需要花很多钱,也需要很长的时间。Although doing this has benefits, it costs a lot of money and takes a long time.
所以,开市客开店的速度比较慢。Therefore, Costco's speed of opening stores is relatively slow.
而山姆在中国已经发展了很多年,开店的速度非常快。Whereas Sam's Club has been developing in China for many years, and its speed of opening stores is very fast.
到去年年底,山姆在中国已经有六十多家店了。By the end of last year, Sam's Club already had more than sixty stores in China.
除了美国的对手,中国本地的超市也很厉害。Besides American competitors, local Chinese supermarkets are also very formidable.
比如盒马鲜生这样的店,它们也很了解中国人的需要。For example, stores like Freshippo, they also understand Chinese people's needs very well.
所以,山姆面临的压力其实也不小。So, the pressure Sam's Club faces is actually not small.
为了保持优势,山姆必须保证东西的质量。To maintain its advantage, Sam's Club must guarantee the quality of its goods.
对于会员店来说,质量是最重要的。For membership stores, quality is the most important thing.
如果东西不好,客人就不会愿意付钱买会员卡了。If the goods are not good, customers won't be willing to pay for a membership card.
但是,因为店开得太快,管理起来就会比较困难。However, because stores are opening too fast, management becomes more difficult.
最近,山姆也遇到了一些食品安全的问题。Recently, Sam's Club has also encountered some food safety issues.
这让一些客人感到担心。This makes some guests feel worried.
为了解决这个问题,沃尔玛决定投入更多的钱来检查产品的质量。To solve this problem, Walmart decided to invest more money to inspect product quality.
他们表示,会增加百分之三十五的钱用来做质量控制。They stated they would increase spending on quality control by 35 percent.
这说明他们知道,只有东西安全、质量好,客人即使多花钱也愿意来。This shows they know that only if goods are safe and of good quality will customers be willing to come even if they spend more money.
虽然沃尔玛的普通大超市在减少,但是山姆会员店却在增加。Although Walmart's ordinary large supermarkets are decreasing, Sam's Club stores are increasing.
这反映了中国市场的变化。This reflects the changes in the Chinese market.
人们的生活水平提高了,对生活质量的要求也变高了。People's living standards have improved, and their requirements for quality of life have also become higher.
普通的便宜东西可能不能满足大家了,大家更想要特别的、好的服务。Ordinary cheap things may no longer satisfy everyone; people want special, good service more.
另外,现在的年轻人工作很忙。Additionally, young people nowadays are very busy with work.
他们没有时间经常去买东西。They don't have time to go shopping often.
山姆提供的送货服务,正好解决了这个问题。The delivery service provided by Sam's Club solves this problem exactly.
如果你买了很多重的东西,自己拿回家很累。If you buy a lot of heavy things, carrying them home yourself is very tiring.
但是如果有送货服务,这就变得非常方便。But if there is delivery service, it becomes very convenient.
这也是山姆成功的一个重要原因。This is also an important reason for Sam's Club's success.
总的来说,外国公司想在中国成功,就必须了解中国。In general, if foreign companies want to succeed in China, they must understand China.
不能只用自己国家的方法,要看看中国客人真正需要什么。They cannot just use their own country's methods; they need to see what Chinese guests truly need.
山姆就是一个很好的例子。Sam's Club is a very good example.
它不仅卖美国的东西,也卖中国的东西。It not only sells American things but also Chinese things.
它不仅考虑自己的习惯,更考虑客人的冰箱有多大。It not only considers its own habits but also considers how big the customer's refrigerator is.
这种愿意改变的态度,让它在激烈的竞争中赢得了机会。This attitude of willingness to change has allowed it to win opportunities amidst fierce competition.
当然,未来的挑战还有很多。Of course, there are still many challenges in the future.
不管是外国的对手,还是中国的对手,大家都在努力。Whether it is foreign competitors or Chinese competitors, everyone is working hard.
谁能一直提供好的商品和好的服务,谁才能最后留下来。Whoever can consistently provide good merchandise and good service will be the one to stay in the end.