经济学人下载:揭秘中国消费者

Small wonder that Western firms are piling in. On July 4th Nestle, the world’s largest food maker, confirmed that it is in talks with Hsu Fu Chi, one of China’s biggest makers of confectionery and baked goodies, with a view to buying the firm.
这就不奇怪西方公司蜂拥进入中国市场。世界最大食品生产商雀巢在7月4日证实正在与中国最大糖果点心和烘焙糕点生厂商徐福记谈判，计划收购徐福记。

If a deal is sealed, it would be one of the largest foreign takeovers yet seen in China: Hsu Fu Chi is valued at $2.6 billion on the Singapore stock exchange. China is currently Nestle’s ninth-biggest market, with sales of SFr2.8 billion ($2.7 billion) last year. That is less than half what Nestle sells in Brazil, although China has seven times Brazil’s population. Hence Nestle’s hunger for Hsu Fu Chi’s distribution network, and for its knowledge of what tickles Chinese taste buds.
如果收购案达成，将成为中国最大外资收购案之一：徐福记新加坡股市市值26亿美元。中国目前是雀巢第9大市场，去年销售额28亿瑞士法郎（合27亿美元）。不到雀巢在巴西销售额一半，尽管中国人口是巴西7倍。因此，雀巢急需徐福记在中国的销售网络，和徐福记对中国消费者口味的了解。

“Understanding the consumer is the most important thing for us,” says Paul Bulcke, the boss of Nestle. The food business is more local than almost any other—trying to sell cheese in China is like trying to sell stinky tofu in Switzerland. Nestle has been sniffing around for takeover targets in China for the past two years. Hsu Fu Chi is not its first bite. In April it took a controlling stake in Yinlu Foods Group, a family-owned maker of peanut milk and canned rice porridge.
雀巢CEO保罗·薄凯Paul Bulcke 认为“我们深知消费者对我们至关重要。”较之其他行业，食品行业是非常本土化的—在中国卖奶酪就像在瑞士卖豆腐。过去两年，雀巢在中国四处搜寻收购目标，并没有一眼挑中徐福记。4月雀巢对银鹭食品公司控股（60%），银鹭公司是国内一家生产花生牛奶和灌装粥类的公司。

Multinational firms trying to woo Chinese consumers have so far concentrated on the country’s thriving coastal regions. P&G, an American maker of shampoo, toothpaste and other sundries, has its Chinese headquarters in Guangzhou. Its Anglo-Dutch rival Unilever’s home is in Shanghai. Yet both firms are preparing for a “second consumer revolution” among the 665m Chinese who live in rural areas. The income gap between China’s coastal cities and rustic interior is still six-to-one, but rural incomes are rising and 665m heads could use a whole lot of shampoo.
跨国公司竭力赢得中国消费者青睐，目标集中于中国沿海地区。宝洁公司（美国洗发水、牙膏及其他杂件生产商）在广州成立总部。它的对手联合利华（荷兰Margrine Unie人造奶油公司和英国Lever Brothers香皂公司于1929 年合并而成）中国总部位于上海。两家公司都在准备6.65亿中国农村消费者的“第二次消费者革命”。中国沿海和内地乡村收入差距依然是6:1，但农村收入已在提高，6.65亿人的日化产品使用量相当可观。

The Chinese government presents its own unique challenges. “Everything is political,” says James McGregor, a former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. “This is a government that lets foreign companies build market share when it needs them.” Its longer-term goal is to learn enough from foreigners so it can build its own national champions. To this end, it pushes foreign carmakers, among others, into unhappy partnerships with Chinese state-owned firms.
中国政府面临着自己的独特挑战。驻华美国商会前会长麦健陆James McGregor认为“一切政治化，如有需要，这个政府会让外企占有市场份额”长期目标则是尽可能从外国人身上学习，然后能够自立，建立自己的捍卫者。为了达到这一目标，政府鼓励外国汽车生产商，以及其他各行各业外企，与中国国企貌合神离地合作。