從Esprit創始人到Tory Burch 創業夫妻爲何多以離婚收場

Managing a company with your mate is not easy. If the business is struggling, that can damage your relationship. If the relationship is struggling, that can damage the business. And even if the company is thriving, the marriage can fall apart – in an ugly way.

和你的“另一半”共同打理一家公司，並不是一件容易的事。如果企業陷入了麻煩，甚至有可能影響你的夫妻關係。同理，夫妻感情出現了問題，反過來也有可能影響企業經營。即便公司繁榮發展，婚姻也有勞燕分飛的可能——而且是以一種尷尬的方式。

That was underscored with the latest chapter in the sad saga of Tory and Chris Burch. In 2004, the then-married couple founded Tory Burch. And while it grew into a global fashion brand, its two founders divorced – and at one point, became competitors.

托裏o伯奇和克里斯的悲劇故事便印證了這一點。2004年，這對夫妻創立了Tory Burch公司。等到這家公司終於發展成全球知名的時尚品牌，兩位創始人卻離婚了，而且成了競爭對手。

After the fact, it may be easy to spot the signs of trouble in the relationship or business (or both). But usually, couples who run companies together are figuring it out as they go along. The key to success: Setting clear boundaries between work and home, and communicating openly when there’s a problem. “Be really explicit [about] what’s allowed to spill over and what’s not,” says Nancy Rothbard, Professor of Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

從“馬後炮”的角度看，或許很容易找到他們的婚姻生活以及企業本身出現問題的跡象。通常，一起運營公司的夫妻會在前進中解決這些問題。“夫妻店”成功的關鍵，是要在工作和生活中劃定明確的界限，當發生問題時，要勇於拿到檯面上討論。賓西法尼亞大學沃頓商學院管理學教授南茜o羅斯巴德指出：“要非常明確哪些能說，哪些不能說。”

Here are seven famous examples of brands created by couples – and what happened after.

本文彙總了7個由夫妻共同創立品牌的知名例證，以及他們的最終結局。

Kate and Andy Spade

凱特與安迪o絲蓓

Kate wasn’t even officially a Spade when she and then-fiancé Andy nationally launched their iconic handbag line, Kate Spade, in 1993. In 1996, Andy left his full-time job and the next year, the couple sold their first men’s bag in their new line, Jack Spade. In 1999, the couple sold a 56% stake to Neiman Marcus for $33.6 million.

1993年，凱特與她的未婚夫安迪o斯派德共同推出了手提包品牌Kate Spade，當時二人還未正式結婚。1996年，安迪辭去了他的全職工作，次年二人正式開賣他們的首款男包品牌Jack Spade。1999年，二人以3360萬美元的價格，將公司56%的股權賣給了內曼馬庫斯公司。

Telling quote:"I think what we made the mistake of doing early on was taking every opportunity alone to talk about the business, at dinner, driving the car, you know at home brushing your teeth, as you're getting into bed, as you're waking up, and I think we made a conscious effort to not do that because I think it was just, you know, it would burn us out," Kate told CNN in 2002.

當事人說：“我認爲我們早期犯的一個錯誤，就是在一切我倆獨處的時間都要談生意，不管是吃飯、開車、刷牙、睡覺還是起牀的時候。後來我們有意地不再那樣做，因爲那樣會耗盡我們的感情。”2002年接受CNN採訪時，凱特這樣說道。

The upshot:In 2006, when the company was pulling in $84 million in sales, they sold to Liz Claiborne, now renamed Kate Spade & Company KATE . They worked at the brand until 2007. After leaving, Andy went on to open Partners & Spade, a New York City-based branding firm, while Kate became an at-home mom.

結局：2006年，該公司獲得8400萬美元的銷售額，同年他們將公司賣給了麗詩加邦，現更名爲Kate Spade & Company。他們在該品牌工作至2007年。離開公司後，安迪又在紐約開了一家名叫Partners & Spade的品牌營銷公司，而凱特則成了一名全職媽媽。

Doug Tompkins and Susie Tompkins Buell

道格o湯普金斯與蘇西o湯普金斯o布埃爾

Though founded by Susie Tompkins Buell and a friend in San Francisco in 1968 under a different name, Esprit 330 was soon also led by her husband Doug, after he sold his own clothing company, North Face. The once-successful line and the marriage both began having serious troubles in the mid-1980s, chronicled by SF Weekly. While the couple divorced in 1989, the business’ drama took years to unfold. One minute Doug was leading the company, the next Susie.

1968年，蘇西o湯普金斯o布埃爾與她的一個朋友在舊金山創立了Esprit公司的前身，當時這家公司還不叫這個名字。不久後，隨着蘇西的丈夫道格賣掉了自己的服裝公司North Face，他也加入了Esprit的領導層。從80年代中期開始，他們的婚姻以及這家一度非常紅火的公司都陷入了嚴重的麻煩。二人於1989年離婚後，公司的“宮鬥”戲還上演了好幾年。前一分鐘是道格領導公司，下一分鐘就換成了蘇西。

Telling quote:"Both Doug and Susie had very strong visions, but some of the synergy had fallen away, so it did make it more difficult," a former employee told SF Weekly. "It was more difficult because people knew there was internal conflict."

當事人說：一名曾在該公司工作過的員工對《舊金山週刊》表示：“道格和蘇西都有很強的願景，但他們之間的協同效應消失了，所以使公司變得更加困難，因爲人們都知道公司有內部衝突。”

The upshot:Lawsuits and takeovers moved faster than the products. These days, the publicly traded Esprit Holdings is based in Hong Kong and Germany, and in 2011, the company said in a filing, "The brand has gradually lost its soul over the past few years."

結局：官司和收購來得比產品還快。如今，已經公開上市的Esprit控股公司將總部設在香港和德國。2011年，該公司在一份文件中稱：“過去幾年，這個品牌已經逐漸失去了靈魂。”

Burt Shavitz and Roxanne Quimby

伯特o夏維茨與羅珊o昆比

Originally a photographer, Burt Shavitz started beekeeping and selling his honey after leaving New York City for upstate in 1970. But it wasn’t until he picked up then-hitchhiker Roxanne Quimby in 1984 that the business really took off. By 1993, the company had $3 million in sales, but the couple's relationship – business and personal – dissolved when Roxanne caught him in an affair.

伯特o夏維茨最早是一名攝影家，1970年離開紐約，去農村養蜂賣蜜。但他的公司真正做大做強，還是羅珊o昆比於1984年加入公司以後的事。到1994年，該公司的銷售額已經達到300萬美元，但由於伯特出軌被羅珊抓獲，這對夫婦（包括私人關係與商業關係）也隨之一拍兩散。

Telling quote:Burt told The Daily Beast in 2013 that when Quimby discovered his affair, she played hardball. “She consulted a lawyer and put the paper on a desk and said, ‘There! Take it or leave it!” I had no one to turn to for guidance, so I signed it. I went one way and she went another."

當事人說：2013年，伯特對《野獸日報》表示，當年羅珊發現他出軌後，態度甚是強硬。“她諮詢了一名律師，然後把協議放在桌子上，說道：‘看吧！要麼接受要麼滾！’沒人能給我提供指導，所以我就簽了。於是我倆就分道揚鑣了。”

The upshot:He ended up selling his one-third share of the company for 50 acres of land and a home, worth only $130,000, according to The New York Times. In 2000, AEA Investors bought 80 percent of the company, paying Quimby $141.6 million, making Shavitz’s share, had he still owned it, worth about $59 million, according to theTimes. Shavitz, the report said, was able to get $4 million more from Quimby and still gets paid an undisclosed sum each year for the use of his image. In 2007, Burt's Bees was bought by the Clorox Company CLX .

結局：據《紐約時報》報道，伯特最終賣掉了三分之一的公司股權，換來了50英畝土地和一幢房子，價值僅有13萬美元。2000年，安盈投資公司支付昆比1.416億美元，購買了公司80%的股權。也就是說伯特如果依然擁有股份的話，他所持股權的價值將達到5900萬美元。該報紙還稱，伯特還可以從昆比那裏獲得400多萬美元，每年還可以獲得一筆數額不明的款項，讓公司得以繼續使用他的肖像權。2007年，Burt’s Bees公司被高樂氏公司收購。

Andrew and Peggy Cherng

程正昌與蔣佩琪

If any restaurant chain embodies the American dream, it’s Chinese chain Panda Express. Co-CEOs Andrew and Peggy Cherng immigrated to the U.S. (he from China and she from Burma), met in college, got married, and became billionaires. Their empire started in 1973, when Andrew opened the Panda Inn with $60,000 of savings, a small business loan, and free labor from family members.

最能代表“美國夢”的餐館，非中餐連鎖店“熊貓快餐”莫屬。兩名CEO程正昌與蔣佩琪都是亞裔移民（程正昌來自中國，蔣佩琪來自緬甸），二人在大學相識，然後喜結連理，又攜手成爲億萬富翁。二人的商業帝國奠基於1973年，當時程正昌靠着一筆6萬美元的積蓄、一筆小額商業貸款以及家人的免費勞動力開了一家“熊貓旅館”。

In 1975, the two wed, and when Andrew opened his second restaurant in 1982, Peggy left her engineering job and joined the business.

1975年，程正昌與蔣佩琪結婚。程正昌於1982年開設了第二家餐廳，蔣佩琪也辭去了工程師的工作，加盟公司。

Telling quote:In 2013, Peggy told Fortune, "We had to learn how to resolve business disagreements. It’s not 'Your way is best' or 'My way is best,' but the alternative way — which incorporates everybody’s ideas — is best."

當事人說：2013年，蔣佩琪對《財富》表示：“我們必須學會怎樣解決商業分歧。並不是說‘你的方法是最好的’或者‘我的方法是最好的’，那種能夠接納每個人想法的方法纔是最好的。”

The upshot:The privately-held company had $2.2 billion in revenue last year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

結局：據《洛杉磯時報》報道，去年這傢俬人公司的營收達到22億美元。