海外商家加入中國雙11促銷大戰

HONG KONG — Over the past year, A2, an Australian milk company, made an unexpected discovery: A sharp increase in domestic sales came courtesy of Chinese bulk buyers, not Australian mothers.

香港——澳大利亞牛奶公司A2在過去的一年裏有一個意想不到的發現：國內銷售額的大幅增長歸功於中國的大宗購買者，而不是澳大利亞的母親。

Bricks and mortar, the company knew, would not bridge the 4,000-mile gap between the two countries and put its products at the doorstep of its newest customers.

公司知道，本土的零售店不可能縮短中國與澳大利亞之間4000英里的距離，把公司的產品送到這些最新客戶的家門口。

But a partnership with two of China’s biggest online marketplaces? That could pay off. And A2’s jump onto Alibaba’s TMall and the rival six months ago led the company directly into the frenzy of discounting that is Singles Day, China’s annual discount shopping festival.

但與中國兩家最大的網購平臺合作呢？可能會富有成效。於是在半年前，A2在阿里巴巴的天貓及其對手京東踊躍登場，這讓公司能直接參與“光棍節”的降價狂歡，光棍節是中國一年一度的打折購物節。

The event began as a celebration of single people, held on a date that said it all: 11/11. But it has long since moved beyond the province of lonely shoppers and Chinese sellers. This year, a long list of foreign companies waited for the clock to hit midnight on Tuesday.

這一活動最初是單身者的慶祝，所選的日子表示了一切：11月11日。但這個節日早已超出了孤獨的購物者和中國賣家的範圍。今年有一大批外國公司也在等待週二午夜的到來。

At stake were potentially billions of dollars in sales and access to the wallets of a growing Chinese middle class. Last year, $9.3 billion worth of merchandise passed through Alibaba’s virtual checkout aisle. As of late afternoon on Wednesday, Alibaba had sold more than $10 billion worth of products, already surpassing last year’s total.

可能得到的是數十億美元的銷售額，以及人數日益增長的中國中產階層的錢包。去年，通過阿里巴巴的網上收款臺，賣出了相當於93億美元的商品。截至週三下午晚些時候，阿里巴巴銷售額已在100億美元以上，超過了去年的全年銷售額。

“Double 11 is a really big part of my calendar,” said Scott Wotherspoon, the chief executive for A2 in Britain and China. Though the company is new to online selling in China, he said, online outlets “have allowed us to get into China in a much more direct way.”

“雙11是我日曆上非常重要的日子，”A2公司英國和中國地區首席執行官斯科特·沃瑟斯本(Scott Wotherspoon)說。他說，雖然公司仍是中國網上銷售的新手，但網售渠道“讓我們能以更直接的方式進入中國市場”。

Companies like A2 are being welcomed into China as Beijing tries to stimulate growth by increasing consumption. The boom in online commerce on display during Singles Day is a major part of that plan — so much so that the office of Premier Li Keqiang offered encouragement to Alibaba, a private company, the day before the shopping festival.

隨着北京試圖通過增加消費來刺激經濟增長，像A2這樣的公司正受到中國的歡迎。光棍節展示出的電子商務繁榮是政府計劃如此重要的一個組成部分，以至於李克強總理的辦公室在購物節的前一天，向私營公司阿里巴巴致賀鼓勵。

Although online purchases account for only about 10 percent of China’s overall retail sales, government officials “are pretty optimistic, because they see this part of the economy growing very fast,” said Xiaoping Ma, an HSBC economist. “That will have significant future implications.”

雖然網上購物只佔中國總體零售額的大約10%，政府官員對其持“相當樂觀的態度，因爲他們看到這部分的經濟增長速度非常快，”匯豐銀行經濟學家馬曉萍說。“這對未來將有顯著的影響。”

And an increasingly affluent population and rising numbers of Chinese tourists have pushed up demand for foreign products, with Chinese consumers attaching particular importance to the sources of certain goods. They are more likely to buy beauty products from France and South Korea, shoes and bags from Italy and health care products from Australia, according to Nielsen research.

日益富裕的人口以及中國遊客人數的不斷增長已推高了對國外產品的需求，中國消費者尤其重視某些商品的產地。尼爾森的研究顯示，中國消費者更可能購買來自法國和韓國的美容產品、來自意大利的皮鞋和手袋，以及來自澳大利亞的保健產品。

Retailers and e-commerce platforms are jostling to cater to these tastes and grab a portion of the spoils.

零售商和電子商務平臺都在爭相迎合中國消費者的口味，從而在這個市場上搶到點兒份額。

With so many companies throwing elbows for a seat at the sales table, the festival has become a whirlwind of discounting. Shoppers log in as early as they can in search of deals on goods as varied as new clothes and new cars, and this year bargains abounded on overseas products — nuts from Costco, Craisins from Ocean Spray and luggage from Macy’s.

有這麼多的企業擠到網售大餐的桌上爭食，光棍節已成爲旋風式大打折扣的日子。購物者儘早登錄購物網站，尋找各種各樣的便宜貨，從新衣服到新汽車皆有，今年還有大批來自海外的減價商品——從Costco的堅果、Ocean Spray的蔓越梅乾(Craisins)，到Macy’s的行李箱包。

In addition to established brands from overseas, there are newer players looking for a footHold in China, like A2. “The way I see this, we’ve only got our business going since we went online,” Mr. Wotherspoon said, adding that even though there is huge demand for milk formula in China, being online made it easier to sell.

除了海外有名的品牌外，也有像A2這樣在中國市場尋找立足之地的新手。“我對此的看法是，我們只不過是剛到網上開業，”沃瑟斯本說，並補充道，儘管中國對配方奶粉的需求巨大，但網售可使得奶粉賣得更好。

The company offered deep discounts and deals that encouraged multiple purchases. And there were opportunities to preorder — reassuring parents that they could get a constant and reliable supply in the future.

該公司爲鼓勵多次購買提供了深度打折和促銷產品。還提供了預購的機會，讓父母放心，他們在未來可以得到源源不斷的可靠供應。

“The rise of e-commerce has been a staggering door-opener for companies with relatively small resources to talk to consumers,” Mr. Wotherspoon added.

“電子商務的興起，對沒有多少資源與消費者直接見面的企業，敞開了驚人的大門，”沃瑟斯本還說。

Holding the door open are a few large e-commerce groups in China, which take a slice of the action from foreign companies using their sites. , Alibaba’s smaller competitor, has taken advantage of the interest in foreign goods by opening storefronts showcasing products from specific countries, like Germany, Japan and the United States.

將大門撐開的是中國幾個大型電子商務集團，它們從使用其網站的外國公司銷售額中收取佣金。與阿里巴巴競爭、但比其規模小得多的京東，已在充分利用對國外商品的興趣，在網上開了展示來自具體國家商品的店面，比如德國、日本和美國的。

The company hopes Singles Day customers hungering for Mexican avocados, American apples and other offerings will become repeat visitors, said Josh Gartner, senior director of international communications at .

京東希望，渴求墨西哥牛油果、美國蘋果，以及其他產品的光棍節客戶將成爲回頭客，京東資深國際交流主任喬希·加特納(Josh Gartner)表示。

“Singles Day is partly about the volume of sales, but it’s about bringing new users to our platform,” he said. “If we’re able to introduce new users, we’re able to convert them into longtime customers.”

“銷售量只是光棍節的一部分，這種推銷也是讓新客戶接觸我們平臺的機會，”他說。“如果我們能夠吸引新客戶，我們就可以將他們轉化爲長期客戶。”

Alibaba made globalization the theme of its four-hour gala before Singles Day kicked off and has been promoting itself to foreign retailers as a point of access into China.

阿里巴巴以全球化爲主題，在光棍節前夕舉辦了一個四小時長的晚會。該公司也在向外國零售商宣傳，自己是進入中國市場的一條渠道。

In a news release, the Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, touted the opportunities that this access gave. “There are currently 300 million middle class in China, and that number will rise to 500 million in 10 to 15 years,” he said. “This will be an opportunity for every nation. China’s consumption power will rise quickly and that will not only drive China’s economy, but also the world’s economy.”

在一份新聞稿中，阿里巴巴創始人馬雲(Jack Ma)誇耀了這條渠道蘊藏的商機。“目前中國有3億中產階級，這一數字將在10至15年內增長到5億，”他說。“對每個國家來說，這都是個機會。中國消費力將會出現快速上升，這不僅對中國經濟，對世界經濟也會起到推動作用。”

Alibaba even had a promotional video featuring a very American figure — Kevin Spacey, playing President Frank J. Underwood in the TV show “House of Cards,” — suggesting that shoppers could perhaps buy a signet ring, or even a desk like his, on Singles Day.

阿里巴巴甚至還製作了一部宣傳短片，由一個非常美式的人物作代言——凱文·史派西(Kevin Spacey)，在美劇《紙牌屋》(House of Cards)中扮演總統弗蘭克·F·安德伍德(Frank J. Underwood)——表示購物者可以在光棍節買到他的同款戒指，甚至桌子。

“We’ve been looking at data on Chinese spending habits, demand, international categories that would resonate—everything from maternity, to apparel, to domestics to home appliances, fresh foods,” said Jennifer Kuperman, Alibaba’s vice president of strategy and planning. “These categories, we believe, and have proven to sell well in China.”

“我們在查看中國人消費習慣、需求、可能感興趣的國際商品門類的數據——從母嬰、服裝、家居家電，到生鮮食品等等各種門類，”阿里巴巴戰略和規劃副總裁詹妮弗·庫珀曼(Jennifer Kuperman)說。“我們相信，事實已經證明這些門類的商品在中國賣得很好。”

Food safety is a hot topic in China after several scandals, and foreign produce is often seen as safer, but Ms. Kuperman said that some products, like cherries from Washington State, were also regarded as high-end purchases because of their overseas pedigree.

爆出過幾次相關醜聞後，食品安全在中國成爲了熱門話題，人們通常認爲國外農產品更加安全。但庫珀曼說，有些產品由於具有海外血統，也被歸入了高端類別，比如華盛頓州出產的櫻桃。

Vipshop, a site for fashion and beauty products, is betting that offering lesser-known overseas brands that are not yet available in China will attract customers looking for items they saw while traveling, like health care items from the Australian brands Blackmores and Swisse.

時尚和美容產品網站唯品會，希望用一些知名度較低的海外品牌來吸引消費者，比如澳大利亞保健品品牌Blackmores和Swisse。它們尚未在中國銷售，但消費者出國旅行時看到過這些品牌。

“In the past they have to travel or ask friends to buy for them,” said Tony Feng, the company’s vice president for Chinese shoppers.

“以前，大家必須出國或是託朋友才能買到，”該公司的中國消費者業務副總裁馮佳路(Tony Feng)說。

That trend has led directly to the doorstep of established online retailers in China.

這股潮流直接衝到了中國知名網上零售商的門前。

“Four years ago, we had to chase brands to convince them to be part of the game,” said Thibault Villet, the chief executive at , a luxury retail website where about 95 percent of the stock is international brands. “This year, we were in a position to choose the brands we wanted to partner with, because there’s much more interest to partner and join the competition.”

“四年前，我們不得不出去找品牌，說服他們與我們合作，”奢侈品零售網站魅力惠()的首席執行官韋奕博(Thibault Villet)說。“如今，我們可以對想要合作的品牌挑挑選選，因爲有興趣合作、想加入競爭的品牌增加了很多。”該網站上大約95%的商品都是國際品牌。

All of these companies are competing hard for the business of people like Cheng Xin, a mother of a 22-month-old boy.

所有這些公司都在竭力爭奪像成鑫這樣的消費者。她的兒子22個月大。

Days before Singles Day, Ms. Cheng had already filled her Taobao shopping cart with 73 items, like Uniqlo baby underwear and Mellin baby food from Italy, worth about 30,000 renminbi, or about $4,700. Her husband was leery of the price, but she hoped that with the help of the delete button and deeper discounts on Singles Day, she would be able to get her cart down to about 10,000 renminbi.

在光棍節到來前的幾天，成鑫就已經在淘寶的購物車裏放了73件商品，包括優衣庫(Uniqlo)嬰兒內衣和來自意大利的美林(Mellin)嬰兒食品，價值約3萬元。她的丈夫對價錢心存疑慮，但她希望，刪減一些貨品，再加上光棍節會有幅度更大的折扣，自己能把購物車裏待購商品的價錢壓低到1萬元左右。

Foreign brands added to the price tag, but she said it was worth it.

外國品牌推高了價錢，但她說值得。

“For my baby, I feel more confident with foreign brands, especially food,” Ms. Cheng said. “And with clothes, I also feel the design of the foreign brands are better. I think domestic brands have made progress, but still they are not that cool.”

“孩子用的東西，我更相信外國品牌，特別是吃的，”成鑫說。“衣服方面，我也感覺外國品牌設計得更好。我覺得國產品牌有進步，但還沒那麼好。”

Vipshop, meanwhile, is trying to stand out by highlighting its curated choices on Singles Day rather than expanding its offering. has chosen to focus on shoes and handbags.

與此同時，唯品會試圖通過突出展示經過整理編排的貨品，來在光棍節這一天脫穎而出。魅力惠則選擇把重點放在鞋和包上。

This was welcome news to Jeakey Chen, who had her eyes on a pair of boots from the British brand, Clarks, to which she took a liking when she was a student in Sheffield, England. Apart from a washing machine for her parents, she didn’t plan to buy anything else.

對姬琪·陳(Jeakey Chen)來說，這是個好消息。她看上了英國品牌Clarks的一雙靴子。在英國謝菲爾德上學時，她就喜歡上這個牌子了。除了再給父母買臺洗衣機之外，她不打算買其他東西了。

“It’s kind of stressful to search and compare prices,” she said.

“搜索和比價太麻煩啦，”她說。