每周二四六更新经济学人精读
加入翻译交流群添加助手回复“笔译群”
小达助手微信号alpenglish2019
导读
文章介绍了Shein，一个快时尚品牌，有着中国的血统，却在海外经营大获成功，连亚马逊也不及其锋芒。这个品牌一直保持低调、神秘。同时也介绍了Shein成功的三大法宝。
学习要点
中国跨境电商巨头希音（SheIn）是如何成长起来的？
学习翻译技巧
积累关于电商的表达
原文及译文
Schumpeter
The TikTok of frocks
时装界的TikTok
How much of a risk is Shein’s Chinese opacity?
对中国的Shein来说，潜在风险有多大?
The TikTok of frocks is the world’s hottest fashion retailer
英文选自0416《经济学人》 Business板块
译审：Lucille, Linda 编辑：Robin
①IF YOU FANCY a look into the razzmatazz-filled future of e-commerce, type #Sheinhaul into TikTok, suspend your ethical scruples, and watch young influencers tear open boxes of garments, yell things like “My Shein order is here…holy shit!”, and then pour hundreds of dollars-worth of cheap garments over their heads. It’s hype, for sure, but not entirely frivolous. Shein, a Chinese online retailer, is the TikTok of the $1.5trn apparel industry. It is one of two Chinese firms (ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, is the other) to be privately valued at $100bn or more. Like TikTok, it is an obsession of Gen Z-ers in their teens to late 20s. And yet it is so opaque that even the American investment funds that back it, such as Tiger Global and General Atlantic, won’t divulge a thing about it. Could it be that it wants to keep its Chinese heritage under wraps?
如果你想看看电子商务喧嚣的未来，在 TikTok上输入 #Sheinhaul，放下你的道德顾忌，看着年轻的网红撕开衣服盒子，大喊“我的 Shein订单在这里……天哪!”，然后把价值数百美元的廉价衣服倒在他们头上。这当然是炒作，但也不是一点用也没有。中国在线零售商Shein是服装行业价值1.5万亿美元的TikTok。中国有两家公司被私下估值在1000亿美元或更多，Shein就是其中一家(另一家是TikTok的所有者字节跳动)。和TikTok一样，它让Z世代（十几岁到小三十岁的年轻人）为之痴狂。然而，它是很不透明，以至于支持它的美国投资基金，如老虎环球基金和通用大西洋基金，也不会透露 (divulge) 任何有关它的信息。会不会是它自己不想公开自己的中国传统呢?
②In America, where it faces an incumbent that is almost impregnable, Amazon, its success is extraordinary. In the first three months of 2022, it accounted for almost a third of fast-fashion sales in the country, more than stalwarts Hennes & Mauritz (17%) and Inditex’s Zara (10%) combined, according to Earnest Research, a consultancy (Amazon does not break out its own apparel sales). Although Shein’s sales growth slowed from triple digits to 35% year-on-year in the quarter, it still bucked the trend: fast-fashion sales excluding Shein (and Amazon) fell by 12%. Morgan Stanley, a bank, forecast in October that Shein could become the world’s largest apparel retailer this year, with annual sales of $20bn. Not bad for a company that came out of nowhere a decade ago. It publishes no financial data, so profitability is a secret. But a recent report said it is closing in on Amazon as America’s second-most-popular shopping app, leapfrogging Shopify, a platform for individual brands, and Walmart, a retailing behemoth. For all the air of mystery, the company is worth examining not just as a harbinger of the future of fast fashion, but of online shopping in general.
在美国，Shein面临着一个几乎坚不可摧的竞争对手，那就是亚马逊，但Shein也大获成功。咨询公司欧内斯特研究(Earnest Research)的数据显示，在2022年的前三个月，Shein占据了美国快时尚品牌销售额的近三分之一，超过了老牌品牌Hennes & Mauritz(17%)和Inditex旗下Zara(10%)的总和，亚马逊没有公布自己的服装销售额。尽管该季度Shein的销售额同比增长从三位数放缓至35%，但Shein仍然逆势而上:除了Shein和亚马逊外的快时尚销售额下降了12%。摩根斯坦利银行在10月份预测Shein今年将成为世界上最大的服装零售商，年销售额将达到200亿美元。对于一家十年前白手起家的公司来说，这已经不错了。Shein不公布任何财务数据，因此盈利情况还是个秘密。但最近的一份报告称， Shein正在努力追赶作为美国第二大受欢迎的购物应用亚马逊，还超越了电商平台Shopify（可以打造个人品牌）和零售巨头沃尔玛。尽管Shein十分神秘，但作为未来快时尚和网上购物的发展方向，Shein值得我们进行研究。
③What distinguishes it? In a nutshell, Shein (pronounced Shee-in) looks like a hybrid of two of the most successful forces in online retail—customer-obsessed Amazon and data-obsessed China. Like Amazon, it uses low prices to lure customers, and seeks to keep them constantly engaged—even compulsively so—while operating with ruthless efficiency. Yet it is China that provides the alchemy. Though it is not a big seller there, it has introduced the speed and effervescence of Chinese e-commerce to the outside world in three ways: via an integrated supply chain; data-driven design; and a grasp of the social-media hype cycle. These are what mainly sets it apart from its Western competitors. Even Amazon, which looks dowdy by comparison, could learn a thing or two.
是什么让Shein大获成功? 简而言之，Shein看起来像是在线零售领域最成功的两股力量的混合体——以客户为中心的亚马逊和以数据为中心的中国。像亚马逊一样，Shein利用低价来吸引顾客，并且想办法让他们成为常客——即使是强迫性消费——同时高效率运营公司。然而，正是中国给Shein提供了锻炼的机会。虽然在中国不是一个大卖家，但Shein已经通过三种方式将中国电子商务的速度和蓬勃发展介绍给了世界: 完整的供应链，数据驱动设计，社交媒体炒作模式。这些是Shein区别于西方竞争对手的主要原因。即便是相比之下有些过时的亚马逊，也可以从中学到一两招。
④Start with the supply chain. Based in Guangzhou, Shein taps into thousands of suppliers that stitch and sew garments. Standard stuff in the world’s factory. What makes it different is that it pays them on time, which foments trust, enabling it to commission small orders at low prices, bolstering the frequency with which it can launch new styles. Sheng Lu, of the University of Delaware, calculates that last year Shein offered 1.3m new styles in America, versus 35,000 at Zara and 25,000 at H&M. He says typically Shein’s prices were 40-60% cheaper. That combination of limitless variety and skimpy prices is at the heart of its business model.
从供应链开始。总部位于广州的Shein挖掘数千家缝制服装的供应商。在这个被称为世界工厂的中国，一切都是标准化生产。它的不同之处在于，它按时向客户付款，这提高了信任度，使其能够以较低的价格委托小额订单，从而提高了款式新陈代谢的频率。据特拉华大学Sheng Lu的计算，去年Shein在美国推出了130万种新款式，而Zara提供了3.5万种，h&m提供了2.5万种。他说，Shein的价格一般要便宜40-60%。无限的新款式和低廉的价格是其商业模式的核心。
⑤Second, the suppliers are harnessed together by Shein’s own software, which provides them with constant updates, measured by algorithm, of what is hot or not. That enables them to adjust output constantly to suit the latest tastes, without amassing unwanted inventory. Shein’s international data-gathering, from scouring social-media sites, is crucial. It doesn’t obsess over what season it is or what’s on the catwalk. Instead, writes Packy McCornick, a business blogger, “it’s a mirror that reflects each country’s current style back to it.” Like TikTok, it doesn’t seek to impose a cultural stereotype (least of all a Chinese one) on the markets where it sets foot. Surveys suggest few of its shoppers know—or even care—where it comes from.
其次，这些供应商被Shein自己的软件联结在一起，软件可以提供给供应商经由算法计算的数据，从而可以了解哪些是热门的，哪些不是。这使他们能够不断调整产量，以适应最新的口味，而不会囤积不必要的库存。Shein从社交媒体网站收集的国际数据至关重要。它不关注季节，也不关注t台 (catwalk) 上的时装秀。而是正如商业博客Packy McCornick写道:“它是一面镜子，将每个国家当前的风格反映到自己身上。”和TikTok一样，它并不寻求将一种文化刻板印象(尤其是中国文化)强加给它涉足的市场。调查显示，很少有消费者知道，甚至在意它来自哪里
⑥Third, it is a master of what Allison Malmsten of Daxue Consulting, a China-focused market-research firm, calls “gamification”—another feature of e-commerce in China. She describes browsing Shein’s app as like walking through a shop, not scrolling down an Amazon page. Discounts crop up at random, giving a sense of excitement. Micro-influencers, supported by small inducements, promote discounted products. She likens it to the way that Zara pioneered fast fashion on Western high streets in the 1990s, with short supply chains, high turnover and new designs. “Shein is the online version of that—on crack,” she says.
第三，正如致力于中国市场研究的大雪咨询公司的艾利森•马尔姆斯滕所说，它是"游戏化"(中国电子商务的另一个特征)的大师。她说浏览Shein的app,就像逛商店，而不是在刷亚马逊页面。折扣会随机出现的，给人一种兴奋感。微商收到品牌方的委托，推广打折产品。她将其比作为20世纪90年代Zara以供应链短、周转快、设计新颖在西方大街上引领时尚的方式，她表示:“Shein是在线上版的Zara。”
精读讲解
IF YOU FANCY a look into the razzmatazz-filled future of e-commerce, type #Sheinhaul into TikTok, suspend your ethical scruples, and watch young influencers tear open boxes of garments, yell things like “My Shein order is here…holy shit!”, and then pour hundreds of dollars-worth of cheap garments over their heads. It’s hype, for sure, but not entirely frivolous. Shein, a Chinese online retailer, is the TikTok of the $1.5trn apparel industry. It is one of two Chinese firms (ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, is the other) to be privately valued at $100bn or more. Like TikTok, it is an obsession of Gen Z-ers in their teens to late 20s. And yet it is so opaque that even the American investment funds that back it, such as Tiger Global and General Atlantic, won’t divulge a thing about it. Could it be that it wants to keep its Chinese heritage under wraps?
frocks
n.连衣裙
opacity
n.不透明性，模糊 例句：
Combining very rich people, opacity and markets can be explosive.超级富豪的结合会让不透明度和市场井喷。
razzmatazz
n. 令人眼花缭乱的活动 例句：
What about the razzmatazz and all that stuff?这些眼花缭乱的场合怎么样？
scruples
n.顾虑，顾忌 例句：
He had no scruples about selling faulty goods to people.他卖次货给人，心里没有丝毫不安
hype
n.过度夸大的宣传 例句：
Despite All the Hype, Movie Theater Ticket Sales in 2021 Down 68%. 炒作手段用尽，2021年的电影票房还是下滑了68%。
apparel
n.服装 例句：
We sell a full range of sports apparel.我们出售各种各样的运动装。
It is one of two Chinese firms (ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, is the other) to be privately valued at $100bn or more.
这句话并没有按照句式来翻译，主要是因为前面的修饰词太长，在“它是……之一”中间的内容太长了，读到后面可能不会马上反应出这个句式。所以，可以先把总体放前面说，最后再加上“它是其中之一”，就会更利于理解。
divulge
v. 泄露，透露例句：
Police refused to divulge the identity of the suspect.警方拒绝透露嫌疑犯的身份。
under wraps
保密，隐藏 例句：
Next year's collection is still being kept under wraps.明年的时装系列仍在保密之中。
In America, where it faces an incumbent that is almost impregnable, Amazon, its success is extraordinary. In the first three months of 2022, it accounted for almost a third of fast-fashion sales in the country, more than stalwarts Hennes & Mauritz (17%) and Inditex’s Zara (10%) combined, according to Earnest Research, a consultancy (Amazon does not break out its own apparel sales). Although Shein’s sales growth slowed from triple digits to 35% year-on-year in the quarter, it still bucked the trend: fast-fashion sales excluding Shein (and Amazon) fell by 12%. Morgan Stanley, a bank, forecast in October that Shein could become the world’s largest apparel retailer this year, with annual sales of $20bn. Not bad for a company that came out of nowhere a decade ago. It publishes no financial data, so profitability is a secret. But a recent report said it is closing in on Amazon as America’s second-most-popular shopping app, leapfrogging Shopify, a platform for individual brands, and Walmart, a retailing behemoth. For all the air of mystery, the company is worth examining not just as a harbinger of the future of fast fashion, but of online shopping in general.
impregnable
adj. 坚不可摧的，战无不胜的 例句：
The lofty walls of the castle seemed impregnable.这座城堡的高墙似乎坚不可摧。
leapfrogging
v. 超越，超过 n.跳背游戏 例句：
The company leapfrogged its rivals into a leading position.公司超越竞争对手，处于领先地位。
harbinger
n.预言，预兆 例句：
These birds are considered to be harbingers of doom.这些鸟被认为是凶兆。
For all the air of mystery, the company is worth examining not just as a harbinger of the future of fast fashion, but of online shopping in general.
这句话在翻译时，进行了语序的调换，更符合中文表达习惯。英文习惯先说结论，然后再说原因，背景等内容，而中文与之相反。如果按照原文语序来翻，读起来就会觉得怪怪的，虽然意思是正确的。
What distinguishes it? In a nutshell, Shein (pronounced Shee-in) looks like a hybrid of two of the most successful forces in online retail—customer-obsessed Amazon and data-obsessed China. Like Amazon, it uses low prices to lure customers, and seeks to keep them constantly engaged—even compulsively so—while operating with ruthless efficiency. Yet it is China that provides the alchemy. Though it is not a big seller there, it has introduced the speed and effervescence of Chinese e-commerce to the outside world in three ways: via an integrated supply chain; data-driven design; and a grasp of the social-media hype cycle. These are what mainly sets it apart from its Western competitors. Even Amazon, which looks dowdy by comparison, could learn a thing or two.
In a nutshell
一言以蔽之，简而言之 例句：
Okay, that’s our proposal in a nutshell. Any questions?好了，简单地说我们的提议就是这样，有什么问题吗？
alchemy
n. 炼金术 例句：
I don't know, but she'd just taken out an alchemy manuscript.我不知道 但她刚取出了一本炼金术手抄本。
effervescence
n.泡腾，活泼，欢腾 例句：
But the effervescence is here to stay—and Westerners are only starting to notice. 但火热的局面将继续下去，而西方人才刚开始注意到这些。
dowdy
adj.〔事物〕不美观的，过时的 例句：
She looked very plain and dowdy.她长得非常普通，衣也过时。
Start with the supply chain. Based in Guangzhou, Shein taps into thousands of suppliers that stitch and sew garments. Standard stuff in the world’s factory. What makes it different is that it pays them on time, which foments trust, enabling it to commission small orders at low prices, bolstering the frequency with which it can launch new styles. Sheng Lu, of the University of Delaware, calculates that last year Shein offered 1.3m new styles in America, versus 35,000 at Zara and 25,000 at H&M. He says typically Shein’s prices were 40-60% cheaper. That combination of limitless variety and skimpy prices is at the heart of its business model.
tap into
If you tap a resource or situation, you make use of it by getting from it something that you need or want.
He owes his election to having tapped deep public disillusion with professional politicians. 他将自己的当选归因于充分利用了公众对于职业政治家们不再抱希望的心情。
That combination of limitless variety and skimpy prices is at the heart of its business model.
在译这句话时，没有译出"combination"，有时候需要结合句意采用减译法"omission "删去原文中一些可有可无的，或者有了反嫌累赘，或违背译文习惯表达的词，但并不删去原文中的某些思想。
Skimpy
Something that is skimpy is too small in size or quantity.短小的，少量的
They provided only skimpy details. 他们提供的细节不充分。
They suffered long hours, unsafe working conditions and skimpy pay.他们在不安全的工作环境下长时间辛苦劳作，却只有微薄的工资。
Second, the suppliers are harnessed together by Shein’s own software, which provides them with constant updates, measured by algorithm, of what is hot or not. That enables them to adjust output constantly to suit the latest tastes, without amassing unwanted inventory. Shein’s international data-gathering, from scouring social-media sites, is crucial. It doesn’t obsess over what season it is or what’s on the catwalk. Instead, writes Packy McCornick, a business blogger, “it’s a mirror that reflects each country’s current style back to it.” Like TikTok, it doesn’t seek to impose a cultural stereotype (least of all a Chinese one) on the markets where it sets foot. Surveys suggest few of its shoppers know—or even care—where it comes from.
amass
If you amass something such as money or information, you gradually get a lot of it.
How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
scour
If you scour something such as a place or a book, you make a thorough search of it to try to find what you are looking for.四处搜查
Rescue crews had scoured an area of 30 square miles.救援人员已经搜遍了30平方英里的范围。
Third, it is a master of what Allison Malmsten of Daxue Consulting, a China-focused market-research firm, calls “gamification”—another feature of e-commerce in China. She describes browsing Shein’s app as like walking through a shop, not scrolling down an Amazon page. Discounts crop up at random, giving a sense of excitement. Micro-influencers, supported by small inducements, promote discounted products. She likens it to the way that Zara pioneered fast fashion on Western high streets in the 1990s, with short supply chains, high turnover and new designs. “Shein is the online version of that—on crack,” she says.
liken
If you liken one thing or person to another thing or person, you say that they are similar. 把……比作
She likens marriage to slavery.她把婚姻比作奴役。
browse
If you browse on a computer, you search for information in computer files or on the Internet, especially on the World Wide Web.
Try browsing around in the network bulletin boards.试着在网络论坛上浏览信息。
推荐阅读
世界各地的气味Universal smells | 经济学人精读
加入我们
精读组招募要求：
CATTI三笔/ 六级570同等水平及以上
掌握翻译理论及技巧
热爱英语及翻译，对不同文化、时政、热点感兴趣
满足条件的小伙伴可联系小达微信（微信号alpenglish2019），回复关键词“外刊译员”
电子文档获取（近6个月）
关注本公众号，后台回复关键词“精读文档”
注意不要有错别字哦
原创不易，点个赞和在看再走吧❤
喜欢ALP，加个「星标」不走丢❤