经济学人:从0到70(十亿) 优步究竟经历了什么(3)

 　　Competition at home and abroad will affect Uber's profit margins¹ in the medium term.

　　在发展中期，优步的利润率会受到来自国内外竞争的影响。

　　Thibaud Simphal, the boss of Uber's French operations, admits that ride-hailing could be “a high-volume, low-margin business. It’s transportation. It's like retail².”

　　优步公司法国分部老总希博德·辛法尔指出，打车服务“生意量大，利润率低，它属于交通业，也像零售业”。

　　For the time being, investors³ are willing to accept these low margins as Uber pursues growth above all else.

　　优步的当务之急是持续发展，投资商们为此可以暂时接受较低的利润率。

　　But their patience may wear thin if the intense competition drags on.

　　但如果激烈的竞争持续下去，这种耐心会消磨殆尽。

　　Amazon built up its business at a time when few competitors shared its vision of the size of the e-commerce opportunity.

　　亚马逊发展初期，鲜有竞争者预见到未来电子商务的发展规模。

　　Uber does not operate in a world of low expectations.

　　不过在优步所处的时代，人们可不是那么没有野心。

　　One wild card is whether Lyft remains⁴ an independent company.

　　有一个不确定因素便是Lyft是否会保持独立经营。

　　There have been reports it has been seeking a buyer.

　　有报道称它正谋求并购。

　　In 2014 Uber might have been that buyer, something that has not been previously⁵ reported; negotiations⁶ fell apart over price.

　　2014年，Uber曾有意并购该公司，这一消息此前并未传出；之后双方由于价格原因协商失败。

　　Mr Kalanick insists he does not regret the outcome: “It's a really powerful thing for a company to compete. It makes you fierce about serving your customer.”

　　卡拉尼克先生坚称对结果并不遗憾，“对于企业来说，竞争的作用巨大，它能让你竭尽全力服务好客户。”

　　Having a rival also helps deflect⁷ regulators' scrutiny⁸.

　　同时，竞争对手也能转移监管机构的审查。

　　Yet many of Uber's investors wish the two had gone forward with a deal, so that Uber would not have to keep battling for share.

　　优步的投资人期望二者达成交易，那样优步就不用为抢占份额一直斗下去。

　　If the competition can be won with money and determination, Uber has to be well-positioned.

　　如果靠砸钱和决心就能打胜仗，优步需要找准自己的定位。

　　It was not the first firm to recognise the potential of peer-to-peer ride-sharing: Sidecar, a now-defunct startup in San Francisco, got the ball rolling. Lyft came next.

　　它并不是首个认识到P2P共享出行潜力的公司。现已倒闭的位于旧金山的Sidecar拉开了此业务的序幕。随后是Lyft。

　　But Mr Kalanick used the momentum⁹ achieved by raising a lot of capital and expanding rapidly to great effect.

　　但是卡拉尼克通过大量筹资和迅速扩展市场为优步蓄势，引起了极大的反响。

　　Uber's huge cash pile now acts as an “almost unassailable barrier” to new entrants, says Sunil Paul, the founder¹⁰ of Sidecar.

　　Sidecar创始人苏尼尔·保罗说，对于新进入市场的公司来说，Uber的巨额现金流就像一道“无懈可击的屏障”。

　　And even with $9 billion, Mr Kalanick does not rule out the possibility of asking investors for more: “If the money is there, that means my competitors will raise it, and that means I need to as well.”

　　即便坐拥90亿美金，卡拉尼克还在继续引入尽可能多的投资，他表示：“如果钱还留在资本市场，就意味着我的竞争对手一定会想办法筹集资本，那么我也必须这么做。”

　　However dominant¹¹ Uber's position may be, Mr Kalanick will not let up.

　　不管以后优步地位会有多么强势，卡拉尼克也丝毫不会松懈。

　　“He always sees himself as an underdog,” says Thuan Pham, Uber's chief technology officer.

　　优步公司的首席技术总监顺·范说，卡拉尼克先生他总觉得自己是个失败者。

　　Uber is not Mr Kalanick's first startup; that was Scour¹², a file-sharing firm which filed for bankruptcy¹³ in 2000 after being sued by media companies for $250 billion for copyright infringement¹⁴.

　　卡拉尼克的首次创业并不是优步，而是Scour，一个做文件共享的企业。公司在2000年由于侵犯版权，被媒体企业起诉并被判罚2500亿美金，随后破产。

　　He sold his second startup to Akamai, an internet firm, for a modest $15m.

　　他创立的第二个公司，以并不算高的1500万美金的价格卖给了互联网公司Akamai。

　　Those experiences left him obsessed¹⁵ with details and intensely focused on improvement.

　　这些经历，使得他对细节极为苛求，对自我完善极度关注。

　　He enforces a feedback system called T3B3 (top-three, bottom-three skills) , requiring his deputies to give him brutally¹⁶ honest feedback.

　　他推行了一套T3B3（最重要和最不重要的3项技能）反馈系统，要求下属们给予最大胆诚实的反馈。

　　“He changes himself faster than we can change our algorithms,” says Mr Pham.

　　范先生说：“他变得很快，我们的算法更新速度都没他变得那么快。”

　　In the T3B3 process he shared his observation that Mr Kalanick should thank people more; now, apparently¹⁷, he does.

　　范曾T3B3中分享道，“卡拉尼克应该多感谢身边的人”；现在，很明显，他做到了。

　　Uber has also shown a capacity for change.

　　优步同样显示出了变革的能力。

　　It launched UberX when many employees at the company thought it should not risk disrupting its black-car service by offering a cheaper option.

　　就在公司员工认为不该冒着扰乱其高端服务的风险提供廉价出行方案时，优步推出了UberX。

　　And this August, after years spent ploughing huge amounts of money into its business in China, it announced that it was merging¹⁸ its Chinese business with that of a local rival, Didi Chuxing, in return for a fifth of the new firm, worth around $7 billion today.

　　优步在中国市场投入了多年时间和巨额资金，而就在今年8月，优步宣布与中国市场最大竞争对手滴滴出行合并，合并后优步将获得新公司20%的股份，总值达70亿美元。

　　Investors were thrilled.

　　投资者们都激情亢奋。

　　They had worried that Uber would continue to lose billions of dollars chasing its Chinese dream.

　　之前他们都还担心优步会继续砸掉数十亿美金来追寻自己的中国梦。

　　Mr Kalanick is extremely secretive about Uber's financial data, but in the first two quarters of 2016, with $2.1 billion in revenue, the company lost at least $1.3 billion, according to reports, and there are good reasons to think that a lot of that was lost in China.

　　尽管卡拉尼克先生对优步的财务数据高度保密，但仍有报道称，该公司2016年一、二季度的总收入为21亿美元，亏损了13亿，而且有充分理由证明，这些钱大部分都是亏在了中国市场。

　　Now Uber can share in the growth of the Chinese market without spending another dime¹⁹.

　　现在，优步终于不用再花一分钱，就能享受壮大的中国市场所带来的可观利益。

　　Having sorted China out, Uber is able to concentrate on promising²⁰ pickings in other developing markets where governments may not be quite as determined²¹ as China's was to see a local firm win out.

　　放下中国市场后，优步便能将精力集中在其他有发展前景的新兴市场上，那些发展中国家的政府不像中国政府一样偏袒本土企业。

　　In India, South-East Asia and Latin America rates of car ownership are low.

　　在印度、东南亚以及拉丁美洲地区，汽车拥有率很低。

　　Just as consumers in emerging markets leapfrogged the desktop²² internet and went straight to mobile devices, they could choose to bypass buying a car and move around via ride-hailing instead.

　　正如新兴市场的消费者跨过桌面网络而直接转向移动设备一样，他们也能省略买车这一步，直接进入叫车服务时代。

　　Mr Jonas of Morgan Stanley reckons that by 2030 around 25% of miles travelled in India will be on ride-hailing and ride-sharing services.

　　摩根斯坦利的琼斯认为到2030年，印度1/4的出行将通过叫车和拼车的方式实现。

　　Fares in these markets will be lower—in Mumbai a commuter's hour-and-a-half Uber costs 500 rupees ($7.50) —but the size of the population means there will be a lot of transactions.

　　虽然这些市场的车费会降低，例如在孟买使用优步出行一个半小时只需500卢比 (7.5美金)；但这些国家的广大人口意味着未来会有大量的订单交易。

　　At the moment Uber is the underdog in India, lagging Ola, its local rival.

　　目前，在印度，优步的业绩不敌其本土对手——欧拉。

　　Its huge cash resources mean that it is still a competitor, though.

　　但资金充足的优步仍然是个不可忽视的竞争者。

　　In Mexico and Brazil, it is the leader.

　　在墨西哥和巴西，优步绝对是市场的领头羊。

　　And as a global brand it will be best placed to serve the small but disproportionately lucrative²³ global business clientele.

　　作为一个全球品牌，其最佳定位是专为全球商业人士提供服务，虽然此类人群较小，但却能获取高额利润。

　　To distinguish itself from its competitors, Uber is investing heavily in developing its own mapping capabilities²⁴ by buying assets, including the mapping startup deCarta, and hoovering up talent from Google.

　　优步为了彰显不同，正斥重金开发其地图绘制能力。它已经购买了包括创业公司迪卡塔在内的一些资产，并从谷歌内部挖掘人才。

　　(Uber dreams “big” but “not as broad” as Google, says Brian McClendon, a high-profile hire from Google who now runs Uber’s mapping team. )

　　（曾就职于谷歌的高层员工，现任优步绘图组的负责人布莱恩·麦克伦登表示，优步的愿景“很大”，但却不如谷歌那样“包罗万象”。）

　　1.hoover up 获得

　　例句:Big firms are not predestined to hoover up all the benefits from e-commerce.

　　大企业也未必会得到电子商务带来的所有利益。

　　2.start up 开始；发动

　　例句:Philip and I pooled our savings²⁵ to start up my business.

　　我和菲利普把积蓄凑到一起开办了我的公司。

　　3.global brand 全球品牌

　　例句:Our expansion will make our brand a global brand.

　　我们的扩张计划将令我们的品牌成为一个全球品牌。

　　4.in return 作为回报

　　例句:The deal offers an increase in policy value in return for giving up guarantees.

　　作为放弃担保的交换，这笔交易将提高保单价值。

1 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。

8 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

9 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

12 scour   

v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷

参考例句：

• Mother made me scour the family silver.母亲让我擦洗家里的银器。
• We scoured the telephone directory for clues.我们仔细查阅电话簿以寻找线索。

13 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

14 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

15 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

16 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

17 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

18 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

19 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

20 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

21 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

22 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

23 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

24 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

25 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。