小米进军美国 先卖耳机和腕带

 　　(Reuters) – Xiaomi, China’s largest smartphone company, will begin selling headphones, smart wristbands and other accessories online in the United States in coming months, taking its first tentative step onto Apple’s home turf without its signature Mi mobile devices.

　　路透社 – 未来几个月内，中国最大的智能手机企业小米将开始通过网店在美国销售耳机、智能腕带和其他配件。这是小米进入苹果公司（Apple）大本营的初步尝试，其中不包括小米标志性的移动设备。

　　The company also said it is close to securing a manufacturing partner in Brazil, which will help it skirt punishing tariffs² on imported electronics when it begins sales in Latin America’s largest economy in the first half of this year.

　　小米还表示，即将和一家巴西制造企业结为合作伙伴。今年上半年小米的产品将在巴西这个拉美最大的经济体亮相，而制造合作伙伴将有助于小米绕开巴西政府对进口电子产品征收的惩罚性关税。

　　小米小碎步进军美国 先卖耳机和腕带

　　Xiaomi, a five-year-old upstart whose name means “Little Rice,” came out of nowhere to become China’s fastest-selling mobile brand. It has been rapidly expanding its global footprint through direct, online sales.

　　作为一家有五年历史的行业新贵，小米在一夜之间就成了中国销售增长最快的手机品牌。同时，该公司一直在通过直销和网络渠道迅速进行国际扩张。

　　The company was valued at $45 billion in a December funding round that drew investors³ ranging from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund to a private capital firm backed by Alibaba Group co-founder Jack⁴ Ma.

　　在去年12月融资后，小米公司的价值达到了450亿美元。这次融资吸引的投资者既有新加坡主权财富基金，也有阿里巴巴的联合创始人马云所支持的私募公司。

　　Its Mi devices, which scored with Chinese users because of their low cost and the company’s heavy reliance on user interaction and feedback, are now sold online across Asia, including most recently India.

　　由于成本低，再加上小米非常倚重与用户的互动以及用户反馈，小米移动设备颇受中国消费者青睐。现在，小米的网店已经覆盖了整个亚洲，包括最近刚刚涉足的印度市场。

　　Brazil marks the company’s first foray with smartphones outside of its home continent. Global operations vice¹ president Hugo Barra said Xiaomi intends to begin selling its phones there in the first half of this year.

　　巴西是小米智能手机在亚洲以外的第一站。该公司的全球业务副总裁雨果o巴拉表示，小米计划于今年上半年开始在巴西销售手机。

　　The company is in “extremely advanced discussions” with at least half a dozen manufacturing partners there, Barra, a former Google executive, said without revealing names, which will help it side-step a roughly 60 percent tax on foreign electronics.

　　巴拉曾在谷歌（Google）的管理层任职，他说小米正在和至少六家巴西制造企业进行“极为深入的探讨”，但没有透露这些企业的名称。这将有助于小米规避巴西约60%的进口电子产品税。

　　The industry is particularly curious about Xiaomi’s potential to make a dent⁵ in the United States, which is the world’s biggest mobile market in dollar terms but one where phone sales are controlled by telecoms carriers and where Apple holds sway.

　　业界特别想知道小米在美国的发展潜力。美国是全球最大的移动设备市场（以美元计），但美国的手机销售由电信公司控制，而且还有苹果这个行业霸主。

　　Co-founder and President Lin Bin⁶ told reporters on Thursday that Xiaomi will launch its first online sales site, Mi.com, in a few months, directly selling items from earphones to smart bands to American consumers.

　　小米的联合创始人及总裁林斌周四对记者表示，小米将在几个月内推出第一个网店Mi.com，向美国消费者直销小米耳机和智能腕带等产品。

　　The company is eschewing⁷ bigger-ticket items like phones and tablets for now partly because of the United States’ carrier-sales and phone subsidy⁸ structure, which eliminates Xiaomi’s cost advantage. More generally, Bin and Barra talked about the time and effort needed to tailor its MIUI Android-based operating systems for individual markets and obtain certification, among other things.

　　该公司暂时不会在美国推出手机和平板电脑等价格较高的产品，部分原因是美国的电信公司销售模式和手机补贴结构会让小米的成本优势化为乌有。此外，林斌和巴拉还提到，为各个市场量身定制基于安卓（Android）的米柚（MIUI）操作系统以及申请许可证等工作都需要投入时间和精力。

　　Xiaomi’s main intention for now is to engage American consumers and try and build a community there the same way it has in China and India – through fan events, interaction with users on social media such as a dedicated⁹ Facebook page, and gradually coming to know both local preferences and building its brand.

　　目前，小米的主要目标包括接触美国消费者；像在中国和印度那样，举行粉丝活动并在Facebook等社交媒体上与用户互动，从而设法在美国建立小米社区；逐步了解本地市场偏好并打响品牌知名度。

　　For example, Barra told Reuters how Xiaomi might put its self-branded headphones in front of U.S. audiophiles and tweak the product depending on their detailed¹⁰ feedback.

　　举例来说，巴拉向路透社记者介绍了小米将如何向美国的音乐发烧友推广小米耳机，以及如何基于反馈来调整这个产品。

　　“We’re keen on being in the conversation in the U.S.,” he told reporters.

　　他对记者说：“我们迫切希望与美国消费者进行交流。”

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

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 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 eschewing   

v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The company sells direct to customers, eschewing distributors, re-sellers, and dealers. 公司直接向客户销售，避开批发商、分销商和经销商。 来自互联网
• That suggests the Taliban forces are eschewing firefights in favour of terrorist-style attacks. 这表明塔利班武装力量正偏向采用恐怖袭击方式以避免交火。 来自互联网

8 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。