经济学人:代沟:千禧一代的渴望(2)

 Some large companies have made dramatic changes. 一些大型公司做出了巨大改变。

ConAgra, an American food giant, has simplified its recipes and eliminated all artificial ingredients from many of its snacks and ready meals. 美国食品巨头ConAgra简化了其配方，剔除了多数小吃和即食餐中的人工原料。

After years of falling sales, it is growing again; millennials now account for 80% of its customer growth. 在经历多年销售额下降后，其销售额再次增长；现在千禧一代占他们顾客增长的80%。

"Bringing in these folks has been absolutely critical to growing the brands," says Bob Nolan, ConAgra's senior vice-president of insights and analytics. “吸引这一代人对品牌增长非常关键，”ConAgra公司洞察分析高级副总裁鲍勃·诺兰说到。

Millennials' appreciation¹ of experiences over "stuff" is also real. 千禧一代对“事物”经历的喜好也是真实的。

Online platforms such as Airbnb have capitalised on youngsters' taste for splurging on holidays, dinners and other Instagrammable activities, 网上平台，如爱彼迎，利用了年轻人对度假、吃大餐和参加值得拍照分享活动的喜好，

but so too have some older bricks-and mortar² firms. 但一些老牌房产公司也是如此。

In 2016 JPMorgan Chase, a bank, launched Sapphire³ Reserve, a premium⁴ credit card that offers generous rewards for spending on travel and dining. 2016年，摩根大通推出Sapphire Reserve信用卡，在旅游和进餐时刷这种卡就可以获得优厚奖励。

Touted⁵ as "a card for accumulating experiences", the $450-a-year product has been a hit with well-off millennials, who represent more than half of cardholders. 这种450美元每年的产品，被捧称为“用于积累经历的卡”，该产品颇受富裕千禧一代的欢迎，他们占了持卡人的一大半。

Younger consumers also have more debt, fewer assets and less job security than previous generations. In this regard, flexibility⁶ matters. 相比上几代人，年轻消费者背的债更多，所持资产更少，工作安全感也更低。就这一点而言，灵活性很重要。

Ally Bank, a subsidiary of Ally Financial, the former financial wing of General Motors, for example, 例如，前通用汽车金融分支，联合汽车金融公司子公司Ally Bank就

does not charge its current-account customers any maintenance fees or require them to hold minimum balances. 没有向其往来帐户客户的收取管理费或是要求他们在卡中留有最低余额。

Such features have earned it the loyalty⁷ of millennials. 这样的特点为公司赢得了千禧一代顾客的忠诚。

Business models are being revamped to serve commitment-phobic millennials. 商业模式被修改只为迎合恐惧承诺的千禧一代。

Big carmakers, including GM, Volvo and BMW, offer subscription⁸ services for their cars, 包括通用、沃尔沃、宝马在内的汽车制造商推出了订阅式租车，

offering access to new vehicles without lengthy⁹ financial obligations. 不用背负沉重的债务就能开上新车。

Yet many firms still have too homogeneous a view of millennials, says Laura Beaudin, a partner at Bain & Company, a consultancy. 但很多公司仍对千禧一代有着同种看法，贝恩咨询公司合伙人劳拉表示。

"If you want to resonate with a group that prides itself on diversity, having a one-size-fits all solution does not make sense," she says. “千禧一代以自己的多元化而自豪，如果你想和这样一群人产生共鸣，那么这样一刀切的观念根本行不通，”她说。

Some firms do embrace customers' individuality—in May, Gucci, an Italian fashion house, 一些公司确实接受了顾客的个人特性—五月，一家意大利时装商店Gucci就在其

introduced customised versions of a popular tote bag and pair of sneakers as part of a campaign called Gucci DIY. 在Gucci DIY活动中推出了定制版手提袋以及一款运动鞋。

Gucci reportedly maintains a cadre of under-30 staffers to advise its boss. Expect more companies of a certain age to hark back to youth. 据报道称，Gucci保留了一批30岁以下的骨干员工，为老板提供建议。期待有更多老牌公司能够重返青春。

 

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

3 sapphire   

n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的

参考例句：

• Now let us consider crystals such as diamond or sapphire.现在让我们考虑象钻石和蓝宝石这样的晶体。
• He left a sapphire ring to her.他留给她一枚蓝宝石戒指。

4 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

5 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

6 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

7 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

8 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

9 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。