美国有线新闻 CNN 美国零售商遭疫情连环重创 老牌百货杰西潘尼举步维艰（在线收听）

The question of when America's non-essential stores open is a nail biter for businesses. From mom and pop shops to barber shops, clothing stores to corporate giants, retailers are increasingly desperate to get back to sales and some retail analysts say companies like Sears and J.C. Penny which survived the "Great Depression" and the "Great Recession" may not survive the coronavirus crisis. J. Crew and Neiman Marcus are in the same boat. These are companies that were struggling with debt and decreasing sales before COVID-19 arrived in America. And while there's still a good chance they'll be around when coronavirus passes, it won't be easy for them.

美国非必需商店何时开业？这个问题令企业忧心不已。从小零售店到理发店、服装店到企业巨头，零售商们越来越迫切地想恢复销售，一些零售分析师表示，西尔斯和杰西潘尼等在大萧条和大衰退中存活下来的公司，可能无法挺过冠状病毒危机。J. Crew和尼曼马库斯百货处境相同。在新冠肺炎袭击美国之前，这些公司就已经因债务和销售额下降而苦苦挣扎。虽然在冠状病毒结束之后，它们仍可能迎来良好的机遇，但这对它们来说并不容易。

REPORTER: In a sea of retail bankruptcy, J.C. Penny's future looks uncertain. The iconic American retailer known for its low prices and deep discounts, is now billions of dollars in debt and hasn't been profitable since 2010. But long before sales started sinking and debt started rising, J.C. Penny helped transform the retail industry. In 1902, James Cash Penny opened a branch of a dry goods chain called "the Golden Rule" in Wyoming. At the time Penny's business practices were revolutionary. To keep prices low, he banned haggling which was a common practice at the time.

记者：在零售业破产潮中，杰西潘尼百货的未来看起来充满不确定性。这家美国标志性零售商以低价和大幅折扣闻名，现在其负债数十亿美元，而且自2010年以来一直没有盈利。但早在销售额开始下滑和债务开始上升之前，杰西潘尼百货曾帮助零售业转型。1902年，詹姆斯·卡西·潘尼在怀俄明州开设了一家名为“黄金法则”的干货连锁店。当时，潘尼的商业行为是革命性的。为了保持低价，他禁止讨价还价，而这在当时是非常普遍的做法。

That meant every customer paid the same ticketed price. Penny also encouraged employees to serve customers well. His motto was serve the public to its ultimate satisfaction. And he was dedicated to being ethical applying the store's name "the Golden Rule" to both customers and employees. A decade and many stores later, Penny incorporated the company and changed the name to the brand we know today. The company went public in 1929, right before the Stock Market crash and the "Great Depression" began.

这意味着每位顾客支付的价格相同。潘尼还鼓励员工为顾客提供优质服务。他的座右铭是：为公众服务，使其最终满意。他致力于以德营商，让商店的名字“黄金法则”应用到顾客和员工身上。10年后，开设了多家分店的潘尼成立了公司，更名为我们如今熟知的品牌。该公司于1929年上市，就在股市崩盘和“大萧条”发生之前。

Still J.C. Penny found continued success as customers looking for low cost goods filed in. And in 1951, the company hit $1 billion in sales for the first time.

尽管如此，杰西潘尼公司还是实现了持续的成功，因为顾客在寻找低成本商品。1951年，该公司首次实现10亿美元的销售额。

But in recent years, J.C. Penny has struggled. Sales flagged during the recession and the retailer couldn't bring customers back. The department store was one of the first to adopt e-commerce in 1994 but overall it has struggled to keep up in the digital era.

但最近几年，杰西潘尼公司举步维艰。在经济衰退期间，这家零售商销售额下滑，无法挽回顾客。这家百货公司是1994年最早采用电子商务的公司之一，但总的来说，其一直难以跟上数字时代的步伐。

A parade of CEOs has tried to turn the company around. Ron Johnson came from Apple and tried to give the brand a fresh look in 2012 including ending the stores famous coupons. The costly revamp flopped and consumers lost trust in the business. Three other CEOs have followed but they all have yet to restore the company to its once and former glory.

多位首席执行官试图扭转公司的颓势。罗恩·约翰逊来自苹果公司，他试图在2012年让杰西潘尼品牌焕然一新，措施包括结束该店著名的优惠券政策。这项耗资巨大的改革以失败告终，而且消费者对该公司失去了信任。另外三名首席执行官也进行了改革，但他们都未能让该公司恢复昔日的辉煌。