雙語財經新聞 第8期:公司擴展產品線(1)

For 78 years, Zippo Manufacturing Co. has been known for its “windproof” cigarette lighters, which are fashioned from brass and chrome at a factory in this northwestern Pennsylvania town of 8,400 people.

78年以來,ZiPPo公司司一直以製造防風打火機而聞名於世，這種點菸用的打火 機以黃銅和鉻爲原材料製作而成，其工廠位於賓夕法尼亞州西北部一座人口 8400 人的小鎮。

So how will people react to a Zippo men’s fragrance? Marketed as “the ideAl companion for the adventures of day and the passion of night,” the new cologne doesn’t smell anything like lighter fluid, says David warfel, Zippo’s global marketing director. Instead，Zippo says, it’s “woody” and “spicy.”

那麼，人們會對Zippo出品的男士香水作何反應呢？ Zippo的全球行銷總監大 衛?沃菲爾稱，這種香水的行銷理念是：將白天的歷險和夜晚的激情完美結合。這款 新型的古龍水聞起來和點火液完全不同，Zippo#其具有木頭和香料的味道。

In recent months, the family-owned company has stepped up its effort to diversify by launching the fragrance and other Zippo-branded products, such as casual clothing, watches and camping supplies. The plan is to offer some of the items in Zippo boutiques, including one due to open within six months at New York’s Kennedy airport. Zippo hopes to reduce its dependency on smoking-related items as governments around the world deploy taxes and health warnings against tobacco.

最近幾個月，通過推出香水和其他以Zippo爲商標的產品，例如休閒服飾、手錶 和野營用品，這個家族式企業已經加快了業務多元化的步伐。根據這項計劃,Zippo 專賣店，包括一家將於六個月內在紐約甘乃迪機場開業的新店，將出售部分上述產 品。考慮到全球各國政府對菸草課徵重稅併發出健康瞀吿，Zippo希望通過這些舉 動來減輕公司對吸菸相關產品的依賴程度。

“We’re turning ourselves into a lifestyle-products company,” says Greg Booth, Zippo’s chief executive. Other companies with iconic brands, such as Harley-Davidson Inc” have successfully placed their logos on apparel, iewelry and other items. But few of them face as big a challenge as Zippo’s strong association with tobacco.

Zippo首席執行長格瑞戈?布斯稱,Zippo正在轉型爲一家生活用品公司。像哈 雷?大衛森這樣擁有圖騰性品牌的其他公司已經成功地將他們的標識推廣至服裝、 珠寶和其他產品上。但是,幾乎沒有哪家公司像Zippo這樣因爲與菸草行業緊密相 關而面臨如此巨大的挑戰。

Stretching a brand to fit different merchandise “is very hard to do,” adds Allen Adamson, managing director at the branding consultancy Landor Associates in New York. He says it works best if a company focuses on one or two potential hit products. It also helps to choose products that are “reasonably close” in function or style to the original item, Mr. Adamson says.

紐約朗濤設計顧問公司的董事總經理艾倫?亞當姆森稱，擴展一個品牌使其適 應不同的商品是一件非常困難的事。他說，如果一家公司專注於一兩樣可能取得成 功的商品，就能達到最佳效果。選擇與原產品功能或類型適當接近的產品也會有所 說明。

In the 1960s and 1970s, Zippo tried to spread its bets by making tape measures, key holders and belt buckles, but all were later discontinued. Zippo even considered making golf-ball warmers to increase driving distances, only to conclude that the legal liability would be too great if the heated projectiles bounced off people’s heads. Over the past two decades it has added pocket knives and leather purses. But last year, lighters still accounted for 54% of the company’s $200 million in sales. Unit lighter sales now run at 12 million a year, down from a peak of 18 million in 1998，and Mr. Booth doesn’t expect a rebound.

在20世紀六七十年代，ZiPPo曾試圖通過生產捲尺、鑰匙架和皮帶扣來擴展其 產品線，但後來這些東西都停產了。Zippo甚至考慮過生產高爾夫球加熱裝置來擴 大產品線，但最終得出的結論是，如果加熱後彈出的球體擊中人們的頭部，將給公 司帶來很大的法律責任。在過去的20￥間，該公司在其產品線中增加了 口袋刀和皮 革錢包這兩種產品。但是去年，打火機依然佔該公司2億美元總銷售額的54%。目前，打火機每年的單位產品銷售額爲1200萬美元，低於1998年巔峯時期的1800萬美 元。布斯預計這個銷售額不會反彈。

Zippo’s men’s fragrance, launched late last year in Europe, is made under license by Mavive SpA of Italy. Zippo hopes to introduce the scent in the U.S. and Asia in 2012.

去年下半年在歐洲推出的Zippo男士香水是在意太利公司Mavive SpA的授權下 製造的。Zippo希望能在2012年將這種香水推向美國和亞洲。